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Pastoralist Decision-Making on the Tibetan Plateau

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Abstract

Despite a growing body of research about rangeland degradation and the effects of policies implemented to address it on the Tibetan Plateau, little in-depth research has been conducted on how pastoralists make decisions. Based on qualitative research in Gouli Township, Qinghai province, China, we analyze the context in which Tibetan herders make decisions, and their decisions about livestock and pastures. We refute three fundamental assumptions upon which current policy is premised: that pastoralists aim to increase livestock numbers without limit; that, blindly following tradition, they do not actively manage livestock and rangelands; and that they lack environmental knowledge. We demonstrate that pastoralists carefully assess limits to livestock holdings based on land and labor availability; that they increasingly manage their livestock and rangelands through contracting; and that herding knowledge is a form of embodied practical skill. We further discuss points of convergence and contradiction between herders’ observations and results of a vegetation analysis.

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Notes

  1. Research report on establishment of long-term rangeland ecological protection compensation mechanism in the TAR (guanyu jianli Xizang caoyuan shengtai buchang changxiao jizhi de diaoyan baogao) in Proposals on Sustainable Development 2007 (in Chinese), Forestry Publishing House, Beijing, 366–72, in Nyima (2014:186).

  2. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-08/31/c_132679346.htm

  3. The exchange rate is roughly 6.5 RMB = 1 USD.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Pemabum for field assistance and the many herders in Gouli who patiently answered our questions over a number of years.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA

    Emily T. Yeh & Emily Volkmar

  2. Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN, 55108, USA

    Leah H. Samberg

  3. The Centre for Tibetan Studies of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

    Gaerrang

  4. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Olympia, WA, 98501, USA

    Richard B. Harris

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  1. Emily T. Yeh
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  4. Emily Volkmar
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Emily T. Yeh.

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Funding

This study was funded by the US National Science Foundation, Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems Program, Award 0815441.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Yeh, E.T., Samberg, L., Gaerrang et al. Pastoralist Decision-Making on the Tibetan Plateau. Hum Ecol 45, 333–343 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-017-9891-8

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