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

1 Rangel<strong>and</strong>s as natural Resources
Rangel<strong>and</strong>s as defined by Stodhart et al. (1975) include grassl<strong>and</strong>, open forests
<strong>and</strong> woodl<strong>and</strong>s, savannahs, shrub l<strong>and</strong>s, alpine meadows, wetl<strong>and</strong>s, steppes
<strong>and</strong> deserts <strong>and</strong> account for over 40 % of the l<strong>and</strong> surface of the earth (UNDP
et al., 2000). Vast expanses of rangel<strong>and</strong>s are found in places of the earth where
rainfall (e.g. Eurasia steppe), soil substrate (e.g. savannah in Africa) or thermal
conditions (e.g., alpine meadows) have made it impossible to develop natural
forests or farming crops. Many rangel<strong>and</strong>s belong to non-equilibrial systems the
primary productivity of which show great annual variability <strong>and</strong> is frequently
checked by abiotic factors such as droughts <strong>and</strong> extreme cold weather (Behnke
et al. 1993). On one h<strong>and</strong>, these rangel<strong>and</strong> ecosystems constitute an important
part of the nature in which human beings inhabit. On the other h<strong>and</strong>, rangel<strong>and</strong>s
are also resources on which human societies depend for their basic livelihood
<strong>and</strong> socioeconomic <strong>and</strong> cultural development. Central Asia, Hindu Kush
Himalaya (HKH) <strong>and</strong> Tibet Plateau are among the major rangel<strong>and</strong> areas of
the world. In HKH-Tibet Plateau, over 60 % of the terrestrial ecosystems are
used as rangel<strong>and</strong> resources for extensive grazing by either domestic livestock
or wildlife. The primary use of rangel<strong>and</strong>s is for livestock production with
the management systems varying from nomadic pastoralism through mixed
subsistence farming to commercial ranching. At the global level, there are at
least 20 million households depending entirely on pastoralism for livelihood
(FAO 2001). In HKH region, about 100 million people derive their livelihoods
directly form rangel<strong>and</strong>s sources. How to manage these rangel<strong>and</strong> resources
for better pastoral development has been <strong>and</strong> is still the major concern of the
key stakeholders <strong>and</strong> national policies in many countries. There is also an
increasing recognition that rangel<strong>and</strong>s are multi-functional <strong>and</strong> are providing a
wide range of ecosystem services that are of paramount importance to not only
millions local inhabitants but also billions living much beyond the rangel<strong>and</strong>
areas. Rangel<strong>and</strong>s are attracting an escalating number of tourists <strong>and</strong> in many
places tourism based on rangel<strong>and</strong>s has become an important alternative
income sources for pastoral communities <strong>and</strong> local revenue. Rangel<strong>and</strong>s are
also home to many globally significant eco-regions <strong>and</strong> hotspots of biodiversity
from genetic to l<strong>and</strong>scape levels. Maintaining the status of the rangel<strong>and</strong>s so
as to sustain their capacity to continuously provide multiple ecosystem services
<strong>and</strong> goods has now become a priority concern of international communities.
2 Traditional <strong>Pastoralism</strong>: Rationalities <strong>and</strong> Challenges
<strong>Pastoralism</strong>, the use of extensive grazing on rangel<strong>and</strong>s for livestock production,
is one of the key production systems in the world’s arid l<strong>and</strong>s <strong>and</strong> temperate
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