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

decrease of 19 billion metric tons of carbon storage capacity. Between 1850 <strong>and</strong>
1980, the earth has lost about 10 billion metric tons of carbon storage capacity
due to rangel<strong>and</strong> conversion. In China, 19.3 million ha of rangel<strong>and</strong>s have been
reclaimed for agriculture between 1949 <strong>and</strong> 1999, causing a loss of 30 %–50 %
of soil carbon.
From ecosystem management point of view, it is important to know that
rangel<strong>and</strong>s can easily shift from being a carbon sink to a source depending on
the health status of the rangel<strong>and</strong>s. It is therefore extremely necessary to underst<strong>and</strong>
the threshold or the tipping point at which a regime shift of rangel<strong>and</strong>
ecosystem could occur. <strong>Management</strong> activities should aim at maintaining or
enhancing the carbon storage capacity of the rangel<strong>and</strong>s. Some researchers believed
that restoring the rangel<strong>and</strong>s could increase carbon storage by 3.16–6.60
billion metric tons in China. Meanwhile the huge potential of improving
rangel<strong>and</strong> management for carbon storage also means great opportunities for
pastoral communities to benefit from carbon trading initiatives.
3.4 Rangel<strong>and</strong>s as important recreational venues
With the acceleration of urbanization, the increase of the middle class in cities
<strong>and</strong> improving accessibility, rangel<strong>and</strong>s have become one of the most attractive
venues of recreation for people who wish to go back to the simplicity of nature.
People come to the rangel<strong>and</strong> area to enjoy its rich flora <strong>and</strong> fauna, unique,
idyllic <strong>and</strong> ever-changing l<strong>and</strong>scapes, diverse ethnic cultures <strong>and</strong> extreme hospitality
of pastoralists or to experience the harshness, remoteness <strong>and</strong> wildness
of nature. Corresponding to the migration of labourers from pastoral areas to
the cities for off-farm employment, there is an equally impressive influx of city
people into the rangel<strong>and</strong>s each year for recreation, learning or simply retreating
from bustling city life.
This increasing enthusiasm of tourism in the rangel<strong>and</strong> areas has created new
income-generating opportunities for pastoral communities. Governments of
various levels have been trying to capture such opportunities to transform local
economy. In China, Tibet AR, Qinghai, Xinjiang AR, Inner Mongolia AR
<strong>and</strong> West Sichuan have all made rangel<strong>and</strong>-based tourism development as their
major economic pillars for priority investment. In many places, the share of
tourism incomes has been increasing constantly in the household economy <strong>and</strong>
local revenue. This increase in tourism incomes is causing a major shift in local
economic structure <strong>and</strong> a redistribution of rural labourers.
Upper Melang <strong>and</strong> Legbamchongmai are two ‘natural’ villages in Northwest
Yunnan Province. As is presented in Figure 2, tourism reception in these two vil-
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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>