Participatory Design Strategy for Balancing Ecological Conservation and Cultural Heritage Inheritance: A Case Study of Erhai Lake

Abstract

Erhai Lake, located in Dali, Yunnan Province, is a key plateau lake in southwest China, serving as both a biodiversity hotspot and the cradle of the Bai people’s water culture. The cormorant fishing tradition, with a history of over 4,000 years and inscribed as a provincial intangible cultural heritage in 2009, reflects the long-term interaction between humans and the lake environment. Since the 1990s, regional economic transformation, cultural change, and strengthened ecological policies have shifted cormorant fishing from subsistence livelihood to staged performances, causing intergenerational discontinuities. Strict ecological regulations implemented in 2015 further restricted cormorant activities, intensifying the tension between cultural transmission and ecological protection. This study addresses how to sustain this unique heritage while safeguarding Erhai’s ecological integrity.

Guided by cultural ecology, cultural anthropology, participatory design, and balanced development theory, this research adopted a three-stage participatory framework: (1) a documentary phase collecting oral histories and visual narratives to activate cultural memory and visualize the human–water–bird relationship; (2) an "Erhai Cormorant Cultural Day Tour" to foster community interaction and experiential storytelling; and (3) a "Cormorant Egg Adoption" activity exploring symbolic participation and responsibility mechanisms. Multiple methods—including literature review, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, surveys, field observation, and expert validation—produced a mixed evidence base. During analysis, the "ERHAI Model" was developed, integrating cultural revitalization, ecological education, and community engagement into a dynamic cycle, using five sequential paths (Ecology–Revitalization–Heritage–Action–Integration) to transform awareness into responsibility and practice. A total of six experimental activities were conducted, generating a qualitative dataset of 88 participatory instances and a quantitative dataset of 50 valid questionnaires.

Findings reveal that cultural transmission can transcend fixed cultural spaces through memory activation and meaning reproduction, enabling non-site-specific continuation. Ecological protection is increasingly viewed as a necessary condition for cultural survival rather than a constraint. When community members reinterpret culture as development capital, they show stronger initiative and willingness to cooperate. The ERHAI Model synthesizes these insights and offers a replicable strategic pathway and practical reference for balanced governance in lakeside communities facing similar tensions.

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