Transhumant
pastoralism, the movement of people and their animals with the
seasons has been practiced throughout the Himalaya, the Tibetan
Plateau, and Central Asia for centuries. Though regional and trans-national
differences abound, all of these areas share a common connection
to Buddhism, and the pre-Buddhist Bonpo traditions. Likewise,
variations on the complex practice of Tibetan medicine are present
throughout the communities in which DROKPA works.
The
communities in which DROKPA works are also areas in which rangelands
are a dominant natural resource. Rangelands comprise over fifty
percent of the earth's land surface. Rangelands are not suitable
for cultivation because of low and erratic precipitation, rough
topography, poor drainage, or cold temperatures. As one of the
most prevalent land systems on the planet, rangelands are critical
habitats for myriad plant and animal species and form many of
the world's watersheds. Central Asia, the Himalaya, and the Tibetan
Plateau comprise the most extensive rangelands in the world. These
areas also home to millions of people who depend on these vast
grasslands for their livelihood.
Central Asia, the Himalaya, and the Tibetan Plateau
are home to millions of people who depend on some of Earth’s
most rugged, remote and starkly beautiful ecosystems for their
livelihood. The communities in which DROKPA works depend on a
combination of agriculture, trade, and animal husbandry to survive.
Grasslands are critical natural resources in these areas. They
not only provide pastoralists with a means of social and economic
production, but they also harbor habitats for a diversity of plant
and animals, from medicinal plants to rare and endangered species
like the snow leopard and the Tibetan antelope.
From
the impacts of tourism and development on Nepal's high mountain
landscapes to the creation of new protected areas on Tibet's northern
plains, from increased urban to rural migration in present-day
Mongolia to the long-term effects of China's annexation of Tibet,
many of Asia's highlands are undergoing intense transitions. Indigenous
knowledge systems, such as traditional medicine and local rangeland
management strategies, are under cultural, economic, and political
pressure. These transitions impact grassland productivity and
challenge conservation management.
DROKPA's efforts begin with a recognition of the complex natural
and human ecology of the areas in which we work, and a desire
to help local communities sustain and transform themselves as
they deem appropriate.
Take
a look at some of the communities in which DROKPA works, below.
Dolpo,
Nepal, the site of DROKPA’s pilot alternative energy
project, has been home to pastoralists and traders for at least
a thousand years. Dolpo is a vast and rugged landscape inhabited
by a hardy, enterprising folk who live in some of the highest
villages in the world. At altitudes greater than 4,000 meters,
where temperatures are perennially cold, growing seasons short,
and annual precipitation scant, the people of Dolpo have wrested
survival. They are adept land managers and exploit an incredibly
limited environment a mountain steppe shot through with colossal
valleys. The herding of animals over broad geographical areas
makes life possible in Dolpo by synergizing trade (Tibetan salt
for lowland grains), commodity production (dairy, meat, wool products),
and agriculture (barley, wheat, potatoes). The greater Dolpa District
encompasses Nepal’s largest national park, Shey Phoksundo.
Mustang,
Nepal The site of DROKPA’s first indigenous medicine
project, Mustang, Nepal, is a landscape of cliffs and caves, irrigated
oases of barley, mustard, and buckwheat. In the rain shadow of
the Himalaya, Mustang has long been a pilgrimage site and hub
of trans-Himalayan trade. Its people are agro-pastoralists