Pastoralism as a Method for Natural Resource Management
Contents
- Introduction
- Pastoralism
- History
- Types of Animals
- Types of Pastoralism
- pastoralism.
- Products of pastoralism
- Management of pastoralism
- Challenges to pastoralism
Intoduction
Humans have been utilising the natural resources supplied by their environment's biodiversity, such as land and water, in order to be able to exist in the world's different ecoregions. Through trial and error, various communities have developed distinctive methods of managing the natural resources to improve the quality of life. In essence, they deal with controlling how people interact with landscapes. Natural resource management refers to these procedures and techniques. Natural resource management (NRM), as it is officially defined, relates to practises for the sustainable use and conservation of the natural resources, providing dietary and environmental security for current and future generations.
Pastoralism
Humans rely heavily on domesticated animals as a source of sustenance. Pastoralism is a type of agriculture where farmers focus on raising a single or small number of domesticated animal species for their primary source of food. It include caring for, reproducing, eating, and employing domesticated (or managed) animals like sheep, cattle, camels, goats, and yaks. It's sometimes referred to as livestock husbandry or pastoralism. The amount of horticulture and agriculture in a pastoral economy, as well as the degree of animal herder movement, are topics of debate among researchers. Many pastoralists engage in some form of farming. Many farmers keep cattle as a supplemental source of food or money at the same time. Therefore, pastoralism cannot be accurately defined.
As a base for pastures, pastoralism needs a lot of land. While less productive than farming, it is more dependable and productive than hunting and gathering. However, in regions where crops cannot be grown, pastoralism is particularly effective. Animals can be fed plants or biomass that is unfit for human consumption to increase the nutritional content of their meal, from which people can obtain essential goods. Domesticated animals are also effective food resource storage facilities that can be moved around and utilised as needed. The cultures of humans frequently view them as "wealth."
History
An important development in human history was the domestication of animals. It is important to realise that domestication differs from taming animals. It is a trickier procedure. Humans have employed selective breeding methods to improve desired qualities in domesticated animals. Cattle domestication most likely began in Southwest Asia and the Indus region around 8000 BCE (Groanveld, et al., 2010). Around 5000 BCE, the civilizations of the Indus and Yangtze valleys are thought to have tamed the water buffalo. Around 4000 BCE, the domestication of the principal mammals, including sheep, goats, pigs, cows, and horses, was complete. Humans domesticated a large number of animal and avian species. Only 20 of them are used by pastoralists to produce meat, milk, and other goods.
It is widely acknowledged that pastoralism first emerged inside a community that was predominately agrarian. It's possible that people opted to specialise in animal raising or used it as a means of boosting food output. Environment-wise, raising animals in some places may have been more advantageous than growing crops. It also seems that the earliest pastoralists were farmers who stopped farming and started migrating their livestock throughout the countryside to exploit agriculturally unproductive areas.
Animals raised by pastoralists and humans have a tight bond. Animals give humans goods like milk, meat, or labour for farming and transportation. Humans assure reproduction, offer care, and provide protection. The majority of pastoral groups have myths or cultural beliefs that link them to particular livestock species. In India, certain groups have a taboo against buying and selling animals for slaughter, therefore they are exclusively kept for milk production.
Types of Animals
The kinds of animals that can be raised in particular regions depend on the local ecology. Both animals and their herders are constrained and tethered by the lack of suitable grazing, water, and access to land. Tradition has a big impact on which animals are chosen to herd. Cats, chickens, and dogs are examples of domesticated animals that are not herded in a pastoral way and are therefore not regarded as pastoral species. There are two different kinds of pastoral animals: grazers and browsers. While browsers generally eat the leaves from bushes and trees, grazers primarily consume grasses and other low-growing plants. If the animals are browsers, bushes and trees rather than grasses would make up a decent pasture. However, the term "grazing" is frequently used to describe both grazing and browsing domesticated animal feeding habits. Many indigenous species of animals are produced by pastoral communities. The Gir and Kankrej, two of India's most treasured cow breeds, were created by nomadic breeders (Rabari), who provided bullocks to stationary farmers. 27 native breeds of cattle, 40 native breeds of sheep, 22 native breeds of goats, and 8 native breeds of buffalo exist in India. In contrast to other cattle breeds in India, the Mithun instance is unique. Communities in northeast India are still in charge of maintaining it in a semi-domesticated state. Various tribes have intriguing and distinctive myths about how mithun came to be. The forest grasses, shrubs, and tree leaves that the farming communities release into the wild and the jungle provide for the mithun's diet. They procreate independently. However, they are often taken for salt feeding and are regarded as private or communal property. The Mithun is typically sacrificed and killed during celebrations. Additionally, it is a representation of riches and is of great cultural value in the area.
