GRANTEE: Lingshui Pioneer Community Development Center
COUNTRY: China
Nestled along the lagoon of Xincun in Lingshui, Hainan, Tonghai Village has long lived by the tides. As mangrove restoration policies transformed fishponds into thriving wetlands, the villagers faced a turning point: how to protect their home while sustaining their lives.
The Tonghai Village Ecotourism Project explores how a small coastal community can balance livelihood activities, culture, and conservation. It is not about turning the village into a tourist site—but about helping it rediscover harmony between people and the ocean.
The project builds a community-led ecotourism model, training local residents as certified eco-guides, empowering villagers especially women as tourism entrepreneurs, and co-developing low-impact marine and cultural routes. It brings together villagers, NGOs, academic experts, youth, and responsible businesses to co-create solutions where protection becomes livelihood, environmental awareness and empowerment. The project also introduces a community-based financial mechanism, ensuring tourism income supports environmental protection and education, and community development.
By fostering environmental stewardship, social cohesion, and inclusive governance, Tonghai Village becomes part of a regional movement strengthening the ecological resilience of the Seas of East Asia, showing that when people and nature thrive together, small villages can spark a regional wave of change.
