thebalancebetweenyaksandpasturesanditsimplications.docVIP

The Balance between Yaks and Pastures and its Implications for the Local Nomadic Families A case study from Long Deng Township, Sichuan Province, China Marius Skjervold, Anders Bille Johnsrud A thesis submitted in the partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Nature Management at the Department of Biology and Nature Management, Agricultural University of Norway December 2003 Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Shivcharn Dhillion aCKNOWLEDGEMENT……………………………………………………………………I Abstract……………...…………………………………………………………………...Ii LIST OF MAPS AND FIGURES…………………………………………………………..III LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………………………..…iii Introduction 4 Description of research area. 8 Geography 8 Demography 8 Geology and ecology 9 Methods 11 Selected group of interest 11 Definitions 12 Collection of secondary information 13 Collection of data in the field 13 Analyses 15 Sources of error 16 Background 19 The Yak (B. grunniens) 19 Managing Livestock and Pastures in Long Deng 20 Livestock management and nomads through out history 22 Climatic changes and its management implications 25 Results 28 Demographic data 28 Household economy 28 Livestock information 30 Animal losses. 32 Preventive measures 34 Government aid 36 Rangeland quality 37 Discussion 41 The evil spiral 41 The development in yak numbers 41 Fodder availability as the limiting resource 42 The storage of fodder 45 Shelters, veterinaries and mobility 46 Herd composition 47 Blue winds of change 48 Poverty defined 50 Yak, pillars of society 51 Conclusion 54 Litterature 55 Appendix 60 Introduction The documented history of the yak (Bos grunniens) stretches into ancient times and remains inseparable from the culture, religion and social life of the pastoral peoples of the cold and high mountainous regions of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. It is quite possible, as suggested by some Chinese historians, that without the existence of yak with its adaptations, human civilisation might