Chengjiang Fossil Site

There has been little involvement of the local community in management and decision-making processes in the past (IUCN, 2012), however this is reportedly improving (IUCN Consultation, 2020; State Party of China, 2023). Further engagement is needed to ensure local communities understand the protection policy and are able to participate fully in protection activities. Local people are permitted to use some land within the site boundaries for agricultural activities, however due to effluent run off from chemical fertilizers and pesticides, a large proportion of land was withdrawn from cultivation. Although local people were compensated (State Party of China, 2023), it remains unclear how good the relationship between the management authority and local communities is. Mushroom farming is still permitted and being carried out seasonally without any negative impacts on the heritage values (State Party of China, 2023).

The property and its fossils are protected by national and provincial legislation. Enforcement is generally good; however, there continues to be some concern (see World Heritage Committee, 2012; State Party of China, 2011; IUCN, 2012) over the illegal trade of fossil collected, from scientifically important, closely associated localities outside the World Heritage site. The framework would benefit from being optimised such that enforcement of illegal collection is in place, without curtailing legal collection of samples for the purposes of research (IUCN Consultation, 2020). In order to increase protection of the World Heritage site, on 26th May 2017 the 34th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 12th People’s Congress of Yunnan Province approved ‘Yunnan province Chengjiang fossil site world natural heritage protection regulation’. On 1st July 2017 the implementation of this regulation started, to further strengthen the protection afforded to the Chengjiang fossils (IUCN Consultation, 2017) and has yielded excellent results (IUCN Consultation, 2020). The Chengjiang Fossil Land Overall Protection and Utilization Development Plan (2021-2035) operationalizes the legal framework at the site level (State Party of China, 2023).

Various bodies are responsible for the management of the site including: Department of nature reserve management, State Forestry and grassland administration, Office of China National Heritage Management Committee Yunnan Provincial Heritage Management, Yuxi forestry and grassland Bureau, and Chengjiang fossil site World Natural Heritage Management Committee. According to the most recent periodic report (State Party of China, 2023), although there is coordination between the range of administrative bodies involved in the management of the property, it could be improved, especially across the national, provincial and local levels. At the national level the State Forestry and grassland administration is mainly responsible for the protection, supervision and business guidance of natural heritage, and the planning, management and protection supervision of China's world heritage sites and other protected areas. The specific work is under the responsibility of the division for the management of natural reserves. At the provincial level the forestry and grassland Bureau of Yunnan Province is responsible for the management of Chengjiang fossil land, and the Management Committee of Yunnan World Heritage. At the local level Yuxi forestry and grassland bureau is responsible for the management of Chengjiang fossil land. Yuxi Municipal People's government has established a special protection and management organization, the Chengjiang fossil land World Natural Heritage Management Committee, with complete management functions and staffing.

The Territorial and Spatial Plan of Yunnan Province 2021-2035 contains a chapter on protecting and utilizing natural and cultural heritage (Department of Natural Resources of Yunnan Province, 2021). This includes improving the spatial policy mechanism for protection of natural and cultural heritage i.e. differentiated spatial protection measures should be adopted for different types of natural heritage to maintain the landscape value and landscape quality of natural heritage. For land that may have historical and cultural relics within the historical and cultural protection line, the system of "archaeology first, then transfer" will be implemented, and the coordination mechanism of multiple departments will be improved to enhance the linkage of work.
The Spatial Plan establishes an overall management system for land and spatial planning at the provincial level and implements a whole-process management approach. The people's governments of prefectures (cities) and counties (cities and districts) must also prepare special protection plans for the ecological restoration of land and space, the protection and inheritance of urban and rural history and culture, etc. Along with the corresponding laws and regulations for various domestic nature reserves, this system has played a positive role in protecting the authenticity and integrity of heritage.
As mentioned above, the whole area of the heritage site is not only a provincial nature reserve in China, but also a national geopark. There are conflicts and contradictions in the protection, management, development and utilization. For this phenomenon, China is currently carrying out the optimization, adjustment and integration of nature reserves, which will greatly solve the existing conflicts and contradictions (State Party of China, 2023).

The boundaries are appropriate in conserving the values of the site, having been well delimited and signed (IUCN, 2012). In 2014, the management committee set up boundary pillars and signs for heritage sites and buffer zones. In 2017, the people's Congress of Yunnan Province passed the regulations on the protection of world natural heritage of Chengjiang fossil site in Yunnan Province, which was officially implemented. In 2018, Chengjiang fossil World Natural Heritage completed the "Chengjiang fossil world natural heritage protection plan" and submitted it to the provincial authorities for approval. In April 2020, the boundary of the heritage site was surveyed again. Through news conference, television, radio, newspaper and on-site publicity, the heritage site boundaries were publicized to the public, and the boundary markers were set to invite local people to participate. The boundary of the site and buffer zone were widely recognized in the local area (State Party of China, 2023). Despite further fossil sites in Haikou area, some 40 km west to the type locality in Chengjiang, which yield beautiful fossils of high value which may contribute further to the integrity of the site (IUCN Consultation, 2020), the current boundaries can be considered highly effective insomuch as they are appropriate for the conservation of the fossil sites which form the current basis of the site's values.

