The Impact of the Erhai Protection Policy on the Way of Life of the Bai People’s Practicing Cormorant Fishing in the Erhai Lake Area
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48048/ajac.2026.64Keywords:
Erhai cormorant water culture, Erhai Lake, Erhai cormorant, Bai peopleAbstract
The study examines the relationship between ecological conservation and the transmission of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) skills through the cormorant fishing tradition at Erhai Lake in Dali, Yunnan Province, Southwest China. Cormorant fishing, with a history spanning over 4,000 years, was recognized as a provincial-level intangible cultural heritage in 2009. Since the implementation of ecological protection policies in 2015, cormorant fishing activities have been relocated away from Erhai Lake. The resulting decline in traditional practice cannot be attributed solely to ecological governance. Rather, it reflects the combined influence of market-oriented development, shifting cultural values, and policy interventions. The study identifies how ecological governance has reconfigured the transmission of ICH skills from everyday water-based livelihoods toward performance-oriented cultural display, reducing their practical continuity. While ecological governance has improved environmental conditions, it has also unintentionally limited the spatial and social contexts necessary for sustaining cormorant fishing as a lived practice. This research highlights the structural tension between ecological restoration and cultural continuity, suggesting that sustainable governance must integrate cultural considerations and community participation. A balanced approach to heritage preservation requires understanding how ecological protection and cultural transmission can co-evolve under contemporary environmental governance.
Highlights
This article draws on long-term immersive ethnographic fieldwork to provide rare first-hand accounts of how cormorant fishing culture is practiced and adapted under ecological governance—offering empirical insights that cannot be obtained through secondary data or official policy sources.
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