Extensive grazing lands cover vast areas of temperate Asia, and are important both environmentally and as a source of livelihood for herders. Both transhumant (nomadic) and agropastoral systems are involved. The area can be divided into two zones: temperate areas, above 1 000-1 500 m in the Himalaya - Hindu Kush area (referred to as Himalaya); and the cold semi-arid to arid zone north of the Himalaya, through the Tibet-Qinghai Plateau and northern China to the Asian steppe.
FAO has supported a series of case studies, mostly on transhumant systems, since the mid-1990s, which were carried out by national staff using local means and methods. The studies generated a series of reports, and the quality and interest of those reports is such that they merit a wider readership; they are now brought together in book form.
Studies are reported from Bhutan, China, India, Mongolia, Nepal and Pakistan, on transhumant systems and allied subjects, including haymaking and the development of cold-tolerant lucerne. The pastoral situation in the major areas of extensive grazing is described briefly, by zone, to put the studies in context.
The book is in 17 chapters, with summaries for each. After an introduction, Chapter II introduces Cold Temperate Asia, and discusses the effects of decollectivization on herding. Chapters III and IV present two case studies from Mongolia: the first describes systems in two provinces of the great lakes basins (the steppe and mountain-steppe systems are already well known), where a clear set of climatic and social indicators govern movements. Timing of movement is restricted since routes use passes that are only negotiable for very limited seasons. Mixed flocks are kept by all herders: horses, cattle and small stock are important, and camels are kept for baggage transport. A second Mongolia study describes haymaking in the mountain and steppe zone. Now that centrally provided hay is unavailable, techniques using animal drawn or manual equipment were demonstrated on herder’s land with their full participation.
Chapter V describes the grazing and fodder situation in China. Chapters VI and VII are two case studies from Xinjiang: one on a herding system allied to irrigated haymaking, and the second on breeding lucerne for irrigated hay. Irrigated lucerne for winter feed has been introduced to a transhumant system in Altai, Xinjiang. Transhumance continues, but only the herders migrate. The scheme began in the late 1980s - it will take time to convert traditional herders, with no cropping experience, into good irrigated cultivators. Only one local landrace of lucerne was in use, so it was deemed desirable to widen the genetic base. Introduced “cold-tolerant” cultivars failed to overwinter. Local selection has produced an improved cultivar, which is well adapted to the area and more productive than the one in use. A system of seed multiplication and maintenance of mother seed has been installed. Chapter VIII describes the pastoral situation in Tibet, and some ambitious plans for its development.
Chapter IX describes the systems of the western Himalaya, followed in Chapter X by a case study from India of a classical vertical transhumance system of the Gaddis, a pastoral tribe in Himachal Pradesh, where their route goes from the plains to the snowline on ranges that have peaks as high as 5 500 m, although the average altitude is about 2 500 m.
Chapters XI and XII are two studies from Pakistan. One involves two groups of herder who use the same summer pastures: local farmers who take their herds to the high pastures in summer, and herding nomads who move between the high pastures and the plains. A second study describes how, in Swat, which was a traditional winter grazing area for transhumant herds, change in political structures and land-use patterns over the past thirty years has led to a great reduction in the grazing area available to nomads in winter, as well as blocking many of their transhumance routes.
Chapter XIII deals with the eastern Himalaya, and is followed by two studies on transhumance with large ruminants from Bhutan (Chapters XIV and XV) and a study on high-altitude raising of cattle-yak hybrids in Nepal (Chapter XVI). The first Bhutan study involves a community based between 2 600 and 3 000 m, with some crops. Cattle and cattle × mithun (Bos gaurus) crosses are the main stock. A system of entrusting stock to the care of other groups for part of the year is described - in this case, for the winter. The second system is wholly dependent on yaks. In Nepal, two grazing systems based on raising bought-in chauris for milk were studied: one is highly commercialized and based around a milk-purchasing organization; the other has no outlet for fresh milk, so sells only ghee and local dried cheese. Grazing areas are between 2 500 and 3 100 m; up to 2 800 m they are in the vicinity of forest, while higher pastures are open and treeless. There are problems of overgrazing, compounded by the summer grazing areas being also the winter grazing of yaks belonging to other communities, and the winter areas are used, in summer, by buffaloes from the lower areas.
