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

increased inflow of goods with greater market competitiveness, disintegration of
indigenous systems <strong>and</strong> lack of appreciation among the young generation.
However, increasing recognition of the multi-functionalities <strong>and</strong> new values
of the rangel<strong>and</strong> ecosystems has unfolded new opportunities to the pastoral
societies. Conserving the rangel<strong>and</strong>s resources to maintain healthy ecosystem
services, environmental functions in particular has become the priority concerns
<strong>and</strong> strategies of many governments. Rangel<strong>and</strong>s are important for carbon sequestration,
soil <strong>and</strong> water conservancy <strong>and</strong> biodiversity conservation. Extensive
rangel<strong>and</strong>s have been demarcated as protected areas for either biodiversity or
watershed conservation. The remote <strong>and</strong> pristine l<strong>and</strong>scape of rangel<strong>and</strong>s <strong>and</strong>
the seemingly romantic pastoral way of life <strong>and</strong> related culture are becoming
tourism resources that can be managed to generate income sources for pastoral
households <strong>and</strong> revenues for local governments. Implemented in its true sense,
rangel<strong>and</strong>-based ecotourism can well harmonize the objectives of development
<strong>and</strong> conservation. The rangel<strong>and</strong>s are also important in producing niche products
such as organic foods <strong>and</strong> vegetables <strong>and</strong> medicinal plans. This emergence
of new values of the rangel<strong>and</strong>s has resulted in a shift or an expansion of stakeholders
<strong>and</strong> an up-scaling of impacts concerning rangel<strong>and</strong>s management.
To reap the emerging opportunities <strong>and</strong> harmonize development <strong>and</strong> conservation,
major shifts of “mental models” are needed among the managers <strong>and</strong>
decision-makers. In the first place, a shift from “pastoral economy” to “rangel<strong>and</strong>
economy” is needed to tap the multiple uses of rangel<strong>and</strong>s <strong>and</strong> exploit the
opportunities offered by such uses. Secondly, there is also a need of shift from
“conservation” or “protection” of rangel<strong>and</strong>s to “sustainable use” of rangel<strong>and</strong>s
resources. There are many ways in which rangel<strong>and</strong>s can be sustainably used
without compromising the ecological integrity <strong>and</strong> ecosystem services. Many
rangel<strong>and</strong>s l<strong>and</strong>scapes are the product of human activities <strong>and</strong> sustainable use
of such l<strong>and</strong>scapes often help to maintain such l<strong>and</strong>scapes <strong>and</strong> enhance the
resilience of rangel<strong>and</strong> social-ecological systems.
Shifting models of rangel<strong>and</strong> uses means a transformation of the existing
rangel<strong>and</strong> social-ecological systems. The recognition of the new values of
rangel<strong>and</strong> resources means that more stakeholders will be interested <strong>and</strong> should
be involved in rangel<strong>and</strong> management. Adequate interventions are needed to
balance different interests <strong>and</strong> management objectives <strong>and</strong> build the adaptive
capacity of the pastoralists <strong>and</strong> guarantee equal opportunities for all the stakeholders.
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> > > 3. Eco-tourism <strong>and</strong> Nature Protection in Relation to <strong>Pastoralism</strong> <strong>and</strong> Rangel<strong>and</strong> <strong>Management</strong>