Does the ecological quality of inherited campsites cause persistent inequalities and poverty in pastoral Mongolia?
F. Joly A B F , G. Lefebvre C , A. Sandoz C D and B. Hubert EA Association pour le cheval de Przewalski: TAKH, Tour du Valat, Le Sambuc, 13200 Arles, France.
B ABIES/AgroParisTech, 19 Avenue du Maine, 75732 Paris Cedex 15, France.
C Institut de recherche pour la conservation des zones humides méditerranéennes de la Tour du Valat, Le Sambuc, 13200 Arles, France.
D UFR Sciences, Université d’Aix Marseille, 3 place Victor Hugo, Marseille Cedex 3, 13331, France.
E INRA, Unité d’Ecodéveloppement, Site Agroparc, 84914 Avignon, France.
F Corresponding author. Email: joly@takh.org
The Rangeland Journal 40(3) 219-230 https://doi.org/10.1071/RJ17052
Submitted: 27 May 2017 Accepted: 23 April 2018 Published: 23 May 2018
Abstract
Most socioeconomic surveys carried out in Mongolia since the regime change of the 1990s report persistent inequalities and poverty in pastoral communities. To understand the reasons for this phenomenon, we studied the relationships between livestock numbers and ecological characteristics of herders’ seasonal campsites in a community of the Mongolian Gobi. We classified herders with help of a regression tree into three categories, where herd size is correlated with the proportion of the Stipa glareosa and Psammochloa villosa grasses around campsites. We established in addition from livestock-based income estimations that poverty could affect the small herd category, owning on average less than 180 heads of livestock. We finally observed that herders mostly transmit their campsites to their descendants, particularly in the small herd category. Herders are hence durably associated with campsites whose quality is related to livestock numbers, which may be a factor of inequality and poverty persistence. To further understand these processes, the zootechnical influence of S. glareosa and P. villosa should be investigated, as well as historical and anthropological determinants of campsites repartition.
Additional keywords: forage quality, herder typology, income, land use policy, regression tree, remote sensing.
References
Borgerhoff Mulder, M., Fazzio, I., Irons, W., McElreath, R. L., Bowles, S., Bell, A., Hertz, T., and Hazzah, L. (2010). Pastoralism and wealth inequality: Revisiting an old question. Current Anthropology 51, 35–48.| Pastoralism and wealth inequality: Revisiting an old question.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Breiman, L., Friedman, J. H., Olshen, R. A., and Stone, C. J. (1984). ‘Classification and Regression Trees.’ (Wadsworth International Group: Belmont, CA.)
Damiran, D. (2005). Palatability of Mongolian rangeland plants. https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/handle/1957/3087 (accessed April 2017).
FAOLEX (2015) Faolex. http://faolex.fao.org/ (accessed September 2015).
Fernandez-Gimenez, M. E. (1999). Sustaining the steppes: A geographical history of pastoral land use in Mongolia. Geographical Review 89, 315–342.
| Sustaining the steppes: A geographical history of pastoral land use in Mongolia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Fernandez-Gimenez, M. E. (2001). The effects of livestock privatisation on pastoral use and land tenure in post-socialist Mongolia. Nomadic Peoples 5, 49–66.
| The effects of livestock privatisation on pastoral use and land tenure in post-socialist Mongolia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Fernandez-Gimenez, M. E. (2004). Law and disorder: local implementation of Mongolia’s land law. Development and Change 35, 141–166.
| Law and disorder: local implementation of Mongolia’s land law.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Fernandez-Gimenez, M. E., Batkhishig, B., and Batbuyan, B. (2012). Cross-boundary and cross-level dynamics increase vulnerability to severe winter disasters (dzud) in Mongolia. Global Environmental Change 22, 836–851.
| Cross-boundary and cross-level dynamics increase vulnerability to severe winter disasters (dzud) in Mongolia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Hilbig, W. (1995). ‘The Vegetation of Mongolia.’ (SPB Academic Publishing bv: Amsterdam.)
Humphrey, C., and Sneath, D. (1999). ‘The End of Nomadism.’ (The White Horse Press: Cambridge.)
IUCN (2014). Equus ferus ssp. przewalskii: King, S.R.B., Boyd, L., Zimmerman, W. & Kendall, B.E.: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T7961A45172099. www.iucnredlist.org/details/7961/0 (accessed September 2015).
Jigjidsuren, S., and Johnson, D. A. (2003). ‘Forage Plants in Mongolia.’ (Ch. Sanchir: Ulan Bator)
Johnson, D. A., Sheehy, D. P., Miller, D., and Damiran, D. (2006). Mongolian rangelands in transition. Sécheresse 17, 133–141.
