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

Photo 2: Trading of collected Cordyceps in front of Lhasa Mosque
(photograph © Hermann Kreutzmann, October 27, 2010)
However, this amount should be interpreted with caution. The collection <strong>and</strong>
sale of caterpillar fungus mostly relies on private collectors, usually controlled
by farmers <strong>and</strong> pastoralists, as well as local <strong>and</strong> outside traders (Photo 2).
Most of the transactions consist of small quantities. Therefore, there are no
accurate statistics available on the volume of collection <strong>and</strong> sales. Household
surveys have only revealed <strong>and</strong> supported rough estimates. Nevertheless, the
rough estimates reflect the economic impact on farmers <strong>and</strong> herdsmen to a
certain degree. According to investigations by Luorong Zh<strong>and</strong>ui et al. (2006)
there are more than 750,000 farmers <strong>and</strong> herdsmen in the Tibet Autonomous
Region, whose main source of income is dependent upon the collection of the
caterpillar fungus, including 200,000 from Nagqu; 450,000 from Qamdo
<strong>and</strong> 100,000 from other areas of prevalence. With appropriate caution, it can
be said that Cordyceps sinensis has become an important source of income for
farmers <strong>and</strong> pastoralists on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Recently, our research
group conducted a series of r<strong>and</strong>omized household surveys. In Garang Village
of Bahe Town of Gongbo’gyamda County, Nyingchi Prefecture, there are 14
households. The village is located along the No. 318 State Expressway. In 2010,
nine households had revenue of over 30,000 Yuan from Cordyceps sinensis; four
households above 20,000 Yuan <strong>and</strong> one household above 10,000 Yuan. However,
only four households had an average annual income from agricultural
production of 5,000 Yuan, <strong>and</strong> the other ten had less than 4,000 Yuan annually.
170