Enhancing the resilience of coupled human and natural systems of alpine rangelands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (original) (raw)
Environmental Research Letters, 2018
Ecological restoration has increased in prominence since the last century as an active way to reverse ecosystem deterioration derived from human interventions. The goal of this study was to assess the impact of restoration approaches on ecological and economic conditions of typical regions in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Data were collected using structured questionnaires delivered to 195 herders living in areas with average elevation above 3773 m. Land use maps, MODIS images, and government statistics were also used for the study. It was found that local herders have adopted five major approaches, i.e. enclosure, grazing prohibition, enclosure+deratization, enclosure+deratiza-tion+grass seeding, and enclosure+deratization+crop-forage cultivation+warm sheds, to ensure success of the restoration programs initiated by the government. The results show that vegetation coverage, especially for high and very high coverage grasslands, increased across the study sites and across approaches used, with a high grassland recovery rate observed in the areas where either grazing is prohibited or grassland management was dominated by integration approaches. Furthermore, households who employed integrated approaches tended to have more animals to rear, higher capability of resisting risks, and higher income than those who did not. These findings imply that balanced ecological and economic development is possible when appropriate management approaches are adopted. However, evaluation and monitoring of grassland conditions are needed to readjust restoration policy and associated approaches in a timely manner.
Human use and conservation planning in Alpine areas of Northwestern Yunnan, China
Environment, Development and Sustainability, 2007
Alpine areas in northwestern Yunnan, China possess globally significant levels of biodiversity and are important locally for livelihood activities such as livestock grazing and medicinal plant collection. Because local land use has important impacts on alpine conditions and communities have significant capacity to manage alpine resources, we emphasized local collaboration during the initial stages of conservation planning. Our collaboration with local communities investigated how livelihood strategies affect the condition of alpine resources in northwestern Yunnan and how future conservation efforts can be compatible with local livelihoods. We sampled three livestock herding sites, each within a different alpine sub-region, using open-ended interviews and maximum variation sampling. According to interviewees, livestock grazing within the alpine zone currently does not appear to be negatively impacting the availability of forage. Medicinal plant collection, however, is showing unsustainable trends. Tourism is as yet a nascent industry, but is seen as having great potential by those interviewed. It is clear that with increases in population, access to regional markets, and tourism, northwestern Yunnan's rich alpine resources will require careful management. In addition to the data collected, we found that the methodology used may be widely applicable to organizations with limited resources that wish to engage local communities during the formative stages of regional-level conservation planning.
Applied Sciences, 2020
Alpine grasslands are a common feature on the extensive (2.6 million km 2) Qinghai-Tibet plateau in western and southwestern China. These grasslands are characterized by their ability to thrive at high altitudes and in areas with short growing seasons and low humidity. Alpine steppe and alpine meadow are the principal plant Formations supporting a rich species mix of grass and forb species, many of them endemic. Alpine grasslands are the mainstay of pastoralism where yaks and hardy Tibetan sheep and Bactrian camels are the favored livestock in the cold arid region. It is not only their importance to local semi nomadic herders, but their role as headwaters of nine major rivers that provide water to more than one billion people in China and in neighboring countries in south and southeast Asia and beyond. Grasslands in this region were heavily utilized in recent decades and are facing accelerated land degradation. Government and herder responses, although quite different, are being implemented as climate change and the transition to the market economy proceeds apace. Problems and prospects for alpine grasslands and the management regimes being imposed (including sedentarization, resettlement and global warming are briefly discussed.
Landscape Conservation Approach for Bio-Socio Resilience in the Kangchenjunga Complex
Mountain biodiversity conservation is now a global agenda. The efforts for mountain biodiversity conservation have gain impetus in the recent decade. It was realized that the most important repositories of biodiversity are the mountains and the Himalayas. The traditional knowledge and practices towards sustainable biodiversity management are still prevalent and realized as an effective measure. However, these mountains are the most vulnerable in terms of socio-economic conditions of the people living there. Many models of conservation evolved considering species to protected area management, the social component, the major driving force in conservation, has always been ignored. Chapter 13 of Agenda 21 -"Managing Fragile Ecosystems: Sustainable Mountain Development" was a great step forward towards realizing the significance of the world's mountains. Now, it is realized that the protected areas alone cannot meet the demands of conservation and a holistic approach considering landscape/ecosystem, in which human beings are part, is the need for effective biodiversity conservation and management. It can be achieved only by involving local people in conservation mainstream and ensuring that they benefit to make 'conservation' truly sustainable. It is the time to think conservation beyond the boundaries to strengthen transboundary biodiversity management processes and socio-economic development of people living in the vulnerable condition along the border areas of the cooperating countries. Our paper highlights the ICIMOD's initiative on a regional collaboration for developing linkages between biodiversity conservation and sustainable development with a landscape approach in the southern half of Kangchenjunga landscape of the HKH region.
