Zhang De-gang

Exploring the Options in North-West China's Pastoral Lands

Synopsis Present-day land utilization in the pastoral regions of NW China shows the influence of both the long tradition of herding and the impact of population increases through inward migration, and of the changing policy environment from the mid-twentieth century. Management options and livelihood strategies for the herders and farmers in NW China are considered and evaluated. The necessity of working within a systems framework is explained.

Ecological Restoration and Control of Rangeland Degradation: Rangeland Management Interventions

Synopsis The problems and prospects for reversing land degradation and for ecological restoration of degraded landscapes are reviewed. Animal husbandry on rangelands in NW China is under great pressure. This pressure is leading to a major transformation of the livestock sector, from one that is resource-driven (based on available forage, water, crop residues/by-products) to one that aggressively looks for new resources (grain, fodder crops, energy inputs). This shift has resulted in environmental damage and disruption to the traditional systems of production.

Agro-Pastoral Integration in NW China: A New Paradigm?

Synopsis The local agro-pastoral economy is changing in NW China; farming activities seem to be very instrumental to livestock development, rather than the other way around. Furthermore crop production has expanded to meet the increasing demand for fodder (and grain) for animal feeding and herd growth. In some areas agricultural activities seem often to represent strategies to claim user rights to plots of land by converting rangeland to cropland. It is clear that the process of modernization of the region has changed patterns of natural resource management in critical ways, increasing dependency on marketbased dynamics and important out-migratory fluxes and reliance on off-farm income, with remittances playing an important role in the local economy, together with revenues from the tourism sector in some selected areas.