Following several years of study , we have found that the economically less-developed region of the ethnic minority areas of western Chi-na, namely Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou, is not only an area where rich eco-cultural tourism re-sources are concentrated , but is also an area where the ecological environment is very fragile .Develo-ping local tourism resources has been regarded as an important path of poverty alleviation for the local people.However, excessive exploitation of these resources will directly threaten the local ecological security.Seen from the perspective of the relation-ship between man and nature , in recent years , the development of tourism has had an increasingly more serious impact on the environment in these western ethnic areas-for instance , the numbers of tourists in Jiuzhaigou scenic spot of Sichuan have exceeded its carrying capacity , and has caused soil erosion and water pollution; Lijiang Old Town in Yunnan is facing the problem of over-crowding;and the water in Erhai lake in Dali has been pollu-ted by cruise boats .Seen from the perspective of the relationship between man and society , we find that the protection of culture and environment in western ethnic areas is being threatened by the predatory nature of the development of tourism re-sources-for example , in the ethnic tourism villa-ges of Guizhou , there is a serious problem with the traditional ethnic culture there being vulgarized , faked, and urbanized . This has affected social harmony and stability in the area .Because Sichuan province is located in the upper Yangtze River , the ecological security in its ethnic minority areas is re-lated to the security of the Yangtze valley and even to the whole country .Hence, this article aims to explore the ecological security issues related to the natural ecological environment and the eco-cultural environment during the process of exploiting tourism resources in ethnic minority areas of Sichuan , and to do so from the perspective of the relationship be-tween man and nature , and between man and soci-ety.The purpose here is to guarantee effectively the ecological security in the ethnic minority areas of Sichuan , and promote a harmonious and sustain-able development of society in Sichuan ’ s ethnic minority areas .
Based on the fieldwork conducted in Ganzi TibetanAutonomous Prefecture, Aba Tibetan andQiang Autonomous Prefecture and other minorityareas in Sichuan, this paper, specially selects thescenic area of Hailuogou in Gongga Mountain; JiajuTibetan village in Danba County; the LarongWuming Buddhist Academy in Seda County ; theTibetan dwellings in Daofu county and the scenicarea of Jiuzhaigou, and focuses on the impact oftourism resource exploitation on the ecological securityof the local natural ecological environmentand cultural ecology.The research results reflectthat in the process of the development and exploita -tion of tourism resources in the Sichuan ethnic minorityareas, some problems appear.These include:(i) exceeding the carrying capacity of thetourism environment; (ii) negative impacts oftourism resource exploitation on the natural envi -ronment (for example, water and air pollution resultingfrom the tourism development; ecologicaldestruction resulting from the construction of basictourist infrastructure; and the negative influences of the tourists on the environment, etc.); and(iii) negative influences of tourism resource exploitationon the ethnic cultural ecological environment( for example, excessive “ commercialization”due to the impact of outside culture; thephenomenon of “ faked folklore ” in producingtourist products) etc..
All of these problems have directly or indirectlythreatened the local ecological security , oreven hindered the harmonious and sustainable de -velopment in ethnic areas.Aiming at the ecologicalsecurity problems mentioned above which resul -ted from the tourism resources exploitation in ethnicminority areas of Sichuan, this article tries toconstruct a five-part ecological security system inSichuan ’ s ethnic minority areas, which includes:(i) a mechanism for managing touristcarrying capacity; (ii) a mechanism for monitoringenvironmental impacts; (iii) a mechanismfor ensuring legal guarantees; (iv) a mechanismfor providing environmental and ecological educa -tion; and, (v) a mechanism for creating ethnicecological cultural self-protection.All of thesemechanisms are to ensure ecological security, andrealize the harmonious relationship between manand nature, and man and the society in the ethnicminority areas of Sichuan.