Although the overlap is not with any of the international designations listed, the World Heritage site overlaps with a national geopark and national reserve. There are efforts to combine the planning of the national geopark with the protection plan of the heritage site and the protection plan of Fuxian Lake, and build the Fuxian Lake Tourism Experimental Zone in Yunnan Province (Yunnan Province, 2017). There are conflicts and contradictions in the protection, management, development and utilization across the different designations. For this phenomenon, China is currently carrying out the optimization, adjustment and integration of nature reserves, which will greatly solve the existing conflicts and contradictions (State Party of China, 2023)

The only decision adopted by the World Heritage Committee on this site was the one at the time of the inscription (World Heritage Committee, 2012). In that Decision the Committee requested the State Party to "ensure proactive tourism management in anticipation of increased future visitation" (World Heritage Committee, 2012) and it appears that some measures have been undertaken in that regard (IUCN Consultation, 2017; State Party of China, 2023). The Committee's request to "ensure any proposed infrastructure development and excavations are sympathetic to the site’s values and are subject to rigorous prior impact assessments" is reported to have been addressed, as so far, no infrastructure construction affecting the value of the property has been carried out (IUCN Consultation, 2020).

Relevant provisions of the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecological Environment on Climate Change are being implemented (State Party of China, 2023), however to what extent this is affecting the climate mitigation and/or adaptation capacity of the site is unclear.

The management system is sufficient for current needs in conserving the OUV of the fossil site. The world natural heritage of Chengjiang fossil site has formed a three-level management system of national, provincial and heritage sites. In addition to the independent world natural heritage protection and management organization, Chengjiang World Natural Heritage Management Committee of Chengjiang fossil site, Chengjiang animal fossil group has been established due to the overlaps of the area (the area of nature reserve is much larger
than that of heritage site). Three management plans apply in the property (IUCN, 2012) due to the overlaps with the national Geological Park and provincial Nature Reserve (IUCN Consultation, 2017). There are efforts to combine the planning of the national geopark with the protection plan of the heritage site and the protection plan of Fuxian Lake, and build the Fuxian Lake Tourism Experimental Zone in Yunnan Province, however so far contradictions between the management of overlapping areas remain (State Party of China, 2023). The plan “Chengjiang Fossil Land Overall Protection and Utilization Development Plan (2021-2035)", focuses on the value of "Chengjiang Fossil Land", and carries out a scientific and orderly systematic layout and key arrangements for the service facilities, tourism elements, intelligent systems, environmental protection, operation management, and action plans of the tourism development zone, to make the plan operational (State Party of China, 2023).

Enforcement within the Word Heritage site is highly effective. Installation and construction of video surveillance systems for fossil sites and localities including the Xiaolantian formation, Xiaolantian fossil site, and Maanshan fossil site within the World Heritage site have further strengthened this (IUCN Consultation, 2020). However, illegal collecting of fossils is still a concern from associated sites outside the World Heritage site, with many potentially important fossils being effectively lost to science (IUCN Consultation, 2020).

Over the past 8 years the annual financial direct investment was reported as 5 million yuan in protection and management guaranteed funds, and has been continuous and stable, with a total investment of 30 million since 2012 (State Party of China, 2023).

According to the latest periodic report (State Party of China, 2023) the system and mechanism of the management organization were further rationalized, and the provincial nature reserve management and Protection Bureau was established, which increased the number of management and protection personnel from 2012 to now. Currently there are 46 staff members and with the deepening of management and protection work, the construction of personnel team will be strengthened. Human resources are currently adequate for the management needs.

Interpretation of the sites values is well presented through very good curation and display of fossils in a purpose-built museum (IUCN, 2012) that is central on the site and under the auspices of the Chinese Academy of Science (formerly Academia Sinica), and historically there has been a very good display at the County Museum in Chengjiang town. A further, new museum- The Natural Museum of Chengjiang Fossils- relating to the Chengjiang site and its fossils has been built and opened in August 2020, between the buffer zone and Fuxian Lake. In the three months since opening, it has received 320,000 visitors and more than 20 academics of the Chinese Academy of Science and has become the on-site learning place for the meetings of four Chinese paleontological societies. the museum has also developed into a local tourist hotspot, and has played an important role in the promotion of biological evolutionary knowledge, the dissemination of scientific ideas and theory related to the values of the site (IUCN Consultation, 2020). The museum's ancillary facilities facilitate research of Chengjiang Biota, academic seminars and exchanges on paleontology, popular science research activities on paleontology and biodiversity for young people, and the development of paleontological cultural and creative products (IUCN Consultation, 2020).
There is a planned education and awareness programme for children and/or youth but it only partly meets the overall needs (State Party of China, 2023).

