Herder Households Research Articles

Patterns in Mongolian nomadic household movement derived from GPS trajectories

This paper presents an approach for a quantitative analysis of movement patterns of nomadic households based on GPS trajectories. We distributed GPS loggers to 400 Mongolian herder households who carried them over a 9-month period, continuously recording position data every 30min. A total of 142of the resulting trajectories fulfilled our data quality criteria and were considered during the analysis. Based on this data, we derive summary indicators describing key parameters of the households’ mobility including measures of distance and number of movements as well as shape characteristics of the trajectories. We conduct an explorative statistical analysis of these summary indicators to investigate patterns in the nomadic mobility. We identify three movement strategies based on the number of different campsite locations and the distances traveled between campsites. We also compare the results to the existing literature on the mobility of Mongolian herders. Our findings show that GPS-based studies present a suitable framework to quantitatively analyze different movement strategies of nomadic herders.

Vulnerability of Pastoralism: A Case Study from the High Mountainsof Nepal

Pastoralism in the Himalayan region of Nepal has undergone significant socio-economic and ecological changes. While there are numerous contributing factors behind these changes, the effect of a changing climate has not been thoroughly studied. This paper adds a significant contribution to the knowledge base through analysis from a survey of 186 herder households, interviews with 38 key participants, and four focus group discussions with individuals from three National Parks and Conservation areas in the high-mountain region of Nepal. Additionally, a review of the existing policies and programs on pastoralism was carried out. Results demonstrate several reasons behind the decline of transhumance pastoralism: Policy focus on the establishment of conservation areas, increasing vulnerability to extreme events (avalanches, snowfall, storms, and disappearing water sources), and ineffective government policies and programs. Hardships involved in herding combined with changing social values and the degradation of pasture quality were identified as contributing factors to the growing challenges facing mountain pastoralism. Similarly, the declining interest among herders to continue their profession can be traced to vulnerability associated with escalating climate change impacts. Considerable knowledge gaps regarding threats to high-altitude pastoralism remain, and continued research on pastureland conservation, capacity development, facilitation for climate change adaptation, and coping strategies for herders in the high mountains is urgently needed. Our analysis suggests that non-climatic variables such as policy and globalization were more influential in eroding pastoralism as compared to climate change.

The dynamics of livestock and its influencing factors on the Mongolian Plateau

Animal husbandry on the Mongolian Plateau is a dynamic human–natural system characterized by complex relationships with the grassland ecosystem. Sustainable use of the plateau's grassland depends on the ability of herders and decision makers to adjust the grazing pattern to adapt to extreme climate events and socioeconomic conditions. Unfortunately, the system's responses and adaptation to these changes are unclear. However, simultaneously studying the natural and human factors will improve the understanding of the adaptations of grazing and the grassland ecosystem. The goal of this comparative study was to reveal the relationship between livestock management and government policy, natural conditions, and socioeconomic conditions near the border between Mongolia and China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. In this study, we used spatial and statistical data in the analysis of the dynamics of livestock. (1) China implemented a livestock reduction policy, whereas Mongolia increased livestock through privatization of livestock and the development of an economic market. In addition, Mongolian herders raised more goats. (2) The livestock population was significantly positively correlated with vegetation cover (represented by the normalized difference vegetation index) during years of severe weather in both Inner Mongolia and Mongolia. (3) The goat population was influenced significantly by the export amount in Mongolia, but by the return on investment in Inner Mongolia. (4) The livestock population was only weakly related to the rural population and the number of herder households. Our findings provide a basis for improving grassland and animal management strategies in both countries. Co-management of the grassland and livestock by herders and the government will be needed to balance herder livelihoods with the grassland ecosystem.

