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

<strong>and</strong> from additional fodder crops. Storage of harvested hay <strong>and</strong> grass may augment
the fodder capacity. Access to the pastures involves shorter migrations.
Mountain oases where combined mountain agriculture is practised occupy a
rather limited space in Tibet <strong>and</strong> are mainly to be found in the western Tibetan
river valleys of the Yarlong-Tsangpo valley <strong>and</strong> its tributaries (up to 4400 m), the
Qaidam Basin in the north <strong>and</strong> in the eastern lower valleys (down to 3300 m).
Classical crops comprise barley, wheat, peas, rapeseed <strong>and</strong> potatoes. Less than
one percent of the Tibetan steppe is cultivated. 34 Consequently, in contrast to
other mountain regions of High Asia 35 combined mountain agriculture plays
a secondary role in the utilisation of natural grazing on the Tibetan Plateau.
The overall majority is utilised in different ways <strong>and</strong> spatially quite distinct.
Hypsometry or orography as well as temperature variation between croprelated
vegetation periods <strong>and</strong> residual surviving pastures have kept contested
commons between farmers <strong>and</strong> pastoralists significantly apart. 36
5000
(m)
4000
3000
Combined mountain agriculture
J F M A M J J A S O N D
Figure 2: Combined mountain agriculture
high-lying natural pastures
low-lying pastures <strong>and</strong> fodder cultivation
permanent settlement zone of herd owners
including crop l<strong>and</strong>
prefecture headquarter
seasonal movement of animal flocks
movements over short distances
marketing of livestock <strong>and</strong> purchase of goods
tent settlement <strong>and</strong> / or makeshift hut
solid house
summer settlements including cultivated l<strong>and</strong>
sometimes just intermediary stages for herd migration
cattle shed
township built within resettlement programme
agro-pastoral settlement
Nomadism – the classical predominant utilisation strategy – incorporates the advantage
of greater mobility covering huge distances <strong>and</strong> driving the herds to the
upper limits of survival. At least over long periods of time, nomadic groups were
able to exploit natural resources at dispersed locations. Great distances in the order
of several hundreds of kilometres separated economically valuable mountain
34 Sheehy, Miller & Johnson 2006: 143.
35 In the Hindukush, Karakoram, Pamir <strong>and</strong> certain parts of southern elevations of the
Himalaya combined mountain agriculture plays a much more significant role, cf.
Kreutzmann 2005, 2009.
36 Miller (2008: 3): “Tibetan nomadic pastoralism flourished because there was little
encroachment into the nomadic areas by farmers trying to plow up the rangel<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong>
plant crops. In addition, the livestock production practices developed by nomads were
a successful evolutionary adaptation to life in one of the most inhospitable places on
earth.” Cf. Sheehy, Miller & Johnson (2006: 147).
205
> > > 5. Pastoral Practices <strong>and</strong> their Transformations