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

Transforming the development mode of pastoralism in Tibet needs to happen,
although it will be a very difficult transition. It will be achieved with the strong
<strong>and</strong> effective support of the entire country <strong>and</strong> the hard work of the people in
the pastoral communities.
4 Case Studies of integrated agricultural-pastoral Development
Tibet has a tradition of integrated agricultural <strong>and</strong> pastoral development, but
it was interrupted by particular historical processes. Today people are worried
about not just the problems in the growth cycle of rangel<strong>and</strong> pastoralism, but also
the increasingly marginalized status of rangel<strong>and</strong> pastoralism. City dwellers in
Tibet today can easily buy milk products made in mainl<strong>and</strong> China. The market
is flooded with meat <strong>and</strong> butter from neighbouring provinces. Local tanneries
<strong>and</strong> woollen mills can purchase hides, fur <strong>and</strong> other raw materials cheaply from
external sources. It seems that authentic local livestock products are fading out of
people’s lives. This is a very worrying trend. While we are burying our heads in
the s<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> being proud of ourselves for our self-sufficiency <strong>and</strong> independence,
the tide of the market economy has been washing us ashore. Fortunately, farmers
<strong>and</strong> herdsmen in Tibet have made some inspirational efforts. The following four
cases will hopefully provide us with insights. They look at agricultural-pastoral
exchange, selling fodder for poverty alleviation, selling fodder for income generation
<strong>and</strong> importing fodder for rangel<strong>and</strong> protection.
Case 1: In 2009, local leaders from the poverty alleviation department drew
inspiration from a herdsman in Xiede Town, Shuanghu District, Nagqu, who
separated a piece of cropl<strong>and</strong> for fodder production <strong>and</strong> storage. The poverty
alleviation office provided transportation subsidies to support the “meat for
fodder” exchange programme. Local people negotiated an exchange of more
than 3,500 kg of meat for more than 45,000 kg of oat hay with their counterparts
of Qumei Town, Shigatse City, at prices of 21 Yuan per kg of meat <strong>and</strong>
1.64 Yuan per kg of fodder (Photo 1). As a result, households from Shuanghu
District improved their disaster preparedness <strong>and</strong> the poor households from
Qumei town increased their income from the sale of hay.
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