TRADITIONAL CORMORANT FISHING IN YUNNAN CHINA - CAN IT SURVIVE

This unit stands alone. It is provided to assist teachers with a unit that has a proven student interest level. It can support UK Curriculum Key Geography stage 3 locational and place knowledge or Australian Curriculum Year 10 Place and inland water study. It can also add to the study of sustainability/impact of change affecting traditional lifestyle. As a traditional lifestyle/culture cormorant fishing has be mainly an activity carried out by family groups. The training and and ownership of cormorants have been handed down through generations. In more recent times younger generations have, at times, been enticed away from this activity. Other larger fishing operations using different methods have intruded. This unit takes students on to Lake Erhai, Dali in South-west China to witness this traditional lifestyle and to find possible answers. Flexibility of approach is possible as you project and discuss the visit by photographic evidence and text material. Realising that you may not be able to provide hard copies of the descriptive pages it is suggested that you project the colour pages on screen and use these as a resources to promote class discussion. The final question/summary page is provided as an attachment page in colour and in black and white. Join the excursion on to the lake but don't stand up in the boat.