RANGELANDS 24(1)

Sixth In A Series The Importance Of China's Nomads

The sustainable future development of China's rangelands depends on integrating nomads' indigenous knowledge.

By Daniel Miller The author is a rangeland ecologist, based in Washington, DC, and consults on pastoral development projects in China and Mongolia. His

email is: wildyakman@hotrnail.com

Editor's Note: The International ture, ecology, and personal actions. livestock management practices in an Affairs Committee sponsored a sympo- Over centuries, nomads acquired com- environment that posed considerable sium entitled "Rangeland Professionals plex indigenous knowledge of their risks. Indigenous knowledge systems and Society: Future Directions ' at the rangeland environment and the domestic are also dynamic as new information is 2001 annual SRM meeting in Kona, animals they herded. constantly being added. Hawaii. From thosepresentations, a se- The future of China's rangelands is of ries of articles has been published in Rangelands highlighting perspectives on rangelands ji-om around the world. The following four articles profiling rangelands in China, Aji-ica, Australia and Canada are the last in the series. The editors and authors wish to thank Dow AgroSciences of Indianapolis, Indiana, for a grant made in support of the symposium.

Rangelands cover 40% (400 million ha) of China's land area making China second only to Australia in the extent of its rangeland resources. About 75% of China's rangelands are found in the semi-arid pastoral areas in the north and west, with the Tibetan pastoral area, comprising 140 million ha, the largest.

china has some 260 pastoral counties, which accommodate about 39 million people, including some of the poorest people in China. Many of them are no- madic pastoralists who are very suscep- tible to changes in the health and pro- ductivity of the rangelands from which they obtain their livelihood.

China's rangelands have been used for livestock grazing for thousands of years. Yaks are believed to have been domesti- cated on the Tibetan Plateau about 4,500 years ago, and the construction of the Great Wall, which was built to con- trol nomadic societies, was initiated 2,000 years ago. History among no- madic pastoralists in China is the result of multifaceted interactions among cul-

increasing concern. The rangelands of China are the headwaters for many of Asia's major rivers, and what takes place in these grazing lands has implica- tions for millions of people downstream. A number of China's rangeland ecosys- tems are also recognized as global prior- ity areas for conservation of biodiversi- ty, as they contain highly distinctive species, ecological processes, and evolu- tionary phenomena. Despite their extent and importance, China's rangelands are degrading seriously, and the country's range managers face many challenges.

As a first step, the sustainable future development of China's rangelands must recognize the significance of no- mads' indigenous knowledge of the en- vironment and management of range-

Nomads Are Skilled Range Managers

Nomads raise native livestock that are adapted to local environmental and pro- duction constraints. For example, Tibetan nomads raise the yak, which is superbly adapted to the high altitude and the cold environment of the Tibetan Plateau. Native Tibetan sheep and cash- mere-producing goats are also important species of livestock.

Tibetan nomads usually raise a mix of livestock species each of which has its own specific characteristics and adapta- tions to the environment. The multi- species grazing system combines yaks, sheep, goats and horses together and

land resources. *

Indigenous knowledge is the unique, traditional, local knowledge that people have of a particular geographic area. The development of indigenous knowl- edge systems (which covers many as- pects of life, including rangeland man- agement and animal husbandry) has been a matter of survival for nomadic pastoralists throughout China, including those on the Tibetan Plateau.

Indigenous knowledge systems of no- mads are cumulative, representing gen- erations of experience herding livestock, careful observations, and trial-and-error experiments. This knowledge enabled Tibetan nomads selling ya f milk. nomads on the Tibetan Plateau, for ex- photo by -el& Miller ample, to develop sophisticated range-

February 2002

I , are 'bprofessional" range managers, de-

China9@ Rangelands Are Being I ~ ~ O P P A Traditional livestock production and

Yak caravan at 4,8dEOm, Tibet, China Photo by Daniel J. Miller

maximizes the use of rangeland vegeta- tion. Different animals also have varied uses and provide diversified products for home consumption or sale. Large num- bers of male yaks are often kept as pack animals, and male yaks and sheep/goats are used to provide animals for sale and for nomads own consumption.

Livestock mobility and flexible use of rangeland were strategic elements of tra- ditional Tibetan pastoralism and the keys to survival. Rangelands are parceled into seasonal pastures and used according to diverse managerial and pfoduction objectives. The traditional nomadic pastoral systems that evolved used extensive grazing management strategies adapted to local environmen- tal conditions. Tibetan nomads, like no- mads elsewhere in China, did not move randomly across the rangeland; rather their movements were often well pre- scribed by complex social organizations

nomadic pastoralism (which emphasized multi-species herds, complex herd struc- tures, regular movement of livestock, and linkages with agricultural communi- ties) developed as a rational response to the unpredictability of the ecosystem. The survival of numerous prosperous groups of Tibetan nomads bears witness to their extraordinary indigenous knowl- edge, resource~lness, and animal hus- bandry skills.

Tibetan nomadic pastoralism evolved through long-term adaptation and persis- tence in a harsh environment and the grazing and livestock management sys- tem that devdopd were intelligent* ag- gregate ~ ~ w i ~ 1 respm: by Tibetan nomads to the resources and risks of one of the most inho~pitable rangeland envi- ronments on earth. Because they are skilled, experienced, proficient, expert, able, adept, and masterfid, Tibetm no-

grazing mamigemeat. strategies through- out much of the pastoral meas of China have been geatly altared in the recent decades as the nomadic pastoral way of life has been 'ttrmsfmeed to one more oriented towad a! market economy.

