Livelihoods Of Herders Research Articles

Land rental, prices and the management of China’s grasslands: the case of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region

Heterogeneity among China’s pastoral households raises the prospect that efficient transfer of grassland-use rights may improve grassland management. More understanding of grassland rental is needed if policy incentives on grassland management are to be refined. Based on a survey of 252 herders in the typical steppe, desert steppe and sandy grassland areas of Inner Mongolia, a significant part of China’s overall grasslands, a multinomial logit model was used to explore factors influencing the decision to: (i) rent in grassland, (ii) rent out grassland, or (iii) neither rent in nor rent out grassland. A multiple regression model then investigated the factors influencing the price of this rented grassland, including a focus on the factors of the exchange. The findings suggest that rental has facilitated a level of specialisation whereby households with less own-grassland area, more livestock, more intensive production systems, lower perceptions of degradation, and some off-farm income (but not high levels) being more likely to rent in land. The likelihood was independent of the type of grassland, extent of grazing bans or grassland subsidies received. Similarly, households more likely to rent out land had fewer livestock and some land subject to grazing bans. The specialisation and larger land areas has enabled households renting in land to have lower stocking rates than those of households not renting grassland. However, analysis of rental prices reveals limitations in the rental market, with prices dependent on the form of contract and relationship of the participants in the exchange, as well as on area rented and type of grassland. Thus, improving land transfer may be warranted to facilitate further specialisation and improved grazing management and herder livelihoods.

Changes in Property Rights and Management of High-Elevation Rangelands in Bhutan: Implications for Sustainable Development of Herder Communities

Property rights and management regimes for high-elevation rangelands in Bhutan have evolved over centuries in response to environmental, cultural, and political imperatives. The 2007 Land Act of Bhutan aims to redress historical inequities in property rights by redistributing grazing leases to local livestock owners in a process known as rangeland nationalization. This study explored 3 related issues: property rights and management regimes in 3 distinct high-elevation rangeland systems, herders' and government officials' perceptions of the proposed rangeland nationalization process, and the implications of rangeland nationalization for herder livelihoods and sustainable development. Qualitative research methods were adopted to capture the lived experiences of 151 livestock farmers, seminomadic herders, and government officials, including 40 individual interviews and 9 focus group discussions. The research revealed that herding in these high-elevation rangelands is governed by a complex combination of priv...

Gender participation in sheep and goat farming in Najran, Southern Saudi Arabia.

Sheep and goat farming is a major source of income in the rural areas of Al-Wadiah in Najran region of Southern Saudi Arabia. The study aims to identify the factors and parameters that influence gender participation in sheep and goat farming. Data were collected by interviewing 167 high school students, including 70 male and 97 female students, in Al-Wadiah, by using the simple random sampling technique. Data were statistically analyzed to establish the relationship between gender and participation in sheep and goat farming. The study revealed significant differences between the two genders, for instance, male herders were more experienced, received more benefits, showed greater interest in discussions on topics related to sheep and goat farming, followed information from TV and radio, and received more services offered by veterinary clinics, which proved more beneficial for them. On the other hand, female herders received fewer services, and the veterinary clinics proved less beneficial for them. However, the correlation between the participation of both genders in sheep and goats management was non-significant toward the statement “feeling ashamed of participating in sheep and goat farming.” Generally, sheep and goat rearing proves more beneficial for male participants than female participants, owing to their greater experience and interest in livestock farming. Moreover, they receive more benefits from TV, radio and veterinary clinics to maintain better health of their livestock. Both male and female herders contribute equally to sheep and goat farming by limiting the time spent on their daily routine. This study would enable policymakers and planners to develop more strategies and extension education programs to overcome the identified barriers and improve the livelihood of herders through their enhanced participation in remote areas.

Marginality, Climate and Resources in Pastoral Rangelands: Oman and Mongolia

On the Ground Oman and Mongolia feature different political systems and physical landscapes yet represent similar challenges encountered across global pastoral societies. Extractive industries disrupt pastoral drylands through reorienting government policy, environmental change, altered water supply, and infrastructure factors that challenge livelihood viability. The impact of climate variability on rangeland livelihoods is now exacerbated by policy and development decisions. Herder livelihoods at different income and development levels are dependent on government policy and risk mitigation strategies to maintain customary practices. The combination of multiple external forces stress rural viability and contribute to out-migration from herding systems.

