Ways of seeing environmental change: Participatory research engagement in Yunnan, China, with ethnic minority Hani participants

In this article, I reflect on a participatory learning and action (PLA) and participatory geographic information system (PGIS) project undertaken in two adjacent Hani villages in southern Yunnan, China. After a lengthy process to gain research authorisations, Hani villagers worked with a group of visiting researchers (Hani, Han Chinese and New Zealanders) to articulate local visions of land-use change and environmental challenges. PLA exercises produced a diverse range of hand-made and PGIS products over a 10-week period. As villagers became more accustomed to the ‘outsider team’, methods – both designed and spontaneous – diversified. Afterwards, based on the results and acting on their own initiative, local leaders backed by popular support moved quickly to reassert traditional and ritually prescribed Hani conservation measures. Nevertheless, these endogenously driven solutions were not necessarily universally beneficial. In describing the complexities encountered in implementing a participatory framework and the ambiguities of the outcomes engendered, I argue that privileging local coherence and celebrating such participatory approaches should not be done at the expense of ignoring the intricacies of on-going contradictory behaviours in a rapidly changing arena. Yet, in China, where authorities often remain suspicious of those seeking to undertake long-term fieldwork, especially among ethnic minorities, PLA offers a potential route forward.