This document is an attempt at documenting Chinese farmers' innovations consisting of some ancient, some evolved over long time, some contemporary techniques perfected by the local people to the level found today and some adaptations of old ancient and recent techniques made by the farmers to suit their needs. Thus this presentation of indigenous technology knowledge (ITK) is termed here as local technology knowledge (LTK). This documentation can only be a fraction of what is available in China hence it is only a glimpse into enormous indigenous technology knowledge that exist in China for watershed management (WM). However, since it is the first attempt at documenting the techniques as related to the multi-disciplinary field of comprehensive watershed management in China, it is hoped that this will generate interest among the mainstream watershed management researchers. Thus we expect them to enrich this collection by further work. Also this documentation is only preliminary and more details on many of the ideas may be needed before they can easily be transferred to other locations. We hope the interest generated will help further detailed study by national professionals and other concerned persons in China.
The participatory watershed Management Training in Asia (PWMTA) program of the FAO (UN) financed by the Netherlands, commissioned this study to its focal institution, the International Research and Training Center on Erosion and Sedimentation (IRTCES), Beijing, China. The IRTCES made a team of professionals from various parts of the country consisting of the compilers of this document for the study. After a review of the study by the PWMTA it was presented in the Regional Workshop of the PWMTA on ITK/WM held in China in Nov. 1997. After which the study was finalized and edited by the PWMTA to this present form.
The compilers of this study contacted various professionals in the field who helped in this documentation. Also county level soil and water conservation research and extension station staff scouted some of the ideas being practiced by the farmers and interviewed them to identify the techniques. Thus the methodology used was a combination of contacts with field professionals as well as filed scouting by the compilers. Some of the compilers have also been practicing some of the techniques detailed here e.g. the sluicing and siltation method of small dam construction is a well-accepted technique by now which evolved over ages. The engineers have tries to standardize it by now. The warping of floodwaters for soil conservation and soil fertility improvement is an adaptation of natural processes of low land formation by siltation. Similarly some of the ancient agronomic, cultural and animal husbandry practices are very prevalent in China today. All these have a potential of being used or adapted to other countries also.
For the ease of presentation, the local WM technologies in this document are categorized as below:
· Peoples' Participation Strategies
· Water Harvesting
· Gully Control
· Soil and Water Conservation
· Orchard Management
· Crop Production Management
· Vegetable Farming Management
· Poultry for Income Generation
· Fish Raising for Income Generation
· Soil Fertility Improvement and Mulching
· Crop Processing and Storage
· Feed and Fodder
The presentation of the local techniques in this document follows the above categories of subject matters in the subsequent pages.
