Contextual Factors in the Management of Common Grazing Lands: Lessons from Mongolia and Northwestern China

Contextual Factors in the Management of Common Grazing Lands: Lessons from Mongolia and Northwestern China

Seen in a global perspective, pastoral development is now increasingly motivated by social and environmental objectives rather than by production- or output-orientated objectives. Attention is shifting towards a broader concern with sustainability, both of grasslands, and of the livelihoods of those who rely on them (de Haan et al, 1997, Fratkin and Mearns forthcoming). Quite how these twin sustainability objectives may be achieved in particular contexts, however, is an empirical question. Drawing on examples from a diverse range of natural grassland-based livestock production systems under economic transition in Mongolia and northwestern China, this summary paper aims to show how an appreciation of context is essential if we are to understand how best to intervene in common grazing systems in order to achieve secure and sustainable livelihoods for livestock producers while at the same time promoting sustainable grassland management.