Types of Pastoralism
Pastoralists are typically organised into tribes and linked to regions where they live exclusively in Africa and the Middle East. But in India, the majority of pastoral communities are endogamous social groups with a focus on animal husbandry and are incorporated into the caste system. Because pastures can only be used seasonally in some areas of India, pastoral people there must be migratory. Although there are differences between settled and nomadic pastoralists, these categories can be generally divided. Pastoralism frequently includes plant management and pasture management. Within the various pastoralist categories, their relative prominence varies.
The paragraphs that follow provide a brief explanation of each of these groups.
Nomadic pastoralism
Animals and animal products are essentially the only resources in this class. There may be some wild plant resource harvesting, but no agriculture is done. Small, extremely mobile populations that follow their livestock over the countryside make up these communities. With their entire families, Changpas in Ladakh go from one pasture to another. They do not engage in land cultivation, and their sole source of income is from pastoral pursuits. For daily requirements, they trade with other agricultural villages.
Transhumant pastoralism
Pastoralists typically transfer their livestock to different pastures depending on the season because no natural pasture can maintain herd animals all year. Transhumant pastoralism is what is meant by this. There are numerous elements that influence how often animals travel from one pasture to another. The animals will need to be relocated to a new pasture if the current one is used up. Planning is necessary, and it must take into account data on pasture health, water availability, and settled areas' social acceptance. Where to relocate, when to move, and how long to stay somewhere are three of the most crucial considerations that must be made. There are rare instances where the winters are so severe that moving the animals is impossible, such as in central Asia. To feed the animals over the winter in certain circumstances, fodder is harvested and stored. Because it is evident that one does not want to expend the time and effort to relocate a herd to a location that cannot maintain them, pastoralists must be able to assess the quality of the water and pasture before the animals are moved. Transhumant pastoralists move around according to the seasons. They usually follow set paths according to the seasonal availability of grazing grounds. Their livestock is shifted from one pasture to another. In some populations, both people and animals will move to new pastures together, therefore the new pasture needs to be big enough and good enough to accommodate both groups. In other tribes, only a small portion of the family travels with the animals while the rest stays put in permanent settlements where they may participate in plant farming.
