Participatory Mapping as an Approach to Identify Grazing Pressure in the Altay Mountains, Mongolia

Beyond grassland degradation: Pathways to resilience for pastoralist households in alpine grassland ecosystems

Sustaining the development of rural and pastoral communities' hinges on livelihood resilience. Pastoralist household resilience relies on resource availability and decision-making abilities. Despite extensive studies on pastoralist livelihoods, a significant knowledge gap remains in understanding the nuanced adaptive capacities of diverse households, particularly amid grassland degradation. Thus, this study investigates the household-based livelihood resilience of pastoralists in China's Three-River Headwater Region, offering policy recommendations for resilient livelihoods. Using stratified random sampling, 758 pastoralist household heads underwent semi-structured interviews to collect data. Five household characteristics, encompassing age, gender, energy use, well-being perception, and multi-household grazing participation, were evaluated. Looking ot the nature of data, descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests were performed in this study to draw the valid inferences. The results revealed a positive correlation (p < 0.05) between household head age and livelihood resilience, with divergent resilience across age groups. Varied energy usage yielded distinct impacts; households employing solar or mixed energy sources exhibited heightened resilience (p < 0.05). Household well-being emerged as an invariant variable concerning resilience. Furthermore, engagement in multi-household grazing (an informal institution) significantly (p < 0.05) influenced pastoralist livelihood resilience. These insights advocate targeted support for young household heads and the adoption of clean energy. Exploring the deeper strategies and mechanisms of multi-household grazing can enhance understanding and policy integration, guiding eco-friendly progress within rustic landscapes for pastoral communities.

Assessment of domestic pig-bushpig (Potamochoerus larvatus) interactions through local knowledge in rural areas of Madagascar

In many parts of the world, domestic and wild animal populations interact at the interface between natural and agricultural ecosystems. Introduced with the first inhabitants arriving from eastern Africa, the bushpig (Potamochoerus larvatus) is the largest living terrestrial mammal in Madagascar. Bushpigs are regularly reported close to human settlements where they damage crops and gardens. As domestic pigs are often raised in free-ranging conditions around the villages, bushpigs and domestic pigs can interact leading to the transmission and circulation of shared swine pathogens that impact both animal and human health. In this study, we characterized the socio-ecological context of bushpig-domestic pig interactions in two different regions of western Madagascar. We conducted participatory mapping sessions and focus group interviews with 65 hunters, 80 pig farmers and 96 crop farmers in 20 fokontany, the smallest administrative unit in Madagascar. After discussing with participants, we gathered information about the spatialization of interactions and their potential geographical drivers. We explored data by performing multiple correspondence analysis and hierarchical clustering on principal components. Based on the reported occurrence or absence of bushpig-domestic pig interactions we were able to classify areas with high or intermediate levels of interactions or no interactions at all. Interactions between the two pig species were reported in only 25% of the fokontany assessed. Even though both suid species were attracted to fruit trees, crops, and water sources, only indirect interactions in those spots were reported. Direct interactions were reported in 10% of cases and referred to interspecific sexual and/or agonistic behavior. The participatory methods used to acquire local knowledge about natural events were confirmed as valuable, low-cost exploratory methods to characterize areas with wild-domestic animal interactions. The results of this study will help plan future studies to characterize the interface between the two species from an ecological or epidemiological perspective using more sensitive and sophisticated ecological approaches.

Constraints and prospects of utilising mountain pastures in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

In the mountain regions of northern Pakistan, pasture-based animal husbandry is a substantial element of people’s livelihood. To study the implications of herding strategies on rangeland utilization patterns, individual interviews with 90 herders and 10 group interviews with five to eight herders per group, respectively, were conducted in three valleys each of Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region. Data collection targeted number and species of animals kept, livestock management practices and seasonal pasture use and included GIS-based participatory mapping of spring, summer, autumn and winter pastures of yak, small ruminants and cattle. Households kept 10 yaks on average, along with 4 cattle and 15 small ruminants. Herding practices varied between valleys and seasons and were influenced by topographic as well as social factors. Full-time herding led to a more uniform distribution of yaks on pastures than part-time herding and unattended grazing, but in small ruminants promoted higher animal numbers near campsites. Many livestock keepers perceived rangeland degradation as a veritable challenge and identified lack of herding labour as one important problem. Training programmes for young herders, strengthening of group herding schemes and prevention of lowland pasture conversion into farmland were suggested as effective countermeasures.

Managing Rangelands Without Herding? Insights From Africa and Beyond

In many parts of the world, the utilization of rangelands is based on the targeted movement of herds within and across often vast territories. Crucial for the success of these livestock operations are decisions on how to flexibly allocate animals to the existing vegetation, both in terms of numbers and concentrations, and in space and time. Research from large scale ranching in the prairies of the Americas, and nomadic or transhumant livestock systems in Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia, suggests that the more precisely specific patches of vegetation at a specific development stage can be targeted, the more beneficial will be the outcome in terms of animal nutrition and productivity. This also holds for the provision of environmental services such as aboveground net primary production, biodiversity preservation, and soil fertility. However, herding requires year-round labor investment, and in rural areas where seasonal migration is an important livelihood strategy, herding may suffer from absence of skilled workforce. Additional obstacles are political neglect and land use competition, insecurity, reduced self-ownership rates of herds, partial social isolation of herders, and hardship of the work. These make herding an increasingly unpopular occupation, especially for the young generation, but there are also factors that drive (young) people to take up or continue this profession. Reduced herding efforts, reflected in the reluctance to utilize remote grazing areas, may lead to overstocking of favorable pastures. This increases the risk of pasture degradation, long-term reduced herd productivity, social conflict, and public criticism of pastoralism as an anachronistic lifestyle and detrimental land stewardship, thereby further fueling the erosion of herding. By reviewing studies from Africa, the Middle East, and southern and eastern Asia, and including some insights from Europe and southern America, we discuss the ecosystem services produced by herding and herd mobility, and reflect on the ecological and social consequences of the loss of herding labor. Highlighting aspects that speak for this occupation at the individual level, we conclude by suggesting interventions that may sustain the herding profession, such as facilitation of labor sharing, labor contracts, improved herder security, and societal payments for ecological and cultural services.