Pastoralism and Rangeland Management on the Tibetan Plateau in ...

5 <strong>Pastoralism</strong>-based Niche Products <strong>and</strong> Services
The Himalayan <strong>and</strong> Tibetan pasturel<strong>and</strong>s are rich repositories of bio-diverse
resources <strong>and</strong> contain many niche products of high market values. A range of
mountain high value products <strong>and</strong> services (HVPS), such as medicinal <strong>and</strong>
aromatic plants (MAPs), different types of wild mushrooms, nuts, berries,
indigenous honey-bees, eco-tourism, <strong>and</strong> ecological services are attracting the
attention of range managers as well as development planners due to their high
economic values <strong>and</strong> often low volumes, examples include different types of
mushrooms including Ophiocordyceps sinensis <strong>and</strong> morels (Photo 1).
Photo 1: Morel (Morchella conica) as a valuable food crop
(photograph © Bhattarai 2006)
Pastoral productions include both animal <strong>and</strong> plant-based products. Animal
products include cattle hides <strong>and</strong> pelts, <strong>and</strong> yak’s tail – locally called chamar
is considered sacred <strong>and</strong> highly traded for use in Tibetan monasteries <strong>and</strong>
Hindu temples during worships. Other animal products include meat <strong>and</strong> meat
products, <strong>and</strong> dairy products. Dairy products include curd (fermented milk),
butter (obtained from diluted churned or stirred-up curd), different types <strong>and</strong>
grades of raw cheese prepared from yak-milk based curd, <strong>and</strong> chhurpi <strong>and</strong> other
milk products. Carpets <strong>and</strong> rugs weaved from sheep wool are the major raw
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