MIXED FARMING AMONG HERDER HOUSEHOLDS IN NIGER STATE, NIGERIA

The notion that herder households only restrict their livelihood strategy to the rearing of livestock most often than not excludes the group from the right to access land for the agricultural activity they engage in. This study investigated the participation of herder households in sedentary agriculture (crop production) in Niger state, Nigeria. Findings from this study show that herder households in the study area are no longer strictly livestock keepers; they participate in crop production just like crop farmers who also combine the cultivation of crops with livestock keeping. The results also revealed that most herder households (66%) that engage in crop production cultivate cereals; other crops cultivated by herder households in the study area include tuber crops (22%) and vegetables. Regarding herder household farm outputs, most of the harvests are at the subsistence level, with the harvests ranging between 300 kg and 750 kg. Identified drivers of herder households’ participation in crop production include: duration of stay in a particular locality, increase in household size, economic motives (grain price), and reducing the dependence on crop farmers for food supply. Therefore, this study recommends that interest of herder households in cultivating crops be sustained and encouraged. The participation of herder households in crop production will enhance their own food security status in the first instance and throughout the area in general.

Characteristics and Determinants of Livelihood Diversification of Different Household Types in Far Northwestern China

Livelihood diversification is beneficial to mitigate economic and environmental risks and to improve livelihood sustainability and regional sustainable development. Unsettled herder households (UHH), settled herder households (SHH) and farmer households (FH) are different household types in far northwestern China whose livelihood diversification has not been fully explored. By applying a framework of livelihood diversification, this paper presents a comparative analysis of the characteristics and determinants of the diversification of the three household types. The results show that livelihood assets have been unequally distributed, with FH possessing the least assets; however, FH are better than UHH and SHH in the diversification of livelihood activities. Agriculture remains the most important livelihood source. The high-income groups of the three household types have a higher number of livelihood activities but do not necessarily hold an advantage in equality of livelihood activities. Labor capacity and income are positively related to the number of livelihood activities for the three household types. Livestock size is negatively associated with the number of activities of herders. Moreover, age and subsidy have negative impacts on the number of activities for UHH. Based on the findings, we provide policy suggestions on livelihood enhancement and sustainable and effective development of pastoral regions.

The New Mongolian State Herder: Examining Invocations and Improvisations of the State in Rural Mongolia

This article aims to advance understandings of contemporary state-making in rural Mongolia, contingent on historical processes rather than a taken-for-granted natural category. Writing on postsocialist Mongolia often emphasizes the “retreat of the state” in rural areas; this article offers a counterpoint to this discourse by illustrating the ways in which herder livelihoods and the idealization of herder labor are actively drawn into contemporary state-making practices. Based on ethnographic research in Bayanhongor province, this article examines the interactions between an active local government administration system and pastoralist households at the subdistrict level in rural Mongolia. The analysis focuses on the implementation of two government initiatives tailored for herder households: a State Herder diploma, medal, and stamp, as well as a government–herder communication notebook. Governmentality studies, performativity theory, and the concept of improvisation provide a conceptual framework to argue that the neoliberal retreat of the state in rural Mongolia does not adequately capture the types of state-making in the 2010s. Rather, it proposes that scholars should shift attention to how the rural governance works on the ground and focus on the ways in which the state is invoked and made visible in everyday practice with attention to historical legacies. Key Words: governmentality, improvisation, Mongolia, pastoralism, the state.

Livestock insurance as a mechanism for household resilience of livestock herders to climate change: Evidence from Iran

Insurance is acclaimed as a promising mechanism for resilience to climate extremes. However, in practice, few empirical studies have been done on the influence of livestock insurance on the household resilience of livestock herders to climate change. We advanced knowledge in this area by: a) estimating household resilience to climate change and identifying the typology of livestock herders in terms of resilience; b) assessing the influence of livestock insurance on the household resilience of livestock herders. Population of this survey research were all livestock herder households from 11 rural areas in Kermanshah County in the west of Iran. A proportional stratified random sampling technique was used for selecting 250 livestock herder households. Livestock herders were interviewed individually through a questionnaire. Cluster analysis indicated that the sample households were heterogeneous in terms of resilience and can be divided into three categories of low, medium and high resilient households. These households were also different in terms of average livestock insurance. Hierarchical regression analysis confirmed that number of insured livestock and perception of the livestock insurance services are the significant determinants of household resilience of livestock herders to climate change. Even though, income, livestock ownership and climate change perception were also other predictors of household resilience of livestock herders. Findings of this study will be helpful for policymakers, managers and insurance companies to pursue cost-effective insurance policies for building adaptation and resilience capacity to climate disasters among livestock herders.

