Past, present and future: rangelands in China

Overview of the rangelands of the Jianshe region of China which discusses the environmental and social issues associated with the pastoralist land use in the area. The paper outlines the ecological typology of the rangelands and discusses the history of pastoralism as context for an exploration of the current livestock production system employed.The authors identify two major threats to the pastoralist lifestyle in the region:overgrazingdepletion of fuelwood plantsThey attribute the cause of these problems to a lack of flexibility in the local government policy, restricted movement of herds and over stocking.The paper advocates a more active management regime and
monitoring by land managers to ensure sustainable use of the rangelands for both pastoralists and wildlife.