As a seasoned tea farmer， Li Mingshui is well acquainted with Xinyang Maofeng tea， one of the most famous green teas in China. “To cultivate the best tea leaves， it is important to find a place with amiable weather and quality water supply. So mountains provide suitable conditions for tea to grow，” said Li.

Green tea， abundantly available in China， is an important commodity for Li， who has been farming tea for twenty years. Every year the mountains attract hundreds of tourists who come to buy quality tea from local farmers. Ensuring that they yield the best tea is of utmost importance to the farmers of Xinyang.

In an effort to boost tea brand， quality and price， Li and 170 tea farmers in Luoshan County， formed the Lingdingfeng Natural Tea Professional Cooperative Agency. Many farmers in the agency， however， used chemical fertilizers and pesticides in tea production， techniques which not only jeopardized the land and water quality of the plantation but also negatively impacted the price of tea. “As we did not meet the requirements for certification as organic products， we couldn’t raise the price of our tea.” said Li.

The agency’s 340 hectares of tea plantations in Luoshan County is located around Dongzhai National Nature Reserve， part of an eco-corridor within the Huaihe River Basin. The tea-rich mountains play in important role in connecting protected areas and serve to protect the ecosystem and conserve biodiversity. Lack of fertilizer or pesticide use during the plantation， cultivation， and processing periods leave clear water and preserved forest and vegetation. Since the environment and ecology they rely on are in good condition， the fauna and flora are better protected.

In 2000 UNDP and the Xinyang Municipal Government of Henan Province launched the pilotConservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity in The Headwaters of Huaihe River Basin project to address national environmental management and to conserve global biodiversity. The headwater of the Huaihe River Basin and its biodiverse mountainous regions is an Important Ecological Function Area （IEFA）， which play an important role in maintaining the ecological balance of a river basin or a region.

The project links IEFA conservation goals with economic activities， such as protecting the plantations in Xinyang and boosting agricultural productivity. The project helped to develop a series of local government guidelines， amending 7 policies that previously had negative environmental impacts. For the tea farmers in Luoshan County， the local government issued the Plan for the Development of the Tea Industry （2013-2020） and introduced advanced organic tea production techniques.

“We received training around tree cropping and infusing and now have a more species-diverse plantation，” said Li. With improved techniques， the plantations are able to maintain a more stable ecosystem. Newly equipped solar-powered insect traps and sticky cards can help the plantations better control the reproduction of harmful insects， reducing the use of pesticides.

Farmers also received technical support to increase tea productivity in an organic way， using fertilizers such as biogas slurry and sewage. After introducing these natural fertilizers， tea yield increased. “We had a 10 percent increase in production this year and were able to pick more leaves that could meet the premium level standard， noted Li. With the improved quality， farmers were able to charge 30 percent more on the market price for their tea. “Our income increased from 8000 to 12，000 CNY （US $1290-1936） per farmer per year.”

In total， there were 11 biodiversity-friendly production sites like the tea plantation implemented in Xinyang， benefiting more than 3，000 hectares of land and approximately 2，100 households. The five-year long project also helped promote the amendment of the Municipal Land Use Plan 2010-2020 towards incorporating special regulations for a large corridor of more than 135，000 hectares of land.

In 2013， Li’s agency applied for organic certification for their tea and are still optimistically awaiting approval. “We’ve passed all the requirements of organic products， including the quality of our tea as well as the soil and water conditions in the plantation. Thanks to the eco-friendly production techniques， we are going to have certified proof of our organic tea.”

對(duì)于中國(guó)河南信陽(yáng)農(nóng)民來(lái)說(shuō)，最重要的事是保障能夠生產(chǎn)最好質(zhì)量的綠茶。作為羅山縣海河生態(tài)走廊的一部分，東寨自然生態(tài)保護(hù)區(qū)目前盛產(chǎn)綠茶，尤其是信陽(yáng)毛峰茶，這對(duì)保護(hù)當(dāng)?shù)氐纳鷳B(tài)系統(tǒng)和生物多樣性具有重要意義。為更好地幫助國(guó)家環(huán)境管理和保護(hù)生物多樣性，2000年聯(lián)合國(guó)開(kāi)發(fā)計(jì)劃署和河南信陽(yáng)政府共同啟動(dòng)了一個(gè)實(shí)驗(yàn)項(xiàng)目--海河流域源頭生物多樣性的保護(hù)和可持續(xù)利用。

[http：//www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/ourwork/ourstories/biodiversity-conservation-yields-organic-tea-in-china/]