Environmental conservation has developed significantly in China over the past 20 years, including more collaborative approaches and recent advances in establishing a national parks system. This study reviews the development of protected areas in the headwaters of the Yangtze River, drawing lessons from experiences of community development and co-management approaches. Community engagement and participation in developing localized plans for natural resource utilization and conservation have been critical features of successful ventures. Government programs and policies, the emergence of grassroots civil society, and the development of herders' cooperatives and protected areas, are all tracked, each pointing towards the significant value of inclusive biodiversity conservation approaches for meeting broadly agreed development agendas, such as achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Observations from the vast, high, arid, and semi-arid lands of the Tibetan Plateau are then considered in light of China's Belt and Road Initiative, which is bringing vast financial and technical resources to the world. Special attention is given to applying the lessons that have been learned in China to the mountains of Central Asia, globally recognized as a biodiversity hotspot and a water tower for large downstream populations. Keeping local people at the heart of conservation is deemed fundamentally important.
Mountain Biodiversity Conservation and Management
Mountains occupy 24% of the global land surface area and are home to 12% of the world's population. They have ecological, aesthetic, and socioeconomic significance, not only for people living in mountain areas, but for those living beyond. Mountains need specific attention for their contribution to global goods and services, especially by developing and implementing mountain specific policies. Conservation policies have evolved from the protection of charismatic species, to habitat and ecosystem/landscape conservation, and, finally, to people-oriented conservation approaches. This paper, with particular reference to paradigm shifts in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) region, discusses the evolution of conservation policies, developments in conservation practices, the status of protected area management, wetland conservation initiatives and the landscape approach, community-based conservation initiatives, and the convergence of policies and practices. In the HKH region, conservation efforts now adopt participatory approaches, implement policies of decentralised governance for biodiversity management, and empower local communities in biodiversity management. The paradigm shift in the policies and practices related to conservation has been gradual and has included the acceptance of communities as an integral part of national level conservation initiatives, together with the integration of many global conventions. There are many successful pilots in the HKH region that deserve upscaling by the countries from the region. Realising the importance of mountains as hotspots of biodiversity, and due to their role as providers of global goods and services, the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted the Programme of Work on Mountain Biodiversity. Such a decision specific to mountains provides enormous opportunities for both conservation and development. Recent challenges posed by climate change need to be integrated into overall biodiversity conservation and management agendas, especially in mountain areas. The HKH region has been identified as a blank spot for data by the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change, indicating the need to develop regional database and sharing mechanisms. This is a tall task, but one that holds enormous opportunity for the HKH countries and institutions with regional mandates to address the emerging challenges of climate change on biodiversity conservation by reducing scientific uncertainty.
Involvement of Local Communities in Restoration of Ecosystem Services in Mongolian Rangeland
2010
Mongolia is faced with desertification caused by overgrazing, wind and water erosion of soil in rangelands and abandoned fields, overexploitation of forest resources, and mining, and the effects seemed to be accelerated by climate changes. The need to restore ecosystem services is especially important in the rangelands of Mongolia, which are highly vulnerable to climate change and are greatly affected by overgrazing because of weakened formal and traditional regulatory institutions and changing socioeconomic systems. We reviewed traditional rangeland management practices and changes that have occurred during the last century in Mongolia, as well as the current status of rangeland use there, and we found that well strengthened local herder groups were able to successfully manage rangelands in cooperation with local and central government regulators.
Advances in Global Change Research, 2011
Resource-dependent communities are likely to be disproportionately affected by climate change. Yet, natural resource management policies continue to be developed and implemented without considering climate change adaptation. We highlight that this lack of coordination is potentially harmful to natural resources and resource-dependent communities with an example from the Tibetan Plateau, a region where climate is changing rapidly. Tibetan pastoralists inhabit rangelands that are the focus of recent development and management policies that promote fencing, sedentarization, individual rangeland use rights, and the elimination of grazing in some areas. These policies may have a negative effect on herders' ability to adapt to climate change. China's National Climate Change Programme lists controlling or eliminating grazing in some areas as key for adaptation to climate change, but experimental results indicate that grazing may buffer the rangelands from the negative effects of warming. These findings indicate that policies that support the well-developed strategies of resource-dependent communities for living in uncertain and variable environments can also enhance adaptation of these social and ecological systems to climate change. We conclude that management and environmental protection policies developed separately from climate change policy face increased failure potential and may decrease the ability of natural resources and the communities that depend upon them to successfully adapt to climate change.
