Green resources offer a new means of prosperity

Bringing destitute farmers out of poverty may not require advanced technology, complicated machinery or state-of-the-art management models, as Cao Jian has learned.

For centuries, black "little ear pigs" have been part of the austere life of the Blang ethnic group in Yunnan province, largely as a source of meat that supplements the ethnic group's meager crop harvests.

When Cao first arrived at Blang Mountain to work as a frontier guard in 2008, he saw the impoverished pig owners wearing no shoes and their children running around without pants.

But with his urban experience, the 27-year-old man was able to see untapped potential in the pigs. If fed banana stems rather than fodder, the endemic hogs qualify as organic pork able to fetch 200 yuan (31.47 U.S. dollars) per kg at urban markets, more than ten times the price of non-organic pork.

In 2011, Cao helped initiate the first cooperative pig farm in the area. Since then, investment has found its way into the mountain, aiming to bridge the gap between pristine agricultural resources and the surging urban demand for "green foods."

"A batch of 30 pigs takes three months to hit the butcher, and the sales can bring 9,000 yuan in profits. Just compare that with the average annual income of 2,000 yuan here," Cao said, adding that local villages plan to add 1,500 pigs before 2013.

Cao's campaign reflects a broader trend in China, as the country looks for greener ways to develop its impoverished regions by focusing on unlocking nature's potential rather than turning to mass industrialization.

Lying in the Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture, Blang Mountain is typical of Yunnan in that many local people live in poverty amidst a backdrop of great biodiversity.

Efforts to alleviate poverty continue to be hindered by a lack of industrialization, which has never quite gained steam in Yunnan due to poor infrastructure and fears of damaging the fragile ecosystem.

But new possibilities are emerging from Yunnan's rich ecological resources. Biological industries have taken off and helped alleviate poverty since the province launched a strategy to protect and develop its biodiversity in 2008.

In Xishuangbanna, bio-industries, including plantations and processing facilities for tea, rubber, hemp and other cash crops, have risen to constitute half of the prefecture's GDP and 80 percent of local farmers' income, officials said.

"The climate here is very favorable, so everything grows well," said Fang Lingzhi, vice director of the prefecture's office for developing bio-industry.

Apart from introducing lucrative crops to poverty-ridden mountain areas, authorities are also building bio- or herbal medicine, garment and food processing facilities to tap local biological resources while avoiding pollution.

"Now we're planning an industrial park on health product development and manufacturing. It will employ 100,000 people and generate 60 billion yuan in annual output," Fang said.

In Pu'er, another city in Yunnan as well as the largest production base for coffee and Pu'er tea in China, officials have hoped the industries surrounding its tea and coffee industries could play a leading role in eliminating the city's widespread poverty.

Fine-processing centers for Pu'er tea and coffee are springing up and reforestation efforts are under way in the city where 67 percent of land is forested, offering a better environment for biological industries.

"Pu'er has abundant natural resources, but we've decided not to develop them in a plunderous way," said Shen Peiping, secretary of the Pu'er Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China.

Zhang Yuming, head of the Department of Agriculture of Yunnan, said biological industries, including the floral, herbal medicine and biological chemical industries, have become powerful engines for growth in Yunnan.

Its well-protected natural beauty is also attracting domestic and foreign tourists, and the province raked in 130 billion yuan in tourism revenue last year.

Analysts say local efforts to boost the "green economy" suggest that the concept of sustainable development is exerting greater influence as China speeds up the development of its impoverished western and southwestern regions.

The lesson on sustainable development was not learned until after the economic boom in east China resulted in severe pollution and environmental damage, they say. Weak ecological systems in China's inland regions have also spurred an emphasis on environmental protection.

Xu Guangyuan, an economist at Yunnan University, said China must exert greater caution and avoid taking the traditional path of industrialization in developing its resource-rich southwest.

"Yunnan is China's biological repository, protecting its environment and natural resources has strategic significance," Xu said.