Discussion on application of participatory land use planning in watershed management

Lack of participation of rural communities and villagers in decision-making during the planning process, traditional land use planning in watershed management is questioned for its effective and long-term based implementation. Participatory land use planning has been introduced and applied in mountainous watershed management by international organizations in China in the recent years, with combination of "bottom-up" and "top-down" approach. This paper reviews the field experiments and practices of participatory land use planning in terms of its framework, processes, methodologies and tools, etc. and has discussions focusing on its adaptability to local situations and replicability in the broad mountain areas of China. It is concluded that participatory land use planning is a sound approach to sustainable watershed management.