The Chengjiang municipal government invested 630 million yuan to build a new museum, the Natural Museum of Chengjiang fossil site, which covers an area of nearly 200 mu and has a construction area of 42000 square meters and officially opened in 2020. It collects more than 60000 precious paleontological fossils and living animal specimens. It shows the vivid scene of Cambrian life explosion and the magnificence and magic of the evolution of life on earth. The museum is equipped with professional interpretation personnel, interpretation facilities and related signs. The official operation of the museum has driven the development of local economy, and the social value of the heritage site has increased, while the local cultural tourism industry has been strengthened (State Party of China, 2023). Since the successful application for the world heritage in 2012, the Chengjiang fossil site management organization has formulated and carried out special activities of popular science education and publicity, heritage information popularization and ideological awareness promotion. Taking the anniversary of the successful application for the world heritage, Spring Festival, Dragon Boat Festival and other traditional festivals as an opportunity, it has actively carried out protection, publicity and display of popular science education activities.
There is a strategy to manage visitors, tourism activity and its derived impacts on the World Heritage property but there are some deficiencies in implementation, according to the latest periodic report (State Party of China, 2023).

Local people plant traditional crops in the site and use pesticides and chemical fertilizers, which may be harmful to the site's values. In strict accordance with the requirements of the Chinese government's pollution control policies in recent years, the management organization advocates local farmers to reduce the use of agriculture and chemical fertilizer, and implement waste classification, transportation and treatment in the daily management of activities in the site. From 2016 to 2019, some of the site's cultivated land was withdrawn along the fossil sections and strata of xiaolantian and Maanshan, and local people were compensated for the loss of land for cultivation. Although this may protect the site's values, this may harm the relationship with local communities. From July to October every year, mushrooms are produced in the forest of the heritage site, and the surrounding people will pick them for their own consumption, which has little impact on the heritage site (State Party of China, 2023).

The monitoring programme is extensive and well conducted (IUCN, 2012), however monitoring efforts could be better geared towards management needs and/or improving the understanding of Outstanding Universal Value (State Party of China, 2023). According to the most recent periodic report, monitoring on the values of the World Heritage property is adequate and key indicators have been defined but monitoring of the status of indicators could be improved (State Party of China, 2023).

The property has been the subject of intensive research since the first fossil discovery was made in 1984 and first reported in 1985 (Zhang & Hou, 1985). High-profile Chengjiang research papers (e.g., Ma et al., 2012; Tanaka et al. 2013; Ma et al., 2014) made further important breakthroughs in evolutionary studies. New descriptions of fossil species with the latest technical continue to be published (e.g. Wei et al. 2024; Wang et al., 2023; Wu et al., 2024; Guo et al., 2022). The experience of fossil collection and study from the site has also contributed to novel understanding of environmental conditions on fossil formation (Qi et al., 2018; Yang et al., 2018; Saleh et al., 2022). Cutting edge research on the fossils from this site and surrounding areas will likely continue into the future given the academic interest in the site. Chengjiang fossil site management organization has signed cooperation agreements with Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Northwest University, Yunnan University and other institutions of higher learning, and regularly carries out education and training related to heritage protection, scientific research and publicity. There is considerable research but it is not directed towards management needs and/or improving understanding of Outstanding Universal Value, as with monitoring. Until now, there is no dataset for the fossil digitalization and management. Researchers from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Northwest University, Yunnan University and other institutions of higher learning have studied the Chengjiang fossil site, published many papers in important international journals, and achieved fruitful scientific research results. Overall, because the Chengjiang fossil is small, its appeal to the public is weak and there is a certain gap in displaying its outstanding universal value (State Party of China, 2023).

More planning, management effort and protection are required for the significant fossil localities outside the property that provide scientific context for the fossil assemblage in the property (IUCN, 2012). The fact that ‘Chengjiang fossils’ are being offered for sale internationally on the internet is testimony to the continuing removal of fossils from outside the confines of the site. It is suggested that a national heritage protection law should be established as soon as possible, and a relatively unified management and protection rules or methods for heritage sites of the same type and nature should be introduced (State Party of China, 2023).

Existing staffing and financial resources are sufficient to provide an effective response to management needs under current types and levels of demand (IUCN, 2012), however considering the increasing tourist numbers, management and monitoring needs to be highly adaptive to adjust to changing needs to ensure the OUV is sufficiently protected in the long term.