Grasslands of the World.pdf - Disasters and Conflicts - UNEP

DANIEL MILLER
The Tibetan Steppe 329
Plate 8.18
Fenced rangeland.
bought or sold. There is no mechanism yet in place for the readjustment of
grazing land to individual families when livestock numbers fluctuate.
In the Tibetan Autonomous Region, however, grassland is not yet allocated
to households, but is being allocated to groups of herders. One explanation for
the difference in the privatization process in Tibet is that the grasslands are not
as productive and the expense involved in fencing individual properties would
be prohibitive. A new development is that summer grazing lands are also being
privatized and fenced, except again in the Tibetan Autonomous Region where
they are being allocated to groups instead of households. To complement the
privatization a ‘Four-Way Programme’ is being implemented and consists of:
• fencing about 20 to 30 ha of productive winter pasture , reserved from grazing
in summer and autumn , to provide grazing during the late winter and/or
spring ;
• construction of shelters for livestock;
• construction of homes for nomads in their winter pasture site; and
• planting small (0.5 to 2 ha) plots of oats for hay in the corrals around winter
settlements (Plate 8.19).
In some areas, additional interventions include:
• fencing about 20 ha of degraded land which is rehabilitated by reseeding ;
and
• fencing of an additional 20 ha which is then improved with fertilizer , chemicals
and improved management .
These activities are being undertaken on a large scale, with substantial
government and donor investment, in almost all pastoral areas of Qinghai,