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The effects of China’s environmental protection policies on pasture quality and the activities of small-scale herders in Songpan County, Western Sichuan

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Abstract

Since 2000, there has been an ambitious governmental effort to protect China’s grassland resources through new, often controversial, policies and programs backed up by massive capital investments and subsidies. The policies are intended to protect pastoral ecological systems while allowing the pasture-based husbandry sector to continue to evolve in ways that assure acceptable revenues to affected families and regions. This article reports results of a case study conducted in Songpan County of western Sichuan during the fall of 2013 specifically focused on these issues and interactions. The mixed-method research combines remotely sensed MODIS vegetation indices (EVI), livestock counts by type, and grassland area estimates at the township scale from 2000–2012, with depth interviews with local herding families and husbandry officials to determine how the husbandry sector has changed in the past 12 years under post-2000 policy interventions. Results for Songpan indicate that pasture coverage has improved slightly as grazing livestock density per hectare declined, but herders and local officials report that some of the new laws and programs have important unanticipated negative impacts on pasture quality, pasture ecology, and economic returns from herding for some families.

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Notes

  1. There are some relatively minor discrepancies in the aggregate statistics for livestock by type obtained during our interviews with Songpan Husbandry Bureau officials and the disaggregate data we acquired for all the townships. We have chosen to use the township data and have not included data for the town of Jing’an—the county seat.

  2. Animal Units are calculated using the following ratios: Cattle, Yak, Yak Hybrids are equivalent to a unit value of 1.0, horses = 0.8, pigs = 0.3, sheep = 0.25, and goats = 0.2. To calculate “sheep units,” simply multiply animal units × 4.0. Per convention for our audience, animal units based on cattle are used in the calculations for this article.

  3. Research in China and in other countries has shown that goats—especially during drought years—have a greater impact on pasture health and quality than other range livestock. The willingness of goats to dig and consume the roots of pasture grasses, legumes, and sedges is the basis for this concern (Emerson et al. 2011).

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Acknowledgments

We are very grateful for the efforts of the many employees of the Songpan Husbandry Bureau and other local agencies who served as our guides and provided us with information during our stay in Songpan. Of course, we also thank the herding families who shared their thoughts and invited us into their homes at a very busy time of year. The research was made possible through funds provided by the National Geographic Research Fund, the Western Michigan University OVPR Faculty Research and Creative Activities Award (FRACAA), and the WMU Geography Milton E. and Ruth M. Scherer Fund. We thank anonymous reviewers for their efforts and want to give a special “shout out” to Ms. Melissa N. Owensby for data entry over many days.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Western Michigan University, Mail Stop 5424, Geography, Wood Hall, Western Michigan U., Kalamazoo, MI, 49008, USA

    Gregory Veeck & Charles Emerson

  2. Rural Development Institute, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing, China

    Zhou Li & Fawen Yu

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  1. Gregory Veeck
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  2. Zhou Li
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Correspondence to Gregory Veeck.

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Veeck, G., Li, Z., Yu, F. et al. The effects of China’s environmental protection policies on pasture quality and the activities of small-scale herders in Songpan County, Western Sichuan. Environ Monit Assess 187, 368 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-015-4601-8

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