Pastoralism and Rangeland Management in Mountain Areas in the Context of Climate and Global Change
The Regional Workshop on Pastoralism and Rangeland Management in Mountain Areas in the context of Climate and Global Change is part of a series of conferences that were held within InWEnt’s1 mountain development programme. In addition to international conferences the regional workshops address a specific topic and – as in this case – issues of trans-boundary relevance. Pastoralism and rangeland management does not stop at borders. Consequently, developments across boundaries are part of the debate among professional colleagues when nature protection, eco-tourism, climate and global change and cooperation among neighbours are concerned. For the second time after the Gilgit-Kashgar Conference in 2008 neighbouring provinces provided the venue for a regional workshop. Gorno-Badakhshan (GBAO) represents the prime pastoral region within the Eastern Pamirs of Tajikistan. The capital of GBAO Khorog was selected as the venue for the workshop as the focal point for political decisionmaking, biological and animal husbandry-related research as well as governmental and non-governmental development activities within the Pamirs of Tajikistan. Across the border to Xinjiang Uigur Autonomous Region within the Peoples Republic of China the Kashgar Prefecture provides access to the high pastures of the Western Kun Lun Shan and Pamirs. Kashgar hosted the second part of the conference where colleagues from China and Tajikistan met with international experts and professionals from neighbouring countries within the framework of InWEnt’s mountain programme. The challenges of climate and global change prominently featured in the conference deliberations. Transitions and transformations in the world of pastoralists were attributed to these strong impacts as well to the variegating social and political structures in respective countries. During the fieldtrip from Khorog across the Pamirs and Kulma Pass to the Kizil Su Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture and Kashgar City all participants could experience the different experiences and policies related to pastoralism and rangeland management. In this proceedings volume the keynotes and case studies are presented in order to reach a wider readership and community of practice for whom the results of group work, fieldtrip experiences and discussions are recorded in addition to provide easy access and future reference. Finally the workshop participants share their recommendations that are owned by the participants and based on group discussions and mutual exchanges. In order to maintain the expressions emphasized by the authors an homogenisation of economic, ethnic and technical terms was kept to a minimum. The authors of keynotes and papers are solely responsible for the contents and information presented. The editors are grateful to the respective local organisers Mountain Societies Development Support Programme (MSDSP) and the Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences (XAAS) for amicable hospitality in both venues, for additional insight into the respective experiences during the fieldtrip and for all arrangements that contributed to a successful regional workshop. The results will be available in Chinese and in English language. Hermann Kreutzmann, Kishwar Abdulalishoev, Lu Zhaohui, Jürgen Richter
The long-term protection of natural resources requires cooperation between multiple stakeholders, including local communities and different levels of government. In many cases, input from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can also benefit both conservation and social development goals. Until recently, however, there has been little experience in China of genuine, long-term partnerships between communities, government, and civil society. In the context of China's Agenda 21-which recognizes many linkages between the environment, poverty and development, and also encourages greater participation of local communities and national minorities in promoting sustainability-several new partnerships have emerged in the heart of the Tibetan Plateau, near the source of the Yangtze River. Specifically, local Tibetan herders have begun to engage with township and county government as well as international organizations such as Plateau Perspectives (http://www.plateauperspectives.org) to address key livelihood and human security issues, including environmental conservation. The community also established a grassroots NGO, the Upper Yangtze Organization (http://www.uyowildyak.org), to support its work. Successful protection of the grassland ecology is important not only for local people, but also for the country as a whole and the world. This paper presents several key elements of Plateau Perspectives' experience to date, from 1998 to present, working with Tibetan pastoralists in Qinghai Province. The main activities undertaken or facilitated by our ongoing partnership with local communities, civil society and government in Zhiduo County-the first county on the Yangtze River-have included the establishment of community-based protected areas (with a focus on species such as the Tibetan antelope, snow leopard and black-necked crane), wildlife research and monitoring, NGO capacity building, and support for the provision of basic education and healthcare services. The establishment of the Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve in Qinghai Province, as well as plans to provide rest for the grasslands (Ch., tuimu huancao) in some parts of the project area, have given rise to a number of other issues as well, such as the role to be played by local herders in the design and management of protected areas, the potential social costs and benefits of urbanization, the compatibility of livestock grazing and biodiversity protection in grassland ecosystems, multipurpose land management, etc. This model of conservation-i.e., building partnerships with local communities, the government, and civil society-and the lessons we have learned, may present a good way forward for environmental conservation in China's vast western region.
