Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 2.8
A conceptual diagram of the relationships among mean precipitation during the
growing season (or vegetation productivity), integration with the market economy
(as opposed to a subsistence economy), and likelihood of chronic rangeland
degradation. This simple model makes no distinction among various possible
land-tenure arrangements, but assumes that they are internally consistent and that
tenure arrangements are clear and acceptable.
Least
likely
Most
likely
Intermediate
Rather than any particular land tenure regime being key to pastoral sustainability,
it seems critical that whatever land tenure system in place be internally consistent and
predictable (see Figure 2.9). There is no contradiction between holding, on the one hand,
that traditional systems were adaptive, appropriate, and sustainable, and on the other, that
modifications to fit twenty-first-century life are needed. That does not necessarily mean
that the only, or even the best, reform is to abandon mobility entirely and, as Chinese
policy intends, to replace subsistence with a commercial ranching model.
The crucial change that has occurred in recent decades in western grasslands has been the
evolution from a subsistence-based economy to a market-based one. To be sure, feedback
loops discouraging overgrazing exist in both economies. However, under a subsistence
economy, the pastoralist's incentive is entirely in keeping his herd and grasslands healthy
because he has essentially no other way to accumulate wealth or value. Under a market-
based system, the pastoralist's priority to keep his livestock and grasslands healthy com-
petes with imperatives to generate money (e.g., to support education for family members,
purchase items for leisure time). He can afford to allow his grasslands to deteriorate—at
least for some time—if he compensates by increasing his wealth in other ways.
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