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

During the second half of June the larger bulk of the animals – yaks, sheep, <strong>and</strong>
goats – are driven out of the valleys to the slopes of the river tributaries, where
grazing takes place until the first half of September. Natural pastures being
used as the only available source of food for animals has forced people to resort
to private <strong>and</strong> long-distance pastoralism (Photo 1). Observations showed that
in the course of a year the location of temporary stopping stations <strong>and</strong> grazing
grounds changed no less than ten times. Distances of 5–10 km <strong>and</strong> even up to
50 km were travelled. Preparation is necessary for such movement <strong>and</strong> involves
setting up yurts <strong>and</strong> other activities. The duration of time spent grazing in each
location is determined taking into consideration the productivity of the specific
pastures. A loss of live weight due to maintaining the animals exclusively on the
grasses of the foothills has been observed among all species of animals, but the
magnitude of this loss depends on the degree of the adaptation of the animals
to the over-exploitation of the winter pastures.
Photo 2: Yaks grazing on the shore of Lake Karakul, Murghab District,
Gorno-Badakhshan with Pik Lenin Range in the background
(photograph © Hermann Kreutzmann March 31, 2003)
2.1 Factors contributing to the effective management of pastures
�� The mobility of domestic animals in the Eastern Pamirs, especially
in Jawshangoz <strong>and</strong> Kuytezak is as high as previously, with the small
exception of pasture animals in Jawshangoz moving to remote summer
pastures every year.
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