China’s community Fengshui forests: Spiritual ecology and nature conservation

Authors

Chris Coggins
Jesse Minor, University of Maine at Farmington
Bixia Chen
Yaoqi Zhang
Peter Tiso
James Lam
Cem Gultekin

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2018

Abstract

This research examines the geographic distribution, cultural history, cosmology, and conservation status of China's village fengshui forests (fengshuilin)--woodlands protected to bring good fortune to lineage members across generations. Fengshuilin survive in ten to fourteen provinces, comprising ecologically significant remnants of tropical and subtropical broadleaf evergreen forests of central and southern China. Despite their broad distribution and social-ecological importance, fengshuilin are little known among urban populations and lack official recognition across most of their range. Some have been incorporated into nature reserves and community-based protected areas. State-local agreements catalyse new conceptions of fengshui and human-environment relations, improving prospects for large-scale biodiversity conservation networks based on local community interests.

Publication Title

Cultural and Spiritual Significance of Nature in Protected Areas

Comments

Book chapter 15

Recommended Citation

Coggins, C., Minor, J., Chen, B., Zhang, Y., Tiso, P., Lam, J. and Gultekin, C., 2018. China’s community Fengshui forests: Spiritual ecology and nature conservation. In Cultural and Spiritual Significance of Nature in Protected Areas (pp. 225-236). Routledge.