Impacts of the Grassland Ecological Compensation Policy on Household Livestock Production in China: An Empirical Study in Inner Mongolia

Grassland Ecological Compensation Policy (GECP) is a large-scale program in which China has invested since 2011 to alleviate grassland degradation and increase herders' income. Although the amount invested in the program has increased each year, little research has been conducted to evaluate the impacts of the program; as such, this study examines such impacts on livestock production, grazing intensity, and structure using panel data from a herders' field survey conducted in 2015 in Inner Mongolia, China. Results from the econometric models show that the forage-livestock balance, which is one sub-policy of the GECP, had incentivized large farms to reduce their total number of sheep, but the implementation of the GECP could not greatly influence the reduction in the number of cattle present on any farm size. This study also reveals that herders made their livestock production and grazing decisions in response to market prices and that herder households that also had off-farm jobs raised fewer livestock and grazed lighter. Several policy implications are discussed in this paper.

Multidimensional poverty of the ethnic tibetan farm and Herder households in Gansu province, China

ABSTRACT: Ethnic Tibetan farm and herder households (FHH) in Gansu Province, China are stricken with poverty. Solving the poverty problem in this or other poverty pockets across China has special importance for the country’s political stability, ethnic unity, social well-being, and ecological security. This paper calculates the multidimensional poverty situation of ethnic Tibetan farm and herder households of Gansu Province, China by using the Alkire-Foster method. Twelve indicators are included in the multidimensional poverty indicator system. Results showed that 1) in the single indicator measure, the adult family members received at least 9th grade education (x3), the home toilet type (x7), and the labor availability (x2) showed a higher incidence of deprivation, 2) many FHH in the Tibetan areas of the Gansu Province are facing multidimensional poverty but the proportion of extreme poverty is very small, and 3) from the perspective of contribution rate, the adult family members received at least 9th grade education (x3), labor availability (x2), self-health assessment (x1), home toilet type (x7), and school-age children dropout rate (x4) occupied the top five positions as obtained from the equal weight to dimensions (DEW) method.

How Community-Based Rangeland Management Achieves Positive Social Outcomes In Mongolia: A Moderated Mediation Analysis

Evidence-based policy guidance necessary for addressing mixed outcomes of community-based rangeland management (CBRM) is limited, dominated by case studies, and lacking coverage of diverse ecological settings. In remedy, we studied 65 traditional neighborhoods and 77 formally-organized CBRM groups across four ecological zones and investigated how and when CBRM obtains greater social outcomes than non-CBRM neighborhoods. We measured pastoralists’ social capital, rangeland management practices, and behavior using a mixed-methods approach including qualitative interviews, focus groups, and quantitative questionnaires of 706 herder households. We applied a conditional process analysis method, novel to CBRM studies, to investigate potential mechanisms by which CBRM affects social outcomes.CBRM members used significantly more information sources, had stronger leadership, more opportunities for knowledge exchange, and rules for resource use, which were significantly associated with greater social outcomes including the use of traditional and innovative rangeland and herd management practices, proactive behavior, and social networking. Access to diverse information sources emerged as an important variable related to strong local leadership, knowledge exchange, and setting rules for rangeland use. Ecological context had a strong association with the level of CBRM social outcomes achieved through this process. The statistical effect of CBRM, mediated by information, leadership, knowledge exchange, and rules, was significantly greater on proactive behaviors of desert steppe herders compared to herders in non-desert steppe zones. Further, CBRM mediated by the same four variables, was associated with higher social networking among herders in the mountain and forest steppe, steppe, and desert steppe but not in the eastern steppe. Our findings suggest why CBRM outcomes have been mixed in Mongolia and elsewhere, and point to the importance of accounting for local context in facilitating development of pastoral institutions. Policies to support CBRM should consider prioritizing resource users’ access to diverse information, leadership development, and involvement in elaborating community rules for resource management and local forums for information exchange.