In order to take advantage of the seasonally accessible pastures at various elevations in the Himalayas, pastoralists in the Himalayas engage in cyclical migrations from lowlands to highlands. This practise is founded on transhumant principles. Grazing areas are accessible in the Himalayas' sub-alpine and alpine zones in the summer once the snow has melted. They relocate to lower elevation pastures throughout the winter. Between semi-permanent encampments and previously designated places, people and livestock can move around. Parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bhutan, and regions up to Arunachal Pradesh are inhabited by communities that herd goats, sheep, and buffalo, including the Bakrawals, Gaddis, Kanets, Kaulis, and Kinnauras, sheep-herding Bhotias, Yakherding Sherpas, and Gujjars who herd yaks. They all typically move between foothill and alpine pastures. Locally referred to as "Buggyal," high altitude pastures and grassy slopes in Uttarakhand's Kumaon and Garhwal areas. There are regional limits on the grazing of animals in these historically protected meadows, which are frequently regarded as sacred. By using low-impact burning and controlled grazing to maintain a rich diversity of herbaceous species, local populations keep them as grasslands. Grazing sites in the Thar Desert are only accessible following the monsoon season. With extremely little and sporadic rainfall, the area is arid and sandy. Pastoralism is primarily practised by landless people in this area. Farmers do, however, also use it when there is a drought or poor crop yield. Other regions of India have integrated and interconnected pastoral and agricultural land uses within a same landscape. In the Deccan peninsular region of Maharashtra and Karnataka, the Dhangars and other agrarian communities have been inhabiting the terrain. Since there is fodder available during the monsoon, the Dhangar people in the Deccan peninsula lets its animals graze close to their villages. Some Dhangars also work in agriculture. They must, however, relocate to Western Ghats and Konkan regions that have green forage during the dry season. Shrine and places of worship are scattered along their traditional routes in the east and west. Dhangars have also forged positive partnerships with the neighbourhood communities. They enter into verbal agreements with farmers in order to graze on vacant fields and village commons, where they camp out at night. Sheep excrement fertilises the soil, which is advantageous to the farmer. Farmers used to even pay the Dhangars in grain for this service in the past. On their customary pathways, which remain unchanged to this day, pastoralists and households made traditional arrangements with one another. Dhangars herd their flock through congested city streets in Pune, Satara, at almost the same time each year. However, the demand for sheep dung has decreased as the use of fertilisers has increased. Due to the accessibility of irrigation, the majority of crops are not left fallow during dry periods. Common areas in the village have deteriorated. Even though there is a considerable demand for meat products, all of these variables have had an influence on Dhangar communities and undermined their traditional livelihoods.
Agropastoralism
Animals continue to be the primary resource in this type, although horticulture plays a significant role in the economy. In this arrangement, in addition to keeping mammals, ducks and chickens are also kept. Many members of such a society would cultivate crops and reside in a permanent hamlet. A comparatively limited number of skilled herders are required to move the cattle from pasture to pasture. For the evening, the livestock returns to the homesteads. The majority of the grazing is done on community common grounds. The herders may, however, be compelled to travel great distances in order to survive during prolonged dry spells. Some groups, like the Maldharis and Bharwads, have positioned themselves on the outskirts of towns or villages. They provide for the significant milk demand.
Farmers who have settled down also raise domesticated animals. This variety involves full-time farmers who also grow some animals for their daily requirements, hence it is more correctly referred to as agriculture with some stock-raising. However, unlike the other pastoral settlements mentioned above, they are not reliant on sizable herds. In various regions of the world, large-scale commercialised pastoralism is also practised. The sheep and cattle stations in Australia and the cattle ranches in the United States are both kept in order to produce a lot of meat. Pastoralism of this kind might be regarded as established.
Products of pastoralism
The main products made from animal products include meat, milk, skins, hair, wool, and excrement. Animals are mostly used for labour, such as pulling ploughs, and for the transportation of people and products. The primary commodity made from sheep and goats is meat. The majority of its sales are in domestic markets. Cattle and camel meat sales are restricted since they are banned in many areas of India due to taboos and laws that enforce cultural prohibitions. But in other regions of the world, meat and even blood are significant livestock products that are vital to pastoral populations. A significant animal product is dung. It serves as fuel, is used to build homes, walls, and other constructions, among other things. Additionally acting as fertiliser, dung supports the pasture's productivity. Pastoralists trade and eat milk, which is a significant product. Cow, buffalo, camel, goat, and sheep milk is gathered and used to make a variety of goods. Processed milk products like buttermilk, curd, paneer (cottage cheese), cheese, and ghee are in high demand. Cheese made from yak milk is known as chhurpi and is consumed in Sikkim, Nepal, and other Himalayan nations. Another significant substance that is used to make blankets, shawls, and other items is wool. Four different varieties of Kashmiri goats are used to produce the wool used to make pashmina shawls. They are costly and in high demand among visitors to India. Additionally, pastoral communities trade in handicrafts including leather goods, hats, and blankets produced from animal hair.
