Mountain agropastoralism: traditional practices, institutions and pressures in the Indian Trans-Himalaya of Ladakh

Abstract

AbstractAnimal husbandry of agropastoral communities in the mountainous region of Leh, Ladakh, has been transformed in response to socio-economic and geo-political changes. This study investigates the current state of agropastoralism in the Trans-Himalaya of Leh, Ladakh, focusing on two objectives: understanding grazing management practices and examining socio-environmental factors affecting traditional pastoral livelihoods. Through a mixed-methods approach, including interviews and focus group discussions, this study explores resource utilisation patterns and decision-making processes within local communities and institutions based on a comparative approach in three pastoral areas of Ladakh. The resource utilisation pattern differs from village to village as a response to meet seasonal fodder demands; accordingly, high-altitude pastures are assessed in winter and/or summer seasons. Key stresses to the perpetuation of traditional pastoral knowledge include livelihood diversification, increasing dependence upon exogenous food production system and diminishing significance of traditional livelihood practices with improved connectivity, higher education aspirations and development of tourism and military services. Broadly, changes could be perceived from the abandonment of regular seasonal migration to pasturelands, in livestock composition and size and the decreasing number of households practising animal herding. Apart from socio-economic and developmental pressures, pastoral practices are simultaneously threatened by wild predators as well as by global warming-induced occurrence of extreme climatic events and pest attacks. While pastoral practices are carried on by a limited number of households in the three detailed study sites, knowledge pertaining to resource management, pastureland system and grazing pattern is still intact considering the resource seasonality and range of social and environmental pressures the region experiences. Ladakh’s agropastoral practices, rooted in local ecological knowledge, face challenges from socio-economic changes, risking climate resilience, ecosystem degradation, cultural loss and food security for agropastoral communities and broader societal contexts. Thus, it becomes vital to safeguard these indigenous livelihood practices and to promote a participatory approach to enhance capacity building for the continuation of the practice, which could contribute to local economies in areas with similar socio-environmental settings.