塑造邊緣鄉村的未來

文/ Dr. Pierre S. Guertin 譯/董方源

首屆荷花節在南充市柳灘鄉三角灘村舉行，農民們銷售的農產品吸引力眾多游客

塑造村落的未來，為其制定發展計劃，是一個系統的過程。以下談一談對規劃進程具有指導意義的幾個重點。

定義鄉村和農民的新角色

鄉村規劃進程是以兩種面貌作為起始點和參照點：前者是村落和所處區域的現狀，后者是預期的未來面貌。就規劃而言，這兩者是互補的。鑒于村落發展問題的復雜性，人們首先要對區域、村落、居民、服務、商貿，以及重要活動和名勝的社會經濟特點進行了解，更要清楚村落的劣勢和壁壘。這兩種情況都要通過對系統調查結果的分析才能得來。

通過調查，可勾勒出鄉村現狀的輪廓。要想將各方觀點去粗取精，將鄉村的潛力發掘出來，克服發展壁壘，各個社會團體都需對其進行了解。這是一種參與過程，但由于村民分布在村莊的各處，無法每次都參與到公開討論中。然而要想提高村民的意識和意愿并取得成果，公開討論活動是社區規劃過程必不可少的一部分。

調查可以反映出鄉村在區域內的角色，最好是一種向鄰近的村鎮或周邊地區輸出產品或服務并與之互補的經濟角色。明確角色的下一步是創造經濟活動。由于失業是困擾邊緣鄉村的長期性問題，應推薦勞動密集型的經濟活動，這樣能為村莊社區提供大量工作崗位。

在魁北克，我們將農民稱作“大自然的看管者”。無疑，中國的村民也應扮演這一角色，甚至還應對自然和農村環境進行保護，并對村落的景觀進行維持和改善。

打開鄉村振興的鑰匙

中國有很多村莊的中心都有一條主干道，道路兩旁分別有一排建筑。平遙具有這種傳統的村中心結構，可作為其他村莊的范例。魁北克“主干道”（Rues Principales）計劃的總體目標是復蘇村中心，可借鑒該計劃的原則對資產進行改進。這項計劃要求店主們成立協會，旨在通過提高店鋪整潔度、修復房屋、統一道旁建筑、管控標牌、組織街道時令活動幾方面提升街道的吸引力。最近，我們為中國的一個村莊設計了主干道方案，將劇院、運動場和古建筑相結合。幾年前，我們用這種方案對云南某村進行了改造，其他的鄉村也可效仿。這種主干道重振計劃能夠刺激社區和商業的發展，并激發二者的潛能。

大自然看護者和人類活動管理者這兩種角色都是國家可持續發展的核心。如果為中國鄉村農民賦予這兩項責任，他們會成為當地和區域社區的關鍵力量，并贏得應有的尊重。

要想讓鄉村和村民扮演好新角色，應為每一個邊緣鄉村制定優先發展的社區項目：一項具體可行，能為居民帶來希望和夢想的項目，主要目標是為低就業率和低收入的地區創造工作崗位。

如果采納以上方法，可參與國際“一村一品”運動，中國是該運動的正式成員國，我們也曾直接參與到其中。2005年，我們首次參加了在西安舉辦的國際“一村一品”研討會，2016年，我們參加了在沽源和西吉舉辦的一系列研討會。以農產品（漁業、手工藝等）轉型為目標，這項運動促進每個邊緣鄉村從事獨特的經濟活動，將產品向區域和國內其他地區輸出。“一村一品”同時推進勞動力密集型經濟活動，為鄉村經濟發展量身制定目標。該運動提升了地區知名度，同時讓村民對使用的空間和耕耘的土地產生價值意識。“一村一品”正不斷取得成功。

改善當地發展條件是打開鄉村成功發展之門的鑰匙。要從兩方面著手，第一，改善社會和社區的條件，包括對農民（技術）和村領導（管理）進行培訓、改善基礎服務（教育、醫療）、提高生活質量（社區活動、時令活動），以及提高環境意識（資源價值、生產空間等）等。第二，改善空間條件，如優化基礎設施（道路、交通、水源分配、垃圾處理）、落實生產資產（農具、農場建筑）、提升村落吸引力（景觀、整齊度、建筑和諧度）。

制定中國特色鄉村發展計劃

我們提議勾畫鄉村形象、確定鄉村在地區的角色、明確農民的責任、對村中心進行改造、為社區選擇重點項目、響應“一村一品”號召，并對居住條件的標準和方式進行提升，這七重任務大大加重了村落社區的工作量。那么應由誰來承擔這一重任？顯然，社區成員和負責人需達成共識，共同完成任務。

由于中國各地區的文化和環境千差萬別。應從方法論的角度確立鄉村振興過程，換句話說，問題不在于實現具體目標（比如一個示范村落），而是找出實現的方法（比如一個過程）。

Shaping a village's future means in fact to plan its development. This development planning needs to be conceived as a systematic process. Here are some of the milestones of this planning process.

