Evolution of Rural Livelihood Strategies in a Remote Sino-Mongolian Border Area: A Cross-Country Analysis

Abstract

Ecologically sound natural resources management is still the backbone of rural livelihoods in many regions of the world. The Altai-Dzungarian region between China and Mongolia constitutes an ideal site to study how political, economic, infrastructural, and cultural differences affect rural livelihoods. Structured semi-quantitative interviews were conducted with 483 households on both sides to characterise their current livelihood strategies and assess the importance of the various activities for the households' current socio-economic situation by means of the categorical principal component and two-step cluster analysis. In total, four livelihood clusters were identified across both regions, whereby one cluster was only present in Mongolia. In general, all clusters mirrored the transition from almost pure pastoralist to agro-pastoralist livelihood strategies. While animal husbandry was more common in Mongolia and crop farming more common in China, most households in both countries pursued a rather mixed approach. The composition of the herds, as well as the richness and diversity of the livestock species, differed significantly between the countries and was generally higher in Mongolia. Supplementary feedstuff and pesticide and fertiliser use were higher in China, along with diversification of produces. Our analysis indicates that until very recently the livelihood strategies on both sides of the border were the same, manifesting in the fact that we can define three identical clusters across countries (environment factor) even though there are slight differences in land, livestock and asset endowment.

Feed Intake of Small Ruminants on Spring and Summer Pastures in the Mongolian Altai Mountains

“…pastures in the Altai Mountains that are grazed in a sequential manner, with an average duration of herds' stay per spring and summer pasture of 42 and 32 days [25]. The surface of The predominant land use and livelihood system is pasture-based transhumant animal husbandry [26]. Paralleling the nationwide trend, the total number of livestock in Bulgan soum of Khovd province as well as in Bulgan soum of Bayan Ulgii province increased from 1990 to 2009, mostly due to a sharp increase in the number of goats ( Figure 2).…”

“…The increasing number of small ruminants has further implications for pasture utilisation:since more animals are grazing the same plant species, the overall utilisation of vegetation becomes patchier [22] and the presence of grasses may decrease while the presence of forbs and weedy annuals may increase [23,24]. Furthermore, a trend towards reduced walking distances and frequencies of herd movements between and on seasonal pastures has been observed recently [25,26] which increases the grazing pressure on those sites where herding families camp during the spring, summer, and autumn [27]. to 2016 (Source: [28]).…”

“…The ecological and geographical conditions of the Altai mountain steppes and alpine meadows are particularly suited for spring and summer grazing of small ruminants [29,30]. Currently the mountain pastures in this border area supply feed to approximately 370,000 head of animals which constitute the backbone of livelihood of the local population [26]. Due to the importance of spring and summer pastures for animal nutrition within the yearly cycle, their primary and secondary productivity is of high relevance for the economic and social sustainability of rural people's livelihoods.…”

“…We thereby understand primary productivity as the plant biomass produced per unit surface and unit time, and secondary productivity as the animal mass (weight) produced per unit surface (or unit plant biomass) and unit time. In view of (a) increasing climate variability and change [10], (b) increasing numbers of domestic herbivores and particularly goats [26], (c) decreasing herd mobility [25], and (d) very clustered grazing patterns [27] that were evidenced in companion studies for the southern Altai region of Mongolia, we aimed at evaluating (1) quantity and quality of herbaceous biomass offered along the daily grazing itineraries of sheep and goats and (2) grazing behaviour, feed and nutrient intake of small ruminants during spring and summer seasons in order to (3) determine if forage availability and quality sustain secondary pasture productivity in the southern Mongolian Altai despite ongoing agro-ecological change processes (a-d).…”

Participatory Mapping as an Approach to Identify Grazing Pressure in the Altay Mountains, Mongolia

“…Tsunhal Nur summer pasture (also spelled Tsunkhul Lake [5] or Sonkhel Lake [30], central point of lake 46 • 40 N, 91 • 35 E, altitude: 2392 to 3097 m a.s.l.) is located approximately 65 km northeast of Burenkhairkhan (Khovd aimag) in the southern tip of Bulgan soum (district), Bayan-Ulgii aimag (province), Mongolia (Figure 1).…”