Environmental conservation has developed significantly in China over the past 20 years, including more collaborative approaches and recent advances in establishing a national parks system. This study reviews the development of protected areas in the headwaters of the Yangtze River, drawing lessons from experiences of community development and co-management approaches. Community engagement and participation in developing localized plans for natural resource utilization and conservation have been critical features of successful ventures. Government programs and policies, the emergence of grassroots civil society, and the development of herders’ cooperatives and protected areas, are all tracked, each pointing towards the significant value of inclusive biodiversity conservation approaches for meeting broadly agreed development agendas, such as achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Observations from the vast, high, arid, and semi-arid lands of the Tibetan Plateau are then considered in light of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which is bringing vast financial and technical resources to the world. Special attention is given to applying the lessons that have been learned in China to the mountains of Central Asia, globally recognized as a biodiversity hotspot and a water tower for large downstream populations. Keeping local people at the heart of conservation is deemed fundamentally important.

Environmental Conservation in the Tibetan Plateau Region: Lessons for China’s Belt and Road Initiative in the Mountains of Central Asia

Traditional ecological knowledge enables pastoralists to cope with social-ecological changes, thereby increasing the sustainability of their practices and fostering social-ecological resilience. Yet, there is a significant knowledge gap concerning the extent to which pastoral traditional ecological knowledge has changed over time at the global level. We aim to fill this gap through a systematic literature review of 288 scientific studies on pastoral traditional ecological knowledge. We reviewed 152 papers in detail (selected randomly from the 288) for their content, and focused specifically on 61 papers that explicitly mentioned one of the four types of knowledge transition (i.e., retention, erosion, adaptation, or hybridization). Studies on pastoral traditional knowledge represent less than 3% of all the scholarly literature on traditional ecological knowledge. Geographical distribution of the 288 case studies was largely biased. Knowledge domains of pastoral knowledge such as herd and livestock management, forage and medicinal plants, and landscape and wildlife were relatively equally covered; however, climate-related knowledge was less often studied. Of the 63 papers that explicitly mentioned transition of pastoral traditional ecological knowledge, 52 reported erosion, and only 11 studies documented explicitly knowledge retention, adaptation, or hybridization of traditional knowledge. Thus, adaptation and hybridization was understudied, although some case studies showed that adaptation and hybridization of knowledge can efficiently help pastoralists navigate among social-ecological changes. Based on the review, we found 13 drivers which were mentioned as the main reasons for knowledge transition among which social-cultural changes, formal schooling, abandonment of pastoral activities, and transition to a market economy were most often reported. We conclude that future research should focus more on the diverse dynamics of pastoral traditional knowledge, be more careful in distinguishing the four knowledge transition types, and analyze how changes in knowledge impact change in pastoral practices and lifestyles. Understanding these phenomena could help pastoralists’ adaptations and support their stewardship of their rangeland ecosystems and biocultural diversity.

/pdf/dynamics-of-pastoral-traditional-ecological-knowledge-a-1ddwewok.pdf

Dynamics of pastoral traditional ecological knowledge: a global state-of-the-art review

Our research examines herder livelihoods strategies in a region of the South Gobi desert that is heavily affected by both formal and informal/illegal mining and is exposed to natural hazards such as dzud (lethally severe winters) and drought. The term ‘herder’ encompasses a wide range of animal-related activities and households correspondingly utilize a complex range of strategies to respond to environmental, political, and socioeconomic conditions. We conducted semi-structured interviews with local herders as well as with individuals who had abandoned herding practices. We discuss how climatic factors such as dzud and drought can affect herders’ livelihood decision-making, including engaging in informal/illegal mining, becoming a contracted herder or opening a small business in settlements. We also demonstrate that both social aspirations and climate-related economic vulnerability play a role in the decision to pursue alternative livelihoods.

Gobi Herders’ Decision-Making and Risk Management under Changing Climate

Herders in Mongolia have adapted to changing environmental conditions over thousands of years through innovations in pasture and herd management practices, knowledge, collective institutions and mo...

Adaptation strategies of nomadic herders in Northeast Mongolia: climate, globalisation and traditional knowledge

Understanding antibiotic use in livestock systems is key in combating antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and developing effective interventions. Using a standardised questionnaire, we investigated the patterns and drivers of antibiotic use in 165 cattle farms across the three major cattle production systems in Kenya: intensive, extensive, and semi-intensive systems across in three counties: Machakos, Makueni and Narok in Kenya. We used a causal diagram to inform regression models to explore the drivers of antibiotic use in the study farms. Antibiotic use was reported in 92.7% of farms, primarily for prophylactic purposes. Oxytetracycline, penicillin, and streptomycin were the most used antibiotics to treat and control the most reported diseases including mastitis, diarrhoea and East Coast fever (ECF). Regression analysis indicated a positive association between the frequency of antibiotic use at the farm level and both disease incidence and herd size. Conversely, farms that provided cattle with appropriate housing were less likely to use antibiotics, and there was no difference in antibiotic use between those who consulted with veterinarians or sourced antibiotics directly from animal health providers. Our study highlights the complexities around understanding the interplay between practices and drivers of antibiotic use. It also underscores the necessity to enhance education regarding the appropriate usage of antibiotics among cattle farmers, encourage the adoption of proper herd management practices which may reduce disease burden, and reinforce veterinary services and supportive legislation to promote the prudent use of antimicrobials. 

Practices and drivers for antibiotic use in cattle production systems in Kenya

Pastoralism is rarely viewed as a major future form of land use, because of well-documented cases of rangeland degradation, attributed to irrational overstocking by pastoralists, and the subsequent losses of ecosystem services. However, pastoralists were actually encouraged to settle and adopt such strategies, copied from rangelands with higher and more reliable rainfall. This curtailed mobility resulted in a shift from opportunistic and extensive land use to more intensive and settled forms of use. The purpose of this review is to examine the link between pastoralism and the provision of ecosystem services by rangelands, focusing on biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration. Pastoralists employ several techniques to manage rangeland resources, including mobility, herding, corralling, grazing reserves and the use of fire. With these strategies, pastoralists have contributed to the enhancement of rangeland biodiversity and the long-term conservation of important wildlife habitats. Pastoralists also possess detailed knowledge of rangeland plants and their uses, which could be valuable in the assessment, conservation and utilisation of rangeland biodiversity. Similarly, traditional pastoral rangeland management practices, such as the use of seasonal grassland reserves and livestock mobility, influence vegetation composition, coverage and abundance in rangelands and offer tools for biomass and soil carbon restoration, contributing to the mitigation of climate change. However, various internal and external factors have curtailed traditional management practices and livestock mobility, breaking the co-evolved balance of vegetation, wildlife and land use, thus exposing rangeland to continued livestock pressure, which often leads to degradation. Rather than abandoning pastoralism, the revitalisation of traditional practices and indigenous knowledge is vital to secure sustainable livelihoods for millions of pastoralists and to maintain rangeland biodiversity and ecosystem services.

The role of pastoralism in regulating ecosystem services

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The role of pastoralism in regulating ecosystem services