The goal of livestock production in most pastoral areas is now to increase livestock off-take, which has been pro- moted through privatization of herds and rangeland, less migration by the no- mads, intensive grazing management strategies, and introduction of rain-fed farming techniques for growing forage and fodder. Large areas of rangeland have also been convetted to eropland, which is one of the primary causes of rangeland degradation.

Many of these interventions have been responses to political or ewomic objec- tives but, in many instances, they have cofiflicbd with the goal of maintaining rangeland ecosystem health and stability. The promotion of innproved and scientif- ic animal husbandry systems has also jeoipmdized m y worthy aspects of tra- ditional nomdic pastoral systems. Both the rangeland environment and the in- digenous nomadic pastoral cultures are mder threat in areas where the culture of mobile pastoralism has been eliminated or substantially reduced.

and were highly regulated. Environmental risks on the rangelands =

were mitigated through livestock and grazing management strategies. Livestock mobilitv. flexible use of - - - - - - - - - - - - .I 7

rangelands, and- diverse herds were key elements of traditional pastma1 produc- tion systems and contributed to the high ecological stability of the pastoral sp- tems. Nomads maintained a diverse mix of goals for livestock production and survival; they kept a diverse mix oflive- stock in terns of species and class; and they used a diverse mosaic of rangeland sites, exploiting seasonal and annual variability in rangeland resources.

The flexibility of traditional Tibetan Tibetan pastoral woman at Siehuan Frov., China Photo by Danniel J . Miller

RANGELANDS 24(1)

madic pasbra1 system in China need to be made before completely discarding them. The issw is ~ a m p u n M by tlw limit-

& ~IIW~CWGB k&S to rmgelmd BWw- e9 m w d h C h . bsemhw have generally negle-d such topics as the effects oftnditional p t s a l oy-8 on rangeland ecology, the d p d m ofhmd growth and traditional 3i& m m ~ ~ t &2tkgies among nomds, ad_ the h- p u t of large numbers of f m e n i n t ~ pastoral. areas to convert rangeland to cropland.

.O&et pbIems helnde a general lack of applied, interdisciplinary ecosystem- level research, which would provide a better basis for developing more inte- grated and sustainable rangeland and pastoral development programs. A dis- proportionate amount of rangeland re- search is directed towards livestock pro- ductian rather than understanding how livestock fit into the wider ecological system and how to optimize production in an m ~ m t n ~ l l y a d socially sw- taiaab1e way.

Nomads have played an impomt role in the mgelamh of China for thousands of years. As such, the social dimension af rangelaad eccqstvms should be an im]pcrWt sspect of r e s q h and devel- opment in tee pastad *am but, d o r - tunately, it is m k li%uq, little Mama- tion is available akjnt ,aqna.Be pastoral- ism snd m i ~ c ~ ~ o y &amd with re- g& to naads ,@ their way of life. In

ma1 divisiow be- lines and the in-

telho~ual wsmption that views human kin@ as sephte h m th@ir Vit.0-t have impeded ;the

in mgel$tkd ieavko-. ratiodity rstctices to b better md no-

mads' indigenous knowledge has to be incorporated inta research and develop- ment programs. Paying attention: to no- mads' indigenous laaowl~€ge can create more respect for traditional pastoral sys- tems and fosbr partnerships for resolv- ing issues. Better a~knowledgement of nomads' knowledge systems can help build a more sustainable future for the rangelands of China.

Tibetan nomad women, Tibet, China 5,000 m. Photo by Daniel J . Millel

Large tracts of China's rangelands are now degraded. It's estimated that about 34% of all rangelands in China are mod- erately to severely degraded and about 90% are degraded to some degree. Inner Mongolia, Xinjimg and Gansu are ex- periencing degradation levels well above the national average.

Current livestock production systems in many of the pastoral areas of China now appear to be unsustainable and the development of intensive livestock pro- duction systems as a means to increase production of livestock products and al- leviate poverty in pastoral areas will place additional pressure on rangeland ecosystems.

In China, many attitudes towards rangeland ecosystems appear to be in- fluenced by the notion that sedentary

-1- ~ ~ b d @- cultm~.) ir tbc sqmicw dme1;opment op tiion, lt@m@h& am *d €a syste:m to be rma?roIld d m a & mwh like .cww ratha. tlrm to b rnwd 438

4?C@S*rns. 'Z"bit3 vim is mfleet-

derehsspmat I3ewl-t is fa- used on ~ g ~ n r n i c a d p d ~ ~ t i c t f i -- pa%~ instead of acola@ad swtdmbi'tity. 'IIimz b b W b W X q - of &e ~ ~ ~ u f & e ~ l a n d s i n C ~ are of or f b t tis: s i b - h n is fm ~ o ~ ~ i ~ tEzWdWmm&c IxxsolEPS.

PJew Thlnhing And Reeearch N d M

The;xe is. a swdarly fz.muw-minded view of the validity o f Witional ao- madic pastoral production p-ies. l l m ~pqmsefisl movement a# amad2 her& k aften viewed as wm&&g and an m- mund type? of um af t]ae rn@lan& ia- stead of sn efficient utilization of fix- age. Nomeds thiemse1ves are often pu- ceived as ~~~d and i g n ~ m t .

Thew v i w ~ a not supported by re- s k c h fin&@ wbi& suggest that no- ma& pw8ws o;ons3der@bh indigenous hwladge sad that many of the tradi- tional nomdic pa~ttaPaE Wategies and praclices are rational and ecologically -ad. wcmomically sam4 gim the envl- romental and socio-ecoaomic con- straints under which nomads operate. These findings suggest that fiesh, objec- tive assessments of nomads and no-

a- . -.

Tibetan nomad family. Photo by Daniel J . Miller