Assessment of climate change adaptation measures on the income of herders in a pastoral region

Climate change, characterized with global warming, created severe potential threat to natural ecosystems and sustainable development of human society. Effective adaptation measures to mitigate the negative effects of climate change would affect both the ecological environment and the social economy. In this paper, we built a positive mathematical programming model to assess adaptation measures, which were divided into four aspects, to tackle climate change based on the survey data obtained from seven counties and 32 villages in the region of Hulun Buir. The results showed that, livestock breeding improvement had a positive impact on grass yield, livestock number and especially herder's household income (the most in Ewenki (11.7%) and the least in Xinzuo (2.3%)); artificial grassland project could lead to an average growth rate of 8.4% in household income among the four counties; current policies and going out for work could also increase household income, however, not a sustainable choice. To realize sustainable development in the context of global climate change, the vitality of sustainable development of animal husbandry under the premise of protecting ecological environment should be enhanced. For example, improving the safety and quality of livestock products through influencing livestock breeding, processing technology and high quality forage, and ensuring adequate forage supplement through artificial grassland project.

Grassland rental markets and herder technical efficiency: ability effect or resource equilibration effect?

To fully explore how grassland rental markets improve herder technical efficiency and to what extent, we apply a Metafrontier-DEA approach in this study to examine the impacts of herder participation in grassland rental markets and its technical efficiencies. We collect field data from 416 herder households, and our result shows that herders involved in the grassland rental markets can increase their technical efficiency by 2.75% on average. Compared with the autarky group, the lessors increase their efficiency by 3.36%, and the lessees increase their efficiency by 2.76%. No significant difference in efficiency is found between the lessors and the lessees. We conclude that grassland rental markets improve herder technical efficiency mainly through resource equilibration effect rather than ability effect. As long as herders participate in the grassland rental markets, they can improve their efficiency by balancing family resources and thus enhance production efficiency. This suggests that under the current institutional environment, more attention should be drawn on the normalization and guidance of grassland rental markets. More efforts should be made to allow herders to participate in the markets on their own will, rather than to address land transfer from the less able producers to the more-able producers.

Improving ecological conservation and restoration through payment for ecosystem services in Northeastern Tibetan Plateau, China

To protect biodiversity, restore ecosystems and improve the livelihoods of indigenous herders, a payment for ecosystem services program has been implemented in the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau. We monitored and assessed its effectiveness and analysed the factors that may contribute to the success or failure of the program. By comparing ecosystem changes between project and non-project regions, we found that the increased area of grassland and wetland, the proportion of restored grassland, and the enhanced net primary production and forage yields were higher in project regions, which indicated that the majority of restoration measures are effective at the local scale. However, the soil erosion modulus and ecosystem soil conservation service were ineffective owing to unrecovered root systems and increased precipitation. The results of interviews with herdsmen demonstrated a slight increase in annual net income for herder households, especially for eco-immigrants compensated by the program. However, it was difficult to reduce overgrazing dramatically because eco-immigrants mainly included elderly herders and herders with less livestock. Therefore, the eco-immigrants and their livelihoods need to be reconsidered in targeting for subsequent programs. Furthermore, this study reinforced the need to apply multiple sources of funds and measurements to benefit ecological conservation in alpine regions.

Potential risk factors for zoonotic disease transmission among Mongolian herder households caring for horses and camels