Findings and conclusions are summarized in Chapter XVII. Two kinds of transhumant herding systems have been identified, which developed under different geographical conditions. Those in the Himalayan region overwinter in lower, warm areas, but in cold semi-arid Asia they have no access to warm pastures. Grassland is by far the most important vegetation type, although browse is locally important in the subtropical end of Himalayan systems. Cyperaceae form a major part of the grazing in the highest areas, especially for yak grazing.
Land tenure problems, or lack of clarity in grazing rights, were identified as a serious problem in most of the zone. This has been exacerbated in those countries that had collectivized extensive stock rearing, since livestock were distributed long before any attempt was made to define grazing rights. The methods of decollectivization varied, as has their impact on the herding industry. Throughout the Himalayan zone, conflict of interests between settled farmers and herders is increasing with rising population pressure and intensification of agriculture.
Poor pasture condition figures highly among technical constraints. Since there is no baseline data, the evolution of degradation can only be guessed; there is a serious need for more monitoring of pasture condition and trends as a management tool, and to measure environmental impact. Winter and spring feed are major problems throughout the area, and, in cold semi-arid areas, winter shelter is highly desirable. Water supply is a local problem, especially in the steppe, where artificial water points have often been neglected in recent times. Fire is rarely mentioned; it is little used, neither as a pasture management tool nor in agriculture in the zone, and does not seem to be a serious problem.
Technical problems are not usually the main ones facing transhumant herding: the major problems are socio-economic. There is an urgent need to clarify problems of grazing rights. The “technical” approach advocated for improving extensive pastures and livestock production in the past has not been successful, and, in most cases, an integrated methodology would be needed. Educational levels among herding communities in the study areas vary greatly, but it is not obvious that the level of literacy affects the main traditional herding skills. In the Himalaya, herders were generally perceived as being poor, but in cold semi-arid Asia they are in the mainstream population and are not a poor group. The studies overall have shown that most of the usual technical “grassland” suggestions for improving pasture management and herding productivity (such as better grazing management, reseeding with high-yielding species, and herder training) are impracticable, not least until the various land tenure and grazing rights issues are addressed.
The main methods of improving pasture condition involve manipulation of grazing pressure and grazing management. It is necessary, therefore, that the grazing rights to the land involved be clear, that the necessary laws and regulations be in force, and that the mechanisms exist to see that they are respected. Application of regulations for improvement, such as only grazing land at the correct season and regulating the overall stocking rate, require the agreement and compliance of all who have right to graze a particular piece of land - participatory methods are indicated, but the whole issue can be very complicated. Where the human population is dense, and the pasture - even when correctly managed - cannot provide a reasonable livelihood, it is very difficult to get agreement on destocking. However, better grazing management is essential, not only for improving pasture conditions and for improved pastoral livelihoods, but also for improving the overall grassland cover on areas that constitute some of the most important and fragile watershed areas of the region.
In the Himalaya zone, many of the settled stock owners who use the same pastures as transhumants have considerable opportunity for improving feed supply through growing hay crops.
Throughout most of the area there is lack of information on pasture condition and trends, although China has just completed a national grassland survey. Even grazing areas are often only approximately known. If management of grazing land is to be improved, more information is required for both planning of work and monitoring vegetation trends. Transhumant systems are potentially less damaging than sedentary ones because they exploit the herbage at fixed seasons, and leave it to recover for the remainder of the growing season. While many herders would prefer a more settled life, and many governments would like to settle nomads, alternative employment would have to be found. In the Himalayan context, this would mean finding livelihoods in an already oversupplied labour market. In the cold semi-arid zone, extensive herding seems to be the only practical way of earning a living from the land. It is likely that transhumant herding will continue for many years yet.
