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Maintaining the Human–Natural Systems of Pastoralism in the Himalayas of South Asia and China

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Building Resilience of Human-Natural Systems of Pastoralism in the Developing World

Abstract

This chapter presents an overview of pastoralism in the Himalayas and summarizes the current situation and trends of human–natural systems of pastoralism in the Nepalese Himalaya, in the Indian Himalaya, and on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau of China. The human–natural system of pastoralism has lasted in a relatively stable manner for centuries in the Himalayas, especially through flexible responses to the variability of climate conditions in the short term. However, a great number of external and internal driving forces are currently threatening the sustainability of the long-term nature of pastoralism. They complicate interactions and feedbacks between human and natural components of pastoralism in coping with the stresses, and the integration of various tools and strategies from the ecological and social sciences as well as other disciplines in sustainable pastoral development. In the Himalayan region of northern Nepal, local institutions of collective action and indigenous property right systems for pastoral resource management are the key adaptive strategies to overcome the difficulties in pastoral management associated with poor cooperation and collaboration between the government and the pastoral society. In the Indian Himalaya, well-organized local institutions and commonly agreed norms and rules among the pastoral societies have promoted the sustainable use of pastoral resources in coping with pressures and threats of climatic, socioeconomic, and political changes. On the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau of China, local pastoralists have developed adaptive actions of mobility, specificity, preparedness, diversification, exchange, collaboration, and partnership based on their knowledge and wisdom to cope with rangeland degradation driven by climate change and human overexploitation.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the funding organizations including Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China, National Natural Science Foundation of China, and Asian Scholar Foundation, India China Institute of New School, Beijing Normal University for their financial supports. The authors are grateful to the scholars whose articles, tables and figures are cited in this chapter. The authors are most grateful to the farmers, herders and professionals who have been interviewed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China

    Shikui Dong

  2. Environmental Change and Ecosystem Service, ICIMOD, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Shaoliang L. Yi

  3. Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, China

    Zhaoli L. Yan

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  1. Shikui Dong
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  2. Shaoliang L. Yi
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Correspondence to Shikui Dong .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing, China

    Shikui Dong

  2. Ithaca, New York, USA

    Karim-Aly S. Kassam

  3. Montpellier, France

    Jean François Tourrand

  4. Fort Collins, Colorado, USA

    Randall B. Boone

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Dong, S., Yi, S.L., Yan, Z.L. (2016). Maintaining the Human–Natural Systems of Pastoralism in the Himalayas of South Asia and China. In: Dong, S., Kassam, KA., Tourrand, J., Boone, R. (eds) Building Resilience of Human-Natural Systems of Pastoralism in the Developing World. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30732-9_3

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