Intro: Liguang Village located in the hinterland of Laojunshan National Park in the parallel region of the Three Rivers (Lijiang). It belongs to Liming Lisu Town, Yulong Naxi Autonomous County, Lijiang City, Yunnan Province. The minority of Lisu accounts for about 96% of the total population of the village. The annual average income is around $1100 USD.
Main Problems: Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the highway network was cut off and agriculture products could not be transported and sold. Also, some migrant workers stuck at home or chose not to work to mega cities, ending up with a negative shock on average income. The monotonous economic structure directly transferred the villagers? pressure to the environment. Specifically, they might cut down walnuts trees which was planted in respond to the national Returning Farmland to Forest Program because walnuts cannot be sold at all in 2020. Also, export channel for agricultural products such as honey and pepper are blocked or faced a plummet price due to shrinking market transactions, which directly lead to a phased income decline.
Activities: 1) Develop planting skills and build knowledge base through agricultural training and practice, therefore the villagers could diversify their livelihood after the shock of pandemic. 2) Explore how to build new sales channels of agricultural products between rural areas and urban areas. 3) Ensure sustainable self- governance of the protected areas in the Liguang community for a more sustainable impact.
Anticipated outcomes: 1) The residents are willing to utilize new tools and technologies to diversify their livelihood and increase income. 2) Gain support from potential partners in agricultural industry and expand sales channels. 3) Draft a report to promote the replicable and sustainable project and seek opportunities to scaling up.