Grasshopper Plague Control in the Alpine Rangelands of the Qilian Mountains, China. A Socio‐Economic and Biological Approach

AbstractThe probability and frequency of grasshopper plague outbreaks in the alpine rangelands of China have greatly increased since the middle of the last century, adversely affecting grassland ecosystems and the livelihood of herders. We propose that herders could use poultry to forage on grasshoppers to control plague. Here, we investigated the proximate (application in 2007) and persistence (continued effects across 2008–2011) effects of three different control agents (foraging chickens, a broad spectrum insecticide Beta‐Cypermethrin and an entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium) on grasshopper population density. The comparative effectiveness of the three control agents was assessed by calculating grasshopper mortality and nymph:adult ratios. Subsequently, we examined the efficiency of chicken foraging activity at controlling grasshopper numbers under various levels of outbreaks. Finally, we used a cost–benefit analysis to assess the economic benefits of a traditional sheep rearing system versus a system that includes chicken rearing. In the first year, all three agents were initially effective at reducing grasshopper densities, but only chickens generated a persistence effect (lasting up to 5 years). Overall, chickens also provided the greatest economic benefits to herders than the other two control agents. Using foraging chickens to suppress grasshopper infestation in the alpine rangelands of China provides a novel approach toward mitigating outbreaks. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Contradictions in Schooling Children among Mongolian Pastoralists

Mongolian pastoralist households with children face an annual decision at the start of the school year—how to take care of both herds and children separated by long distances and resource needs. This article draws on twelve months of ethnographic research on rural work practices among mobile pastoralists in Mongolia to illustrate how children's access to primary education spatially transforms the organization of herder livelihoods. By prioritizing herder reflections and theoretical insight into their own lives and experiences, we show that educating children within the conditions of Mongolia's emerging market macroeconomic system is entangled in struggles over housing, finance, and labor and we highlight the spatial nature of these contradictions in everyday rural social production. This evidence supports our argument that the terms of inclusion in Mongolia's current schooling system pose challenges for pastoralist livelihoods and encourages reflection on the need for imagining innovations in education provision.

Effect of summer livestock grazing on plant species richness and composition in the Himalayan rangelands

Grazing systems in the high Himalayas are changing in response to socioeconomic factors and policy decisions. As well as effects on livelihood of herders, such changes may have significant impacts on plant species richness and composition. The objectives of this study were to explore how plant species richness and composition respond to livestock grazing in the high Himalayan rangelands. The study was conducted in three mountainous Protected Areas of Nepal viz. Sagarmatha (Mt Everest) National Park, Gaurishankar Conservation Area and Khaptad National Park. Species and environmental data were collected along perpendicular transects outwards from goths (semi-permanent stopping and camping points). It was found that the distance from goths generally represents a grazing disturbance gradient. The core areas near goths had low species richness per plot (α-diversity) where nitrophilous and grazing-tolerant species were commonly found. However, the highest species richness, total numbers of species and occurrences of rare species at mid- and farther distances from goths within 800 m suggest that negative effects of summer livestock grazing were small and confined to limited areas near goths. Altitude, soil moisture content, percentage shrub cover and distance from goths were the variables significantly correlated with species composition, although the relative importance of these factors varied across study sites. This research can be used to inform decision-making about seasonal livestock grazing in the Himalayan rangelands, which should incorporate both ecological as well as socioeconomic considerations.