Joly, F., Saïdi, S., Begz, T., and Feh, C. (2012). Key resource areas of an arid grazing system of the Mongolian Gobi. Mongolian Journal of Biological Sciences 10, 13–24.
| Key resource areas of an arid grazing system of the Mongolian Gobi.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Joly, F., Samdanjigmed, T., Cottereau, V., and Feh, C. (2013). Ecological constraints on and consequences of land use heterogeneity: A case study of the Mongolian Gobi. Journal of Arid Environments 95, 84–91.
| Ecological constraints on and consequences of land use heterogeneity: A case study of the Mongolian Gobi.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Kaplonski, C. (2004). ‘Truth, History and Politics in Mongolia: the Memory of Heroes.’ (Routledge-Curzon: London, New York.) Available at: https://books.google.fr/books?id=ApTfycfcJ1EC (accessed February 2017)
Lise, W., Hess, S., and Purev, B. (2006). Pastureland degradation and poverty among herders in Mongolia: Data analysis and game estimation. Ecological Economics 58, 350–364.
| Pastureland degradation and poverty among herders in Mongolia: Data analysis and game estimation.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Lkhagvadorj, D., Hauck, M., Dulamsuren, C., and Tsogtbaatar, J. (2013). Pastoral nomadism in the forest-steppe of the Mongolian Altai under a changing economy and a warming climate. Journal of Arid Environments 88, 82–89.
| Pastoral nomadism in the forest-steppe of the Mongolian Altai under a changing economy and a warming climate.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Mearns, R. (2004). Sustaining livelihoods on Mongolian’s pastoral commons: Insight from a participatory poverty assessment. Development and Change 35, 107–139.
| Sustaining livelihoods on Mongolian’s pastoral commons: Insight from a participatory poverty assessment.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
MODIS 2011 https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/dataprod/index.php.
Mongolian Society for Range Management (2010). ‘Livelihood Study of Herders in Mongolia.’ (Selengepress Co. Ltd.: Ulaanbaatar.)
Nandintsetseg, B., Shinoda, M., and Erdenetsetseg, B (2017). Contributions of multiple climate hazards and overgrazing to the 2009/2010 winter disaster in Mongolia. Natural Hazards. , .
| Contributions of multiple climate hazards and overgrazing to the 2009/2010 winter disaster in Mongolia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
NSOM (2011a). ‘Mongolian Statistical Yearbook 2010.’ (NSOM: Ulaanbaatar)
NSOM (2011b). ‘Monthly Bulletin of Statistics/Dec. 2011.’ (NSOM: Ulaanbaatar)
NSOM (2012). ‘Monthly Bulletin of Statistics/Dec. 2012.’ (NSOM: Ulaanbaatar)
NSOM (2013a–2013l). ‘Monthly Bulletin of Statistics/Jan. to Dec. 2013.’ (NSOM: Ulaanbaatar)
NSOM (2015). Statistical information. Available at: www.1212.mn/en/contents/stats/contents_stat_fld_tree_html.jsp (accessed September 2015).
NSOM, World Bank, UNDP Mongolia (2004). Main Report of ‘Household income and expenditure survey/Living standards measurement survey 2002–2003.’ (NSOM: Ulaanbaatar)
Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (2011). https://lta.cr.usgs.gov/SRTM (accessed October 2011).
Suttie, J. M. (2005). Grazing management in Mongolia. In: ‘Grasslands of the World’. Ch. 7. (Eds J. M. Suttie, S. G. Reynolds and C. Batello.) pp. 265–304. (Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations: Rome.)
Tachiiri, K., Shinoda, M., Klinkenberg, B., and Morinaga, Y. (2008). Assessing Mongolian snow disaster risk using livestock and satellite data. Journal of Arid Environments 72, 2251–2263.
| Assessing Mongolian snow disaster risk using livestock and satellite data.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Therneau, T. M., and Atkinson, E. J., and Foundation, M. (1997). An introduction to recursive partitioning using the RPART routines. Technical Report 61. Available at: www.mayo.edu/hsr/techrpt/61.pdf; http://r.789695.n4.nabble.com/attachment/3209029/0/zed.pdf.
Tsegmid, S., and Vorobev, B. B. (1990). ‘National Atlas of the People’s Republic of Mongolia.’ (Academy of Sciences of the People’s Republic of Mongolia: Ulaanbaatar.)
Tso, B., and Mather, P. (2001). ‘Classification Methods for Remotely Sensed Data.’ (Taylor & Francis: London and New York.)
Undargaa, S. (2016). ‘Pastoralism and Common Pool Resources.’ (Routledge: London, New York.)
VITO Earth Observation (2016). www.vito-eodata.be/ (accessed November 2016).
World Bank (2009). ‘MONGOLIA Livestock Sector Study Volume I – Synthesis Report.’ (World Bank: Washington, DC.)
