3 research outputs found
Modern wildlife conservation initiatives and the pastoralist/hunter nomads of northwestern Tibet.
In 1993 the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) of China established the 300 000 km2 Chang Tang Nature
Preserve on the northwestern Tibetan plateau, an action precipitated by rapidly diminishing populations of chiru
(Tibetan antelope) and wild yak. Some 30 000 nomadic pastoralists use areas within this reserve for livestock grazing,
with many having traditionally depended in part on hunting for supplementary subsistence and trade. Following a
1997 request from TAR leaders for international assistance in addressing the conservation issues associated with the
creation of this reserve, the TAR Forestry Bureau and the Network for University Co-operation Tibet – Norway
began a 3-year research collaboration program in 2000 to outline human-wildlife interactions and conservation
priorities in the western part of the reserve. To date, four excursions (2-6 weeks each) have been made to the western
Chang Tang region, and investigations of interactions between pastoralists and wildlife conservation objectives have
been initiated in an area of about 5000 km2, including the 2300 km2 Aru basin located at 5000 m elevation at the
northern edge of pastoralist inhabitation. The Aru site is unique in that nomads have only recently returned to this
previously off-limits basin. But, as in surrounding areas, the people’s lives are undergoing changes recently influenced
by the introduction of permanent winter houses, changing international trade in shahtoosh and cashmere wool, and a
move towards stricter hunting regulations. The northwestern Chang Tang, with the Aru basin as a prime site,
represents one of the last strongholds of the endangered chiru and wild yak, as well as home to Tibetan gazelle, kiang,
Tibetan argali, blue sheep, wolf, snow leopard and brown bear. In autumn 2000, for example, with approximately 12
000 of the wild ungulates (mostly the migratory chiru) within the Aru basin along with some 8000 domestic livestock,
issues of land use overlap and possible grazing competition are clear to both local nomads and reserve managers.
Whereas livestock development actions elsewhere on the Tibetan plateau are promoting increased livestock
production, they are doing so at the expense of wildlife, and such an approach will not be appropriate in areas where
wildlife conservation is a major priority. Although some of the ongoing livestock development programs may be
adapted to the western TAR, new approaches to pastoral development will have to be developed in the reserve. The
ultimate goal of enhancing the nomads’ standard of living, while conserving this truly unique array of biodiversity,
presents a daunting challenge
Modern wildlife conservation initiatives and the pastoralist/hunter nomads of northwestern Tibet.
In 1993 the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) of China established the 300 000 km2 Chang Tang Nature
Preserve on the northwestern Tibetan plateau, an action precipitated by rapidly diminishing populations of chiru
(Tibetan antelope) and wild yak. Some 30 000 nomadic pastoralists use areas within this reserve for livestock grazing,
with many having traditionally depended in part on hunting for supplementary subsistence and trade. Following a
1997 request from TAR leaders for international assistance in addressing the conservation issues associated with the
creation of this reserve, the TAR Forestry Bureau and the Network for University Co-operation Tibet – Norway
began a 3-year research collaboration program in 2000 to outline human-wildlife interactions and conservation
priorities in the western part of the reserve. To date, four excursions (2-6 weeks each) have been made to the western
Chang Tang region, and investigations of interactions between pastoralists and wildlife conservation objectives have
been initiated in an area of about 5000 km2, including the 2300 km2 Aru basin located at 5000 m elevation at the
northern edge of pastoralist inhabitation. The Aru site is unique in that nomads have only recently returned to this
previously off-limits basin. But, as in surrounding areas, the people’s lives are undergoing changes recently influenced
by the introduction of permanent winter houses, changing international trade in shahtoosh and cashmere wool, and a
move towards stricter hunting regulations. The northwestern Chang Tang, with the Aru basin as a prime site,
represents one of the last strongholds of the endangered chiru and wild yak, as well as home to Tibetan gazelle, kiang,
Tibetan argali, blue sheep, wolf, snow leopard and brown bear. In autumn 2000, for example, with approximately 12
000 of the wild ungulates (mostly the migratory chiru) within the Aru basin along with some 8000 domestic livestock,
issues of land use overlap and possible grazing competition are clear to both local nomads and reserve managers.
Whereas livestock development actions elsewhere on the Tibetan plateau are promoting increased livestock
production, they are doing so at the expense of wildlife, and such an approach will not be appropriate in areas where
wildlife conservation is a major priority. Although some of the ongoing livestock development programs may be
adapted to the western TAR, new approaches to pastoral development will have to be developed in the reserve. The
ultimate goal of enhancing the nomads’ standard of living, while conserving this truly unique array of biodiversity,
presents a daunting challenge
Nomadic pastoralism in the Aru basin of Tibet’s Chang Tang.
Nomadic pastoralists live at the northern extent of human habitation within the ca. 5000 m elevation Aru basin, in the nortwestern part of the Chang Tang Nature Preserve, Tibet. These nomads herd primarily sheep and goats, a lesser number of yaks, and a few horses. Goats are increasing in importance because of the value of cashmere wool in national and international markets. Although sheep wool production is greater per animal than for the cashmere goats, the price obtained for its wool is much lower. Still, households keep more sheep than goats, primarily because sheep meat is preferred for consumption and sheep wool is important for the nomads’ own use. The Aru nomads have traditionally depended on hunting to compensate for livestock lost to predators and unpredictable climatic phenomena such as blizzards. The prohibition of hunting in the reserve from 1993 has apparently resulted in a lowering of their standard of living, even with an overall rise in cashmere prices. According to the nomads, without hunting they have thus lost a safety measure important during years with heavy livestock losses. Conservation related development initiatives in the reserve should address this issue