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transition from monoculture farming and herding to alternative tourism-based
or augmented livelihood sources.
Many farmers have begun to tap into the opportunities stemming from such
societal changes (Wilk et al. 2014). Farmers noted that rural inhabitants, mainly
herdsmen, have diversified their livelihoods to include tourism operations,
such as restaurants, tented accommodation, horseback riding, trekking tours,
and transportation services. Competition for grazing land is becoming intense
due to the rising demand for meat, and land scarcity is likely to be aggravated
by higher temperatures. By diversifying their livelihoods to include tourist
activities, herdsman can reduce their vulnerability to climate change. Further,
cultivators have begun with new crops (e.g. mushrooms, and grapes for wine
production), as well as different production methods, like growing vegetables
through specialized greenhouse-based organic agriculture. Some of these new
activities have potential to make farmers less sensitive to climate variation
and change, as with mushrooms and vegetables grown in greenhouses where
farmers can regulate temperatures and be protected from weather events like
hail (by covering the crops or burning straw to mitigate cold spells). Crop
changes can either reduce or increase sensitivity to climate variation and change,
depending on which crops are introduced. By growing a variety of crops instead
of relying on cotton or other monocultures, they can reduce their vulnerability.
Currently, however, greenhouses are often heated with inefficient fossil fuels
that contribute to GHG emissions. Intensive cattle raising has also emerged as a
response to the growing demand for meat; this can strengthen adaptive capacity
through higher incomes, but also brings higher GHG emissions and greater
exposure to livestock diseases (Steinfeld et al. 2006).
The new agricultural initiatives in the lifestyle case show that farmers take
both price and climate into account in their livelihood choices. They show great
flexibility in choosing crops, crop varieties and buyers for their produce - all
key factors in high adaptive capacity. Government support through subsidies
can direct livelihood activities towards activities that are more, or less, climate-
appropriate. Subsidizing organic vegetables at the expense of meat production
may, for example, help to curb the demand for meat, although this is not a
simple matter. Support to mixed farming (such as livestock herding as well as
crop cultivation) or non-farming (such as tourist-based businesses) activities
has enabled Xinjiang farmers to diversify their livelihood bases and increase
their incomes. Such pluri-activity is likely to reduce vulnerability (Rigg 2005).
Despite tourist instability in recent years because of ethnic upheavals as well as
rainy summers, farmers said that their incomes were nevertheless more stable
than when based solely on pastoralism, given the area's climate extremes and
increasing grassland degradation.
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