The household responsibility contract system and the question of grassland protection. A case study from the Chang Tang, northwest Tibet Autonomous Region

The implementation of the Household Responsibility Contract System (HRCS) for grassland is ongoing in the pastoral area of Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR). The main purposes of the HRCS are to reverse the degradation of the rangeland, promote sustainable development of grassland and to increase nomadic production to transform traditional animal husbandry into a more modern development. In this thesis I have address two main questions: 1) Does the Household Responsibility Contract System really protect grassland? 2) Is HRCS compatible with the intended development of the Chang Tang conservation area? HRCS implements a shilft from a common management system to an individual management system. Thus, the starting point for this argument is the comparison of the two management systems and their suitability and adaptability to TAR’s pastoral area in relation to my study area, the Shenchen township pastoral area. I attempt to demonstrate how common property systems have traditionally served and benefited the Shenchen nomads, and how they have traditionally co-existed with the wildlife using this system. I have compared my study area to those areas where the grassland policy has already been implemented in other pastoral areas in China. I analyze how HRCS is working in my particular area; especially in the Chang Tang conservation area and whether it is having an effect on nomad’s culture and environment

Local knowledge production, transmission, and the importance of village leaders in a network of Tibetan pastoralists coping with environmental change

Includes bibliographical references.Changing climate, social institutions, and natural resource management policies are reshaping the dynamics of social-ecological systems globally, with subsistence-based communities likely to be among the most vulnerable to the impacts of global change. These communities’ local ecological knowledge is increasingly recognized as a source of adaptive capacity for them as well as a crucial source of information to be incorporated into scientific understanding and policy making. We interviewed Tibetan pastoralists about their observations of environmental changes, their interpretations of the causes of these changes, and the ways in which they acquire and transmit this knowledge. We found that community members tended to agree that changing climate is driving undesirable trends in grassland and livestock health, and some also viewed changing management practices as compounding the impacts of climate change. However, those nominated by their peers as experts on traditional, pastoral knowledge observed fewer changes than did a more heterogeneous group of people who reported more ways in which the environment is changing. Herders mostly discussed these changes among themselves and particularly with village leaders, yet people who discussed environmental changes together did not necessarily hold the same knowledge of them. These results indicate that members of the community are transferring knowledge of environmental change primarily as a means for seeking adaptive solutions to it, rather than for learning from others, and that local leaders can serve as critical brokers of knowledge transfer within and beyond their communities. This highlights not only the interconnectedness of knowledge, practice, and power, but also points toward the important role that local governance can have in helping communities cope with the impacts of global change.Published with support from the Colorado State University Libraries Open Access Research and Scholarship Fund

BCG coverage and the association between selected factors and the immunization coverage among children under the age of two years in rural and semi-rural Lhasa District, Tibet

Aim: Tuberculosis (TB) is a worldwide pandemic. The BCG vaccine still remains the standard for TB prevention in most countries because of its efficacy in preventing life-threatening forms of TB in infants and young children, and BCG is the only vaccine available. To achieve a high BCG coverage, it is important to investigate the BCG coverage in populations and the factors which affect the immunization status. Thus giving us clues for improving the coverage. Few such studies have been conducted in Tibet. The aim of the present study is to estimate the BCG immunization coverage and to investigate the association between the BCG coverage and the selected factors in children less than two years of age in semi-rural and rural areas of Lhasa District. Methods: The present cross-sectional study was carried out among children less than two years of age in Quxu County (N=484) and in Damxung County (N=496) of Lhasa District, Tibet. In Quxu County we selected all the children less than two years of age and in Damxung County we used multi- stage sampling method to select the sample. The questionnaire consists of core question regarding socio-demographic characteristic of household, the knowledge and belief of mothers related to the immunization and TB, accessibility of health services and the BCG immunization history of children. BCG vaccination scar were checked on the children’s shoulder and recorded. Results: The BCG coverage in the semi-rural area Quxu County was 77%, and that of rural-area Damxung County was 61%. In Quxu County the high BCG coverage was significantly associated with short walking time from home to nearest health facility (OR=3.1; CI, 2.0-4.8), ever vaccinated in health facility (OR=2.5 ; CI, 1.6-4.0), receiving outreaching services (OR=12.0; CI, 7.0-20.6), frequency of outreaching services once per month (OR=7.4; CI 3.7-14.9) or once per two to four months (OR=6.3; CI 2.8-14.5), knowing the time of next outreaching services (OR=2.0; CI, 1.1-3.6), hospital delivery (OR=1.8 ; CI, 1.1-2.7), type of delivery assistance (health worker) (OR=2.0; CI 1.3-3.1), and. In terms of cost of transportation, high BCG coverage were associated with inexpensive cost of transportation (OR=4.6; CI, 1.8-11.6). In Damxung County, the factors significantly associated with high BCG coverage of children were receiving outreaching services (OR=3.8; CI, 2.0-7.2), and knowing the time of next outreaching services (OR=2.7; CI, 1.6-4.5). There was a clear relation between high BCG coverage and frequency of outreaching services, compared to services once or twice per year the odds were as follows once per two to four months (OR=2.7; CI, 1.6-4.5), and monthly (OR=5.7; CI, 3.0 -11.0). Conclusions: BCG coverage was significantly higher in semi-rural area Quxu County (77%) than in the rural-area of Damxung County (61%). In order to increase the immunization coverage in the rural and semi-rural area of Tibet, the frequency of the outreaching services should be increased, as well as more polite information about the time of such services should be given. To establish more health facilities to reduce the travel distance for the mothers or to set up transportation free of charge or to a low cost would be helpful. To encourage the mothers to give birth at hospitals would also increase immunization coverage. However, for many families in Tibet, this will be too expensive. At the same time, birth at hospitals would help in decreasing the mother and child mortality in Tibet

The household responsibility contract system and the question of grassland protection. A case study from the Chang Tang, northwest Tibet Autonomous Region

The implementation of the Household Responsibility Contract System (HRCS) for grassland is ongoing in the pastoral area of Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR). The main purposes of the HRCS are to reverse the degradation of the rangeland, promote sustainable development of grassland and to increase nomadic production to transform traditional animal husbandry into a more modern development. In this thesis I have address two main questions: 1) Does the Household Responsibility Contract System really protect grassland? 2) Is HRCS compatible with the intended development of the Chang Tang conservation area? HRCS implements a shilft from a common management system to an individual management system. Thus, the starting point for this argument is the comparison of the two management systems and their suitability and adaptability to TAR’s pastoral area in relation to my study area, the Shenchen township pastoral area. I attempt to demonstrate how common property systems have traditionally served and benefited the Shenchen nomads, and how they have traditionally co-existed with the wildlife using this system. I have compared my study area to those areas where the grassland policy has already been implemented in other pastoral areas in China. I analyze how HRCS is working in my particular area; especially in the Chang Tang conservation area and whether it is having an effect on nomad’s culture and environment