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

formed the main basis of the total GDP of Tibet (Table 1), while the secondary
<strong>and</strong> tertiary industries were only 12.6 % <strong>and</strong> 13.8 % respectively. This indicated
that Tibet was a typical pastoral-agricultural society then.
Table 1: Composition changes of GDP in the context of the primary, secondary
<strong>and</strong> tertiary sectors for different years in Tibet
Sector
Year
246
Primary sector:
agriculture <strong>and</strong>
livestock-keeping
Secondary
sector: industrial
enterprises
Tertiary sector:
service industries
1959 73.6 % 12.6 % 13.8 %
1984 46.5 % 20.5 % 33.0 %
1997 37.8 % 21.9 % 40.3 %
2003 22.0 % 25.7 % 52.3 %
2008 15.5 % 29.5 % 55.0 %
Source: data adapted from China Statistics Press 2009, 2010
In 1984, the reform of the “Household Contract Responsibility System”
(HCRS) <strong>and</strong> the opening-up policy were extended to the TAR. This resulted
in the individual ownership of livestock by herder households in pastoral areas.
Therefore, 1984 is regarded as a key year in the reform of the Tibetan pastoral
system, as it pushed development of the pastoral areas. However, the composition
of the primary industry in the GDP of the TAR dropped to 46.5 % in
1984, while secondary <strong>and</strong> tertiary industries increased by 62.7 % <strong>and</strong> 139.1 %
respectively. These changes imply that the primary sector started to lose its
prominent position in the TAR’s economy. From 1997 to 2008, the ratio of
the livestock-agricultural sector in the GDP of the TAR was continuously
declining, with the smallest contribution seen in the last 10 years. At the same
time, the services (tertiary sector) jumped to become the largest component of
the GDP in the TAR, including the contribution of tourism income (Figure
4). In this period the secondary industry was also getting stronger <strong>and</strong> taking
the middle place between the other two industries. This pattern implies sound
regional economic development.