A SNAPSHOT | THE CONTEXT | GWP'S CONTRIBUTION | OUTCOMES | What is a GWP Story of Change?
A SNAPSHOT
Working with nature to deliver low-carbon water infrastructure strengthens livelihoods and provides solutions to the negative impacts of climate change. Looking at traditional methods that use hydrological and geographic conditions provides insights to inform modern water governance and management. In Hunan Province, GWP China worked with partners to demonstrate how ancient water engineering practices enabled traditional farming methods that were compatible with the environment, uncovering a relationship between irrigation, water supply, and drainage that has important value for the development of sloping farmland. The results have guided the government in protecting this engineering heritage and in applying its principles today.
The droughts and floods brought by climate change challenge China’s modern water engineering and threaten food crops that depend heavily on irrigation. In Hunan Province, however, scientists and engineers observed that the design of the region’s traditional terraced rice fields – used successfully for centuries – was proving resilient to these changes. Crops cultivated in the terraces have thrived through drought and flood without separately constructed water storage infrastructure. Agricultural reform, rapid urbanisation and industrialisation, and the outflow of young workers have all threatened the region’s agricultural and cultural diversity, highlighting the need to balance sustainable use with protection of the terraced fields. Against these challenges, there is a need to understand how traditional gravity irrigation systems can help China develop climate-resilient agricultural systems that support sustainable livelihoods in rural areas.
The farmlands of the Ziquejie Terraces are one of the most famous areas in China where traditional farming and irrigation methods have been preserved. Cascading down the slopes of Ziquejie Mountain, over 500 terraces are irrigated by natural water flows and cover an area of 9,390 acres at an altitude of 500–1,000 meters. Recognising their socio-cultural importance, the government has identified the terraces as one of China’s Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems. That said, the area has become a victim of its own success as it attracts thousands of ‘terrace tourists’ every year, slowly pushing people to abandon their agricultural livelihoods and move to service industries. As a result, many terraced fields have been abandoned, and the water storage function of some terraces has declined. In the process of tourism development, water conservancy facilities are being damaged and soil erosion and other problems have been brought to some areas. Studying the Ziquejie Terraces therefore proved to be an ideal case study to understand the climate and socio-economic benefits of traditional farming and irrigation techniques.
GWP'S CONTRIBUTION
In 2012, the GWP Hunan Provincial Water Partnership worked with the Xinhua County Water Resources Bureau to develop a collaborative scientific programme on ‘Research and Application of Ziquejie Terrace Original Ecological Gravity Irrigation System’. To lead this programme, the Hunan Provincial Water Partnership mobilised 35 researchers from various institutes and partner organisations including the Hunan Water Resources and Hydropower Research Institute, the Yangtze River Research Institute, the Yangtze River Commission, and the Hunan Water Resources and Hydropower Survey, Design, and Research Institute.
Unlocking the secrets of ancient terrace irrigation
The research was led by three working groups, an exploration team, a monitoring team, and a calculation team. The exploration team carried out a hydrogeological survey, geological and geotechnical tests, and field surveys. The monitoring team conducted a series of artificial rainfall simulation experiments and set up two automatic meteorological observation stations and two rainfall and runoff observation stations to observe meteorology, runoff, and groundwater level. The calculation team gauged the water cycle balance of the ancient terraces, constructed the original ecological irrigation water supply and demand balance model in the ancient rice farming areas, and made a series of simulated calculations of the supply and demand balance of gravity irrigation water resources for the ancient terraces. The simulated results were shown to be highly consistent with the actual irrigation water supply and demand.
Terrace farming stands the test of time
The indicator of the base flow in the original ecological area was much higher than that in the terraced area. Rainfall occurring in these terraces increase water infiltration in the ground, thereby augmenting groundwater flow, which is equivalent to an underground water reservoir that can provide sustainable water resources downstream. The result from the model also showed that the terrace irrigation system, when checked against recent historical drought records, failed only twice, in 2003 and 2013. The investigation also looked at livelihoods and human capacity, considering local history and traditional water governance practice to map a reasonable division of functional zones of the area: core scenic, protection, and buffering zones. This pointed the way to multiple studies of crop selection, visual effects, and utilisation to improve economic growth and living standards of people living within the scenic area, and to finalise the protection system within the terraced area.
OUTCOMES
The results from the research programme were adopted by local stakeholder groups including the Hunan Water Conservancy Society and the Hunan Xiangshui Group Co., Ltd. In 2012, the results were integrated into the planning report of a farmland water conservancy project and a waterwheel collapse control project implemented in the Ziquejie Terrace Scenic Spot in Xinhua County. In September 2014, the Ziquejie Terraces were included in the World List of Heritage Irrigation Structures by the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID). The research results have also been used by the local tourism department as technical support for the sustainable use and eco-tourism development of the Ziquejie Terraces. In 2018, the region was awarded the title of ‘Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System’ by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).
The government of Xinhua County is working to build the Ziquejie Terraces into a demonstration base of rice terraces and irrigated agriculture in Southern China, a demonstration site of agricultural landscape tourism, a showcase of rice terrace culture, and a pilot of agricultural heritage management. This work includes essential elements of water governance and management:
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Accelerating the repair of seriously damaged irrigation and water conservancy facilities, ridges, and ditches based on the protection of original ecological environment;
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Determining a reasonable proportion of arable and forest lands and strengthening the ecological security of water source forests in terraced fields;
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Focusing on the protection of water source forests in mountains by raising awareness on the socio-economic and ecological values of preserving traditional green infrastructure;
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Creating digital products for publicity and training, such as a graphic and animated interpretation of the principles of the natural gravity irrigation system and its scientific management of water and water systems;
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Training young farmers in the knowledge and inheritance of traditional cultures, and restoring the traditional water inspectorate system.
The work on the Ziquejie Terraces revealed the workings of the gravity irrigation mechanism underlying the longstanding success of the traditional farming system and explored the social structures that supported the wise use of water, soils, and other natural resources. This programme supported a return to sustainable multi-functional development by identifying, testing, and promoting a relevant protection strategy and measures for functional management zones.
GWP’s activities are implemented to influence stakeholders who are instrumental in fostering improvements in water governance. Our stories of change are our vehicle to illustrate how we play a role in strengthening the management of water resources.
