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

5 Key Challenges <strong>and</strong> Issues needing special Attention
5.1 Balancing multiple management objectives <strong>and</strong> multi-stakeholders’
interests
Recognizing the multi-functional nature of the rangel<strong>and</strong>s denotes that there
are multiple manage ment objectives <strong>and</strong> different stakeholders whose needs <strong>and</strong>
interests need to be harmonized for sustainable use of the rangel<strong>and</strong> resources.
Not only more stakeholders are involved, the geographic or social scale of the
issue is also exp<strong>and</strong>ing. For example, when the rangel<strong>and</strong>s are mainly seen as
a fodder source for pastoral development, the importance of the rangel<strong>and</strong>s
is more or less limited to local scale <strong>and</strong> the stakeholders are more confined
to local communities. However, when the rangel<strong>and</strong>s are seen as a potential
sink for carbon sequestration, the scale of the issues suddenly exp<strong>and</strong>s <strong>and</strong> its
importance attains global nature (Table 6). This expansion of the stakeholders
<strong>and</strong> the scale of the issue brings about both opportunities <strong>and</strong> challenges to
the management of the resources. For example, less l<strong>and</strong> is now available for
grazing due to conversion of rangel<strong>and</strong>s into protected areas has precipitated
an increase in the number of park-people, human-wildlife <strong>and</strong> other conflicts.
Table 6: <strong>Management</strong> objectives, stakeholders <strong>and</strong> scale of impacts
Values/Functions Stakeholders <strong>Management</strong>
Objectives
1. Fodder
Resources
2. Traditional
medicines/
niche products
Pastoralists
Government
(department of
livestock
production)
Livestock product
Consumers
Local collectors
Local producers
Traders
Governments
Consumers
3. Religious sites Believers
Cultural
departments
Maximum
sustainable
yield of quality
livestock
products
Enhance <strong>and</strong>
maintain
the capacity of
the rangel<strong>and</strong>s
in providing
medicinal plants
<strong>and</strong>
niche products
Maintain the
sacredness
of the rangel<strong>and</strong>s
Scale of Impacts
Local/national
Local/national
Local/national/
regional/global
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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>