Tibetan Lake Expansion from a Pastoral Perspective: Local Observations and Coping Strategies for a Changing Environment

Abstract

Global climate change is causing the majority of large lakes on the Tibetan Plateau to expand. While these rising lake levels and their causes have been investigated by hydrologists and glaciologists, their impacts on local pastoral communities have mostly been ignored. Our interviews with pastoralists in central Tibet reveal their observations and beliefs about Lake Serling’s expansion, as well as how its effects are interacting with current rangeland management policies. Interviewees reported that the most negative effects on their livelihoods have been reduced livestock populations and productivity due to the inundation of high-quality pastures by saline lake water. However, pastoralists’ collective efforts based on traditional values and norms of sharing, assistance, and reciprocity have helped them cope with these climate change impacts. These local, traditional coping strategies are particularly worthy of attention now, given that the transformation of traditional pastoralism is a goal of current government development initiatives.

Keywords:

• Climate change
• indigenous knowledge
• local knowledge
• pastoralism
• reciprocity
• Tibetan Plateau

Notes

Acknowledgments

We thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback on an earlier version of this paper.

Notes

1 “Selin Co” and “Siling Co” are alternate transliterations.

2 “Nam Co” is an alternate transliteration.

3 An administrative village is the smallest formal administrative unit and usually consists of several natural villages. A natural village is a smaller community of pastoralists. Jagshung Village is an administrative village consisting of four natural villages.

4 In this township, sheep equivalent units (SEU) are calculated as: 1 sheep or goat = 1 SEU; 1 yak or horse = 4 SEU. This is slightly different from the official conversion rate used by the TAR government: 1 sheep = 1 SEU, 1 goat = 0.8 SEU, 1 yak = 5 SEU, 1 horse = 6 SEU.

5 This household’s livestock numbers in 2016 and (2003): Yak: 16(34). Sheep 240(500). Goat: 60(70). Horse: 2(4).

Additional information

Funding

Field research was funded by the National Geographic Air and Water Conservation Fund, U.S.A. (GEFC-1415).