Sustainability, 2016
The northern Tibetan Plateau is the most traditional and important semi-nomadic region in Tibet. The alpine vegetation is sensitive and vulnerable to climate change and human activities, and is also important as an ecological security in protecting the headwaters of major rivers in Asia. Therefore, the Tibetan alpine grasslands have fundamental significance to both Mainland China and South Asia. The pasture degradation, however, likely threatens the livelihood of residents and the habitats of wildlife on this plateau. Since 2004, the government has launched a series of ecological restoration projects and economic compensatory payment polices. Many fences were additionally built on degraded pastures to prevent new degradation, to promote functionality recovery, and to balance the stocking rate with forage productivity. The grazed vs. fenced paired pastures across different zonal grassland communities along evident environmental gradients provide us with a natural comparative experiment platform to test the relative contributions of natural and anthropogenic factors. This study critically reviews the background, significance of and debates on short-term grazing exclusion with fences in this region. We also aim to figure out scientific and standardized workflows for assessing the effectiveness of grazing exclusion and compensatory payments in the future.
Ecological research, 2010
Mountains occupy 24% of the global land surface area and are home to 12% of the world's population. They have ecological, aesthetic, and socioeconomic significance, not only for people living in mountain areas, but for those living beyond. Mountains need specific attention for their contribution to global goods and services, especially by developing and implementing mountain specific policies. Conservation policies have evolved from the protection of charismatic species, to habitat and ecosystem/landscape conservation, and, finally, to people-oriented conservation approaches. This paper, with particular reference to paradigm shifts in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) region, discusses the evolution of conservation policies, developments in conservation practices, the status of protected area management, wetland conservation initiatives and the landscape approach, community-based conservation initiatives, and the convergence of policies and practices. In the HKH region, conservation efforts now adopt participatory approaches, implement policies of decentralised governance for biodiversity management, and empower local communities in biodiversity management. The paradigm shift in the policies and practices related to conservation has been gradual and has included the acceptance of communities as an integral part of national level conservation initiatives, together with the integration of many global conventions. There are many successful pilots in the HKH region that deserve upscaling by the countries from the region. Realising the importance of mountains as hotspots of biodiversity, and due to their role as providers of global goods and services, the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted the Programme of Work on Mountain Biodiversity. Such a decision specific to mountains provides enormous opportunities for both conservation and development. Recent challenges posed by climate change need to be integrated into overall biodiversity conservation and management agendas, especially in mountain areas. The HKH region has been identified as a blank spot for data by the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change, indicating the need to develop regional database and sharing mechanisms. This is a tall task, but one that holds enormous opportunity for the HKH countries and institutions with regional mandates to address the emerging challenges of climate change on biodiversity conservation by reducing scientific uncertainty.
Mountains occupy 24% of the global land surface area and are home to 12% of the world's population. They have ecological, aesthetic, and socioeconomic significance, not only for people living in mountain areas, but for those living beyond. Mountains need specific attention for their contribution to global goods and services, especially by developing and implementing mountain specific policies. Conservation policies have evolved from the protection of charismatic species, to habitat and ecosystem/landscape conservation, and, finally, to people-oriented conservation approaches. This paper, with particular reference to paradigm shifts in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) region, discusses the evolution of conservation policies, developments in conservation practices, the status of protected area management, wetland conservation initiatives and the landscape approach, community-based conservation initiatives, and the convergence of policies and practices. In the HKH region, conservation efforts now adopt participatory approaches, implement policies of decentralised governance for biodiversity management, and empower local communities in biodiversity management. The paradigm shift in the policies and practices related to conservation has been gradual and has included the acceptance of communities as an integral part of national level conservation initiatives, together with the integration of many global conventions. There are many successful pilots in the HKH region that deserve upscaling by the countries from the region. Realising the importance of mountains as hotspots of biodiversity, and due to their role as providers of global goods and services, the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted the Programme of Work on Mountain Biodiversity. Such a decision specific to mountains provides enormous opportunities for both conservation and development. Recent challenges posed by climate change need to be integrated into overall biodiversity conservation and management agendas, especially in mountain areas. The HKH region has been identified as a blank spot for data by the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change, indicating the need to develop regional database and sharing mechanisms. This is a tall task, but one that holds enormous opportunity for the HKH countries and institutions with regional mandates to address the emerging challenges of climate change on biodiversity conservation by reducing scientific uncertainty.
Building resilience of Mongolian rangelands : a trans-disciplinary research conference
2017
Mongolia is a semi-arid and arid country in Asia where the climate has been changing more drastically than many other locations across the globe. The proceedings of the “Trans-disciplinary Research Conference: Building Resilience of Mongolian Rangelands” is divided into five sections: 1) Rangeland Ecology and Management, 2) Climate Change and Hydrology, 3) Institutional Innovations in Mongolian Rangelands, 4) Social and Economic Development in Rural Mongolia, and 5) Methods of Knowledge and Data Integration. The papers presented provide cause for concern regarding observed changes in climate, rangeland conditions and livestock populations, as well as reasons for hope and motivations for action to address the current challenges. We hope that this volume and the conference it accompanies, will inspire renewed commitment to support science and science-based policy-making and management to sustain Mongolia’s unique natural and cultural heritage as they adapt to a changing planet.