Defining New Role of Villages and Farmers

A village planning process needs to be initiated on the basis of two images to be used as starting and reference points: the image of the present state of the village and of its regional position, along with the image of its anticipated future.These two images are, planning-wise, complementary. Indeed, in view of addressing the complex question of a village's future, one needsfirst to know the socio-economic characteristics of its immediate region, of the village itself, of its inhabitants, of its services and trades, and of its main activities and attractions.Not to forget the villages's drawbacks and constraints. These factual images are obtained through a systematic survey completed by the analysis of the data collected.

The above should produce an interpretable portrait of the present state of the village. Such a portrait needs to be shared by the different social groups involved in order to extract and formalize common views over the village's constraints and potentials. This implies of course a participation process, a process which may be difficult for villagers sometimes spread over the village territory and unused to public discussion. Yet, such an activity is part of a community planning process if it wants to become more conscious and voluntary.

Out of the above survey, a reflection should be initiated to identify and define a role for the village in its region. We are thinking in terms of a specific and complementary economic role, preferably a role related to the production of goods or services liable to be exported to either a specific neighboring village or town or to the surrounding region. Defining a role leads to proposing the creation of economic activities. Since unemployment is usually seen as a chronic problem for marginal villages, it should be stressed that any new economic activity proposed should preferably be labor-intensive, that is, susceptible of providing numerous jobs for the village community.

In Québec, we like to say that “The farmer is the custodian of nature”.This role could easily be given to the Chinese villager; and in fact, this role could even be enlarged to include the safe-keeping of the natural and rural environments, along with the responsibility to up-keep and even to improve the village landscape.

Turning a Key to Success of Village Revitalizing

On this last question, many Chinese villages are structured by a central main street aligned with a two-sided row of buildings. Pingyao may be seen as an example of such a traditional village central organization which constitutes a major landscape opportunity for these villages. And this asset can be improved by using the principles of our “Main Streets” (Rues Principales) program in Québec whose general objective is to revitalize village centers. This program brings the store owners into an association which can then act upon street attractiveness: store neatness, building restoration, continuity of street constructions, sign control, easiness of access,occasional street events... As an example, we recently designed a central Chinese village area associating a theater, a sports field and an historical building. This approach can be easily applied to other Chinese villages like one village in Yunnan where we intervened a few years ago. Such a main street revitalization program stimulates the community and commercial forces and may free their latent potentials.

These roles, that of the custodian of nature and of human establishments,are at the core of national sustainability. If the Chinese farmer be given the above responsibilities for his own village, he would become a key actor in his local and regional communities, and duly respected for it.To complete the new role proposed for the village and its villagers, a community project could be elaborated for, and with, every marginal village designated for priority development: a well defined, concrete and feasible project and a project susceptible of creating hopes and dreams amid the inhabitants. Not to forget that such a village project should be oriented towards the creation of employment in areas witnessing a cruel lack of jobs and of revenues.

If the above approach be held, one could call on the International OVOP Movement (One Village, One Project) which is an International Movement of which China is a full member and in which we have been directly involved,first during the International OVOP Seminar in 2005 in Xi'An,and then with a series of Seminars given in Guyuan and Xiji in 2016. This Movement fosters, for every marginal village, the creation of a specific economic activity mainly oriented towards the transformation of agricultural (fishery, handicraft...) products for regional or national export. It also fosters that the new activity be labor-intensive, an objective well-fitted for developing village economics. And such a project, producing locally high visibility, should also create strong local commitment, while stimulating in the villagers a sense of value for the space they use and for the land they till. OVOP has been crowned with continuous success.

There is a major key used to unlock some doors leading to successful village development: it spells acting upon the local development conditions.These are of two types. First, the social and community conditions, out of which the following emerge: training of farmers (technical) and of Leader(managerial); basic services improvement (education, health); village life enhancement (community activities, seasonal events); environmental awareness (value of resources, of production space)... Second, the physical and spatial conditions, as for instance: improvement of infrastructures(roads, community transportation, water distribution, wastes disposal);actualization of production assets (farm equipment, farmstead buildings);enhancement of village attractiveness (landscape, neatness, architectural harmony).

Designing a Chinese Mode for Village Revival Plan

So, we now proposed to elaborate a contextual village portrait, a role for the village in its region, a responsibility for the farmer, the renovation of the village center, a priority project for the community, an OVOP approach, an improvement of the standard and style of the living conditions.This sevenfold task represents quite a heavy workload for a village community. Whose responsibility should it be to achieve this huge program?It now seems evident that this responsibility lies jointly in the hands of the community members and of its revival promoters, as long as a consensual vision develops for such an endeavor. How?

With such diversified regions as those of China, with its thousands of local rural cultures and environments, the question can hardly be formulated.But, it seems that the appropriate tool to set the process of village rejuvenation in motion can be spelled in methodological terms. In other words,the question is not so much to know what to achieve (a model village) as to know how to approach the challenge of achieving it (a process).