Mongolia has more than ten times as many livestock as people. Herders are dependent on their livestock for their livelihood, and seasonal movement is driven by the livestock’s grazing needs. The daily, seasonal interactions between Mongolian herders and their livestock put herders at risk for several zoonotic diseases. The goals of this pilot study were to describe potential risk factors for zoonotic disease transmission and note how they differed for herder families between provinces (aimags). As part of a larger study, a household survey was administered to 131 households in Arkhangai, Uvurkhangai, and Umnugobi provinces aimags during 2016 and 2017. The study was limited due to its self-reported survey data and its convenience sample design. We did not capture specific disease data. All households cared for either or both horses (Equus ferus caballus) and Bactrian camels (Camelus bactrianus). All households had a cell phone and access to a power source, primarily solar panels (93.1%). Families reported spending on average 3.9 h a day with their horses or camels. As all five of the most prevalent zoonotic pathogens in Mongolia have horses as reservoirs, and three of the five may also reservoir in Bactrian camels, herder families with horses or camels potentially experience daily risks from zoonotic diseases. Our pilot study data demonstrated that zoonotic disease transmission could occur through a number of ways, such as directly from contact with livestock or manure or from contaminated food, milk, or water. Sixty-four percent of herder households reported using dried manure for fuel. Unprocessed river water was often the primary source (52.7%) of drinking water, which is potentially contaminated with manure-borne pathogens. Fuel and water sources varied by herder household location. A unifying finding was the ubiquity of cellphones in all surveyed herder households, providing a potentially efficient method for public health communication.

Livestock depredation by large carnivores in the South Gobi, Mongolia

Context Livestock depredation is a major conservation challenge around the world, causing considerable economical losses to pastoral communities and often result in retaliatory killing. In Mongolia, livestock depredation rates are thought to be increasing due to changes in pastoral practices and the transformation of wild habitats into pasture lands. Few studies have examined the interactions between humans and carnivores and even fewer have considered how recent changes in pastoral practices may affect depredation rates. Aim This study aimed to assess the influence of herding practices on self-reported livestock losses to snow leopards and wolves in two communities in South Gobi, Mongolia. Methods In total, 144 herder households were interviewed and an information-theoretic approach was used to analyse the factors influencing self-reported livestock losses to snow leopards and wolves. Key results The majority of self-reported losses to both snow leopards and wolves occurred when herds were left unattended in the pastures. The economic loss associated with livestock losses to snow leopards and wolves amounted to an average loss of US$825 per herder and year. The number of livestock owned by a household and the frequency of shifting campsite had the strongest influence on livestock losses to snow leopards and wolves. Other determinants of livestock losses included frequency of visiting the soum (county) centre. Implications On the basis of the findings, we make recommendations for mitigating the conflict with large carnivores, with focus on guiding future herding practices.

Corrigendum to: Livestock depredation by large carnivores in the South Gobi, Mongolia

Context Livestock depredation is a major conservation challenge around the world, causing considerable economical losses to pastoral communities and often result in retaliatory killing. In Mongolia, livestock depredation rates are thought to be increasing due to changes in pastoral practices and the transformation of wild habitats into pasture lands. Few studies have examined the interactions between humans and carnivores and even fewer have considered how recent changes in pastoral practices may affect depredation rates. Aim This study aimed to assess the influence of herding practices on self-reported livestock losses to snow leopards and wolves in two communities in South Gobi, Mongolia. Methods In total, 144 herder households were interviewed and an information-theoretic approach was used to analyse the factors influencing self-reported livestock losses to snow leopards and wolves. Key results The majority of self-reported losses to both snow leopards and wolves occurred when herds were left unattended in the pastures. The economic loss associated with livestock losses to snow leopards and wolves amounted to an average loss of US$825 per herder and year. The number of livestock owned by a household and the frequency of shifting campsite had the strongest influence on livestock losses to snow leopards and wolves. Other determinants of livestock losses included frequency of visiting the soum (county) centre. Implications On the basis of the findings, we make recommendations for mitigating the conflict with large carnivores, with focus on guiding future herding practices.

How do herders do well? Profitability potential of livestock grazing in Inner Mongolia, China, across ecosystem types

Livestock production has increased in Inner Mongolia, China, despite widespread documentation of grassland degradation. To begin investigating the relationship that produces these trends, we studied farm-level decisions of herder households. We estimated economic enterprise budgets for 15 counties in Inner Mongolia across five ecosystems in 2009 and 2014 by using household survey data. Six counties decreased livestock stocking rates and had improved profit over time. The remaining counties increased their stocking rates over the period studied and profit decreased for all but one county. Livestock operators who reported negative profit over the 5 years were located across ecosystem types and reported a large number of weather shocks that affected grassland availability. Removing the opportunity cost of land and labour from the economic enterprise budgets resulted in a positive profit for all counties, which may explain why herders continue to increase stocking rates with decreased grassland availability over time.

