Towards Sustainable Use of Rangelands in North-West China [electronic resource] / edited by Victor Squires, Limin Hua, Guolin Li, Degang Zhang.

Rangeland Systems and People Under Pressure -- North-West Chinas Rangelands and Peoples: Facts, Figures, Challenges and Responses -- Livestock Husbandry Development and Agro-Pastoral Integration in Gansu and Xinjiang -- Combating Rangeland Degradation -- Exploring the Options in North-West Chinas Pastoral Lands -- Ecological Control of Rangeland Degradation: Livestock Management -- Ecological Restoration and Control of Rangeland Degradation: Rangeland Management Interventions -- Achieving the Global Objectives -- Biodiversity of Plants and Animals in Mountain Ecosystems -- Carbon Sequestration and the Implications for Rangeland Management -- Protecting Local Breeds of Livestock in NW China -- Improving the Profitability and Sustainability of Herding and Farming in the Pastoral Areas of North-West China -- Agro-Pastoral Integration in NW China: A New Paradigm? -- Improved Animal Husbandry Practices as a Basis for Profitability -- Herders Income and Expenditure: Perceptions and Expectations -- Land Tenure: Problems, Prospects and Reform -- The Way Forward -- Environmental Education: A Tool for Changing the Mind-Set -- Redesigning Livestock Systems to Improve Household Income and Reduce Stocking Rates in Chinas Western Grasslands -- Towards Ecological Restoration and Management in Chinas Northwest Pastoral Lands.

This book reviews the extent of resource debasement in Chinas pastoral zones and offers solutions for their sustainable use. This book draws upon the large body of Chinese language literature that is generally inaccessible to the English language audience. By having joint editors/contributors who are Chinese specialists of high repute we can ǣunlockǥ much useful data and synthesize the current thinking in China of government agencies and academic circles toward the notion of a systems approach to environmental management. This book reviews the extent of resource debasement in Chinas pastoral zones and offers solutions for their sustainable use. The 5-parts deal with rangelands, and the people who manage them, and assess the prospects for rehabilitation. Topics include Livestock husbandry development and agro-pastoral integration in NW China; Ecological restoration and control of rangeland degradation. Despite widespread degradation, the book reveals the possibilities for rehabilitation and the implementation of sustainable use and for reclamation of degraded lands. There are fifteen chapters on subjects that include: Livestock management, Rangeland management interventions, Agro-pastoral integration, Improved animal husbandry practices as a basis for profitability. Land tenure and access, Environmental education, Ecological Restoration and New Management approaches for Chinas northwest pastoral areas. Two chapters are devoted to the achievement of global environmental objectives. Carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation in mountain grasslands are just a few of the covered subjects. This portion of the book pays special attention to the successful results in Gansu a major region of Chinas pastoral lands. The final division addresses measures to improve the profitability and sustainability of herding and farming in the pastoral areas of north-west China. These and other innovative ideas make Towards Sustainable Use of Rangelands in Chinas North West a valuable addition to any environmental library. It is vitally important that a beginning is made on addressing the issues raised here. It is timely that the direction be set and the first steps taken in that direction. If this book can help in the process of achieving better resource management in NW China, we will feel truly rewarded.