Why keep lions instead of livestock? Assessing wildlife tourism‐based payment for ecosystem services involving herders in the Maasai Mara, Kenya

AbstractThis paper examines the effects of wildlife tourism‐based payments for ecosystem services (PES) on poverty, wealth inequality and the livelihoods of herders in the Maasai Mara Ecosystem in south‐western Kenya. It uses the case of Olare Orok Conservancy PES programme in which pastoral landowners have agreed to voluntary resettlement and exclusion of livestock grazing from their sub‐divided lands. These lands are set aside for wildlife tourism, in return for direct monetary payments by a coalition of five commercial tourism operators. Results show that, on the positive side, PES is the most equitable income source that promotes income diversification and buffers households from the livestock income declines during periods of severe drought, such as in 2008‐2009. Without accounting for the opportunity costs, the magnitude of the PES cash transfer to households is, on average, sufficient to close the poverty gap. The co‐benefits of PES implementation include the creation of employment opportunities in the conservancy and provision of social services. There is however a need to mitigate the negative effects of PES, including the widening inequality in income between PES and non‐PES households and the leakages resulting from the displacement of settlements and livestock to currently un‐subdivided pastoral commons.

Exploratory analyses of local institutions for climate change adaptation in the Mongolian grasslands: An agent-based modeling approach

There has been a decrease in grazing mobility in the Mongolian grasslands over the past decades. Sedentary grazing with substantial external inputs has increased the cost of livestock production. As a result, the livelihoods of herders have become more vulnerable to climate variability and change. Sedentary grazing is the formal institutional arrangement in Inner Mongolia, China. However, this may not be an efficient institutional arrangement for climate change adaptation. Self-organized local institutions for climate change adaptation have emerged and are under development in the study area. In this study, we did exploratory analyses of multiple local institutions for climate change adaptation in the Mongolian grasslands, using an agent-based modeling approach. Empirical studies from literature and our field work show that sedentary grazing, pasture rental markets, and reciprocal pasture-use groups are three popular institutional arrangements in the study area. First, we modeled the social–ecological performance (i.e., livelihood benefits to herders and grassland quality) of these institutions and their combinations under different climate conditions. Second, we did exploratory analyses of multiple social mechanisms for facilitating and maintaining cooperative use of pastures among herders. The modeling results show that in certain value-ranges of some model parameters with assumed values, reciprocal pasture-use groups had better performance than pasture rental markets; and the comparative advantage of cooperative use of pastures over sedentary grazing without cooperation becomes more evident with the increase in drought probability. Agent diversity and social norms were effective for facilitating the development of reciprocal pasture-use groups. Kin selection and punishments on free-riders were useful for maintaining cooperation among herders.

Vulnerability of the northern Mongolian steppe to climate change: insights from flower production and phenology

The semiarid, northern Mongolian steppe, which still supports pastoral nomads who have used the steppe for millennia, has experienced an average 1.7 degrees C temperature rise over the past 40 years. Continuing climate change is likely to affect flowering phenology and flower numbers with potentially important consequences for plant community composition, ecosystem services, and herder livelihoods. Over the growing seasons of 2009 and 2010, we examined flowering responses to climate manipulation using open-top passive warming chambers (OTCs) at two locations on a south-facing slope: one on the moister, cooler lower slope and the other on the drier, warmer upper slope, where a watering treatment was added in a factorial design with warming. Canonical analysis of principal coordinates (CAP) revealed that OTCs reduced flower production and delayed peak flowering in graminoids as a whole but only affected forbs on the upper slope, where peak flowering was also delayed. OTCs affected flowering phenology in seven of eight species, which were examined individually, either by altering the time of peak flowering and/or the onset and/or cessation of flowering, as revealed by survival analysis. In 2010, which was the drier year, OTCs reduced flower production in two grasses but increased production in an annual forb found only on the upper slope. The particular effects of OTCs on phenology, and whether they caused an extension or contraction of the flowering season, differed among species, and often depended on year, or slope, or watering treatment; however, a relatively strong pattern emerged for 2010 when four species showed a contraction of the flowering season in OTCs. Watering increased flower production in two species in 2010, but slope location more often affected flowering phenology than did watering. Our results show the importance of taking landscape-scale variation into account in climate change studies and also contrasted with those of several studies set in cold, but wetter systems, where warming often causes greater or accelerated flower production. In cold, water-limited systems like the Mongolian steppe, warming may reduce flower numbers or the length of the flowering season by adding to water stress more than it relieves cold stress.