Low Prevalence of Enzootic Equine Influenza Virus among Horses in Mongolia.

Horses are critically important for Mongolian herders’ livelihoods, providing transportation and food products, and playing important cultural roles. Equine influenza virus (EIV) epizootics have been frequent among Mongolia’s horses, with five occurring since 1970. We sought to estimate the prevalence for EIV infection among horses and Bactrian camels with influenza-like illness between national epizootics. In 2016–2017, active surveillance for EIV was periodically performed in four aimags (provinces). Nasal swabs were collected from 680 horses and 131 camels. Seven of the horse swabs were “positive” for qRT-PCR evidence of influenza A (Ct value ≤ 38). Two more were “suspect positive” (Ct value > 38 and ≤ 40). These nine specimens were collected from four aimags. None of the camel specimens had molecular evidence of infection. Despite serial blind passage in Madin-Darby Canine Kidney cells (MDCK) cells, none of the nine horse specimens yielded an influenza A virus. None of the 131 herder households surveyed had recently vaccinated their horses against EIV. It seems likely that sporadic EIV is enzootic in multiple Mongolian aimags. This finding, the infrequent use of EIV vaccination, periodic prevalence of highly pathogenic avian influenza, and the mixing of domestic and wild equid herds suggest that Mongolia may be a hot spot for novel EIV emergence.

Desert Dust and Health: A Central Asian Review and Steppe Case Study.

In Asian deserts environmental and anthropomorphic dust is a significant health risk to rural populations. Natural sources in dry landscapes are exacerbated by human activities that increase the vulnerability to dust and dust-borne disease vectors. Today in Central and Inner Asian drylands, agriculture, mining, and rapid development contribute to dust generation and community exposure. Thorough review of limited dust investigation in the region implies but does not quantify health risks. Anthropogenic sources, such as the drying of the Aral Sea, highlight the shifting dust dynamics across the Central EurAsian steppe. In the Gobi Desert, our case study in Khanbogd, Mongolia addressed large-scale mining’s potential dust risk to the health of the local population. Dust traps showed variable exposure to particulates among herder households and town residents; dust density distribution indicated that sources beyond the mine need to be considered when identifying particulate sources. Research suggests that atmospheric dust from multiple causes may enhance human particulate exposure. Greater awareness of dust in greater Central Asia reflects community concern about related health implications. Future human well-being in the region will require more thorough information on dust emissions in the changing environment.

Understanding grassland rental markets and their determinants in eastern inner Mongolia, PR China

Grassland rental markets function as a venue for balancing production factors of herder households. This paper jointly determines the socioeconomic factors affecting herders’ grassland rent-in and rent-out behaviors by applying Bivariate Probit Model with clustering standard errors on 422 households’ data from Eastern Inner Mongolia. Results reveal that imbalances in “people-grassland (grass)-livestock-productive assets” are the major determinants of the herder households’ participation in grassland rental markets. Given other factors, an increase of 10 thousand yuan in a household’ productive assets renders an increase/decrease in their rent-in/rent-out participation likelihood by 1.0% and 2.0%, respectively; an increase of 100 standard sheep unit may bring about 4% increase in rent-in participation and 0.6% decrease in rent-out participation; an increase of 100hm2 in hayfields may decrease and increase the likelihood of rent-in and rent-out participation by 13% and 3%, respectively; an increase of 1.0% in ratio of non-livestock income may decrease propensity of rent-in by 0.34%, and increase propensity of rent-out by 0.2%. In addition, the education and Chinese level of household head, and the available family labor encourage participation in grassland rent-in market. Main findings help facilitate better allocation of herders’ livelihood assets by participating the functional grassland rental markets.