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

Farmers <strong>and</strong> herdsmen generally agree that the output is very much related
to the climatic conditions of the previous year. As long as there is plenty of
precipitation <strong>and</strong> thick snow cover in one year, a big harvest is bound to happen
in the next year. There has also been an increasing coverage of Cordyceps sinensis
in recent years. Many of the mountain areas where no Cordyceps sinensis was
found earlier seem to produce now. This could be caused by rising temperatures
<strong>and</strong> abridged precipitations patterns.
4 <strong>Management</strong> of Cordyceps sinensis Resources
In 2006 the People’s Government of the Tibet Autonomous Region promulgated
Governor’s Decree No. 70 <strong>and</strong> issued the “Interim Measures for the Collection
<strong>and</strong> <strong>Management</strong> of Cordyceps sinensis Resources in Tibet Autonomous
Region”. The Department of Agriculture <strong>and</strong> <strong>Pastoralism</strong> of the Tibet Autonomous
Region was made responsible for managing the region’s Cordyceps sinensis
resources. The TAR government in 2009 adopted the “Interim Measures for
Exchange <strong>and</strong> Trade of Cordyceps sinensis Resources in Tibet Autonomous
Region” (Government Order 90 of the TAR). The Department of Agriculture
<strong>and</strong> <strong>Pastoralism</strong> has been authorized to issue licenses for collecting <strong>and</strong> trading
Cordyceps sinensis <strong>and</strong> to set up regulations for resource management. The local
government has also strengthened the management of resources by developing
appropriate policies. It sets a st<strong>and</strong>ard fee for resource management <strong>and</strong> issues
collection permits. During the peak season of excavation, it sends officers to the
excavation points to regulate the number of collectors <strong>and</strong> make sure that no
people from outside the county or without a permit enter the sites. Currently, the
government is implementing the “zero distance” management model, in which
there should be service teams or working groups from the government present
wherever people are engaged in collection. These measures have provided the
necessary institutional guarantees for the collection of . In 2008, when we were
doing some field research in Qamdo, we found working groups in each of the
collection points that had been deputised by the prefecture, county or township
government. The focus of their work was to examine the collection permits,
maintain order <strong>and</strong> make sure that no unauthorised individ uals from outside
the county or without a permit entered the collection sites.
5 Problems in Resource Development
While the development of Cordyceps sinensis resources has brought economic
benefits to the people, it has also created many social <strong>and</strong> environmental problems.
The problems are mainly as follows:
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