The Roles of Overgrazing, Climate Change and Policy As Drivers of Degradation of China's Grasslands

Abstract

Climate change and overgrazing are believed by policy makers to have been the drivers of grassland degradation in China over the past thirty years. However, recent work has suggested that policies that have led to privatization of use rights and household enclosures are more important drivers of degradation. An analysis of available evidence from scienti fic publications and national survey data relating to climate change, livestock numbers, and management policy was undertaken to evaluate the case for each of these possible drivers of degradation. The analysis suggests that, to date, policy measures imposed to avoid the 'tragedy of the commons' have been more important than either climate change or overgrazing as a driver of degradation. The resulting fragmentation of the pastoral landscape has caused localized grazing pressure and spatial and temporal mismatches between grassland production and livestock access to forage. Grazing rights negotiated and allocated at a multiple-household level would allow greater productivity, better rangeland condition, possible advantages of scale and pooling of herder resources, and better potential to adapt to future climate change.