The current significance of mobile pastoralism in the Tibetan village of northwestern Yunnan Province, China: Through an analysis of milk production

Abstract

Geographers and anthropologists have the utilization of mountain environments from the viewpoints of elevation and mixed agriculture, generally within relatively small-scale structural frameworks such as those of a village or watershed. In recent decades, however, many once-remote mountain areas have become more closely linked with the outside world and are gradually becoming incorporated into national policies and market economies. Consequently, new businesses such as tourism or picking matsutake mushrooms (Tricholoma matsutake) have been introduced into mountain societies, and thus the patterns of environmental utilization are also changing. The objective of this study was to estimate the productivity of milk production in mobile pastoralism, a typical form of mountain environmental use, in ethnic Tibetan villages. This study also compares economic efficiency between traditional mobile pastoralism and the newly introduced matsutake mushroom business, and discusses the current significance of stock-raising in mountain areas. Field research was conducted in Tibetan villages in northeastern Yunnan Province, China. Milk yield fluctuated widely by season, with peak production in July and August when livestock and herders stayed at alpine pastures above the tree line. Yaks (Bos grunniens), which are well adapted to alpine environments, and yak-cattle hybrids, were raised in the mobile pastoralist system. The yaks were used for both reproduction and milk yield, while yak-cattle hybrids were specialized for milking. Villagers have achieved stable production by utilizing diverse bovine varieties. Based on the amounts of milk produced in sample households, mobile pastoralism appeared to provide comparable income to that obtained from selling matsutake mushrooms. Despite its economic advantages, mobile pastoralism has gradually declined over the past decade, while sedentary livestock-raising has become more popular. Family structure and livelihoods have changed under shifts in national policies and the commodity economy, and these changes have led to labor shortages in the pastoral sector. While selling matsutake mushrooms is currently the major income source in the villages, this activity includes several insecure aspects such as fluctuating international prices and fragile growing environments. Thus, if the labor issue were to be solved, mobile pastoralism could be a valuable option to make up for embedded risks in the selling of matsutake mushrooms.