Management of pastoralism
To avoid overgrazing in pastoralism, pastures must be carefully managed. The pasture's carrying capacity is the main problem. The quantity and quality of the pasture, the type(s) of animals to be herded, and the availability of water are all factors that can change depending on the season. Pastoralists must take care not to keep livestock on a pasture for an excessive amount of time or the incorrect animals. Many pastoral communities must make sure that the new pasture can support all of their animals before moving their whole livestock numbers there. Then, in order to determine when to bring animals onto pastures and how long they can stay there, the herders must keep an eye on the character and condition of the pastures and take note of the succession phases of the various plant species in them. Other animals that aid with transportation, guarding, etc., such as horses, camels, dogs, and poultry also migrate with mobile groups. Decision-making would be left up to the individual who owned or controlled the pasture. However, if meadows are owned collectively, some form of central administration would be required. As overgrazing could damage the pasture system of the entire group, this structure prevents overexploitation of the pastures by any one segment. In addition to regulating grazing, pasture assignments served to manage animal populations, which in turn assisted in managing human populations by limiting the availability of food.
The majority of transhumant groups have an experienced individual or people who decide on movement. Additionally, they negotiate contracts with established communities or other authorities. For the right to allow herds to graze, grazing taxes may occasionally need to be paid in cash or kind. Using fire, pastoralists can alter habitats to make them more hospitable to their food animals. The Turkana people of northwest Kenya utilise fire to keep woody plant species from overrunning the savanna.
Challenges to pastoralism
Everywhere in the world, the land that pastoralists occupy is becoming less and less. They are starting to lead increasingly sedentary lifestyles. This is partly because of the disappearance of traditional pastures due to increased agricultural activity and because governments want to exert control over the pastoral inhabitants inside their borders. National governments now try to control pastoralists and "assist" them by making them move to villages and take up agriculture. Due to social, legal, and political changes in society, mobile pastoralists encounter numerous difficulties.
There are several challenges to living a mobile life, particularly for women, the elderly, and young children. Because of the constant movement, school education may be ignored. Traditional grazing pastures have often been replaced by construction or turned into Protected Areas under the management of the Forest Department. Grazers are forbidden from entering certain areas and punished with fines.
The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) designed the White Revolution in India, also known as Operation Flood, in three stages with the goal of reviving the country's dairy industry and achieving milk independence. Because to the program's effectiveness, India became the world's top milk producer in 1998. Various livelihood programmes have promoted further pastoral activity. In a number of programmes, households without land are given goats. However, management of areas producing high-quality fodder has not received enough attention or study. Many pastures are overused and damaged as a result. Many regulations, especially for watershed management and afforestation, aggressively prohibited grazing, which had a severe influence on pastoral communities, because grazing, especially by sheep, was frequently perceived as being harmful to the soil. Also in short supply, water is even more so in arid regions. Pastoralists frequently encounter difficulties while attempting to use village water sources, which are already under high demand from permanent cultivators and livestock caretakers.
Rajasthan's Raika caste is known for its camel breeding. They made a living by raising camels to sell to dealers and farmers. Today, however, there is less of a need for camels as other modes of transportation become available. Camels' ability to reproduce has also been impacted by the loss of meadows and unused land.
Cross-breeding was thought to be crucial for increasing Indian livestock output. For the purpose of improving milk output, many programmes focused on artificial insemination of cattle with non-Indian breeds. In the Himalayan and Deccan regions, there have been attempts at crossbreeding, permanent sheep farms, and imports of exotic sheep breeds. However, this resulted in alterations to native breeds that had spent ages adapting to the circumstances of the Indian environment. The pastoralists chose to employ their own procedures based on significant experience because other aspects, such as trading practises for milk and wool, were ineffective in centralised programmes.
Pastoralism is currently in a bind. Products made from livestock are in high demand. But in order to effectively manage the natural resources and enable the pastoral communities to maintain their traditional methods, it is important to understand the ecological and social aspects that have contributed to the success of pastoralism.
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