This book brings together studies by national scientists on traditional transhumant grazing systems, emphasizing grazing management and overall land use. Focus is on two zones in temperate Asia: the Himalaya-Hindu Kush and the colder areas of China, Mongolia and parts of Central Asia. Under prevailing conditions, mobile herding is the only sustainable way the population can make best use of the natural resources, but systems were dislocated by collectivization. In the Himalaya there is conflict between herders and sedentary groups. While poor pasture condition is a major constraint, the main problems are socio-economic and institutional and relate to land tenure and grazing rights. Fodder crops are, however, of great interest for settled groups who use the same pastures. Focus on technical solutions, herder training and participatory approaches should be within the context of political decisions.--Publisher's description.

The 11 papers in this document address issues and needs in the development and stewardship of Central Asia rangelands, and identify directions for future work. With its vast rangelands and numerous pastoral populations, Central Asia is a region of increasing importance to rangeland scientists, managers, and pastoral development specialists. Five of the papers address rangeland issues in Mongolia, three papers specifically address studies in China, two papers address Kazakhstan, and one paper addresses the use of satellite images for natural resource planning across Central Asia. These papers comprise the proceedings from a general technical conference at the 2004 Annual Meeting of the Society for Range Management, held at Salt Lake City, Utah, January 24-30, 2004. As the 2004 SRM Conference theme was "Rangelands in Transition," these papers focus on an area of the world that has experienced dramatic socio-economic changes in 20th Century associated with adoption of communism and command economies and the subsequent collapse of the command economies and the recent transition to a free market economies. The changes in land use and land tenure policies that accompanied these shifts in socio economic regimes have had dramatic impacts on the region's rangelands and the people who use them.

This book brings together information on the contrasting characteristics, condition, present use and problems of the world's main natural grasslands. Since grassland is commercialized through the grazing animal, particular attention is paid to the livestock production systems associated with each main type. Grazing resources are more than simply edible herbage: many other factors have to be taken into account, notably water in all areas, and shelter in winter-cold climates. Seasonality of forage supply is a characteristic of almost all grazing lands, so the strategies for dealing with lean seasons are described. The main problems of each type are mentioned and possible strategies for their sustainable management discussed - taking into account their multiple functions, not only livestock production. The book is primarily aimed at agricultural scientists, educationalists, extensionists and decision-makers with interests in responsible use of extensive grasslands.

Although nomadic peoples are scattered worldwide and have highly heterogeneous lifestyles, they face similar threats to their mobile livelihood and survival. Commonly, nomadic peoples are facing pressure from the predominant sedentary world over mobility, land rights, water resources, access to natural resources, and migration routes. Adding to these traditional problems, rapid growth in the extractive industry and the need for the exploitation of the natural resources are putting new strains on nomadic lifestyles. This book provides an innovative rights-based approach to the issue of nomadism looking at issues including discrimination, persecution, freedom of movement, land rights, cultural and political rights, and effective management of natural resources. Jeremie Gilbert analyses the extent to which human rights law is able to provide protection for nomadic peoples to perpetuate their own way of life and culture. The book questions whether the current human rights regime is able to protect nomadic peoples, and highlights the lacuna that currently exists in international human rights law in relation to nomadic peoples. It goes on to propose avenues for the development of specific rights for nomadic peoples, offering a new reading on freedom of movement, land rights and development in the context of nomadism.

Background to fodder oats worldwide; Fodder oats; an overview; Fodder oats in North America; Fodder oats: an overview for South America; Fodder oats in the Maghreb; Fodder oats in Pakistan; Fodder oats in the Himalayas; Fodder oats in China; Fodder oats in New Zealand and Australia- history, production and potential; Fodder oats in Europe; Oat diseases and their control; Perspectives for fodder oats.

Despite the wealth of natural historical research conducted on migration over decades, there is still a dearth of hypothesis-driven studies that fully integrate theory and empirical analyses to understand the causes and consequences of migration, and a taxonomic bias towards birds in much migration research. This book takes a comparative, integrated view of animal migration, linking evolution with ecology and management, theory with empirical research, and embracing all the major migratory taxa (including human pastoralists). The scope extends beyond the target organism to consider the ecosystem-level dynamics of migration. The emphasis is on exciting new research avenues that are now opening up, whether due to advances in our understanding of migration as a biological phenomenon or through the availability of a range of new technologies. Broad themes that emerge include integrating migration into the broad spectrum of movement behaviour, the need for a comparative and cross-taxonomic approach that considers migration at a range of temporal and spatial scales, and examination of the key roles of resource uncertainty and spatial heterogeneity in driving migratory behaviour. The book identifies the potential for new tools to revolutionise the study of migration, including satellite-tracking technology, genomics, and modelling - all of which are linked to increasing computing power. We are now on the verge of a breakthrough in migration research, which is crucial given the multiple threats that face the conservation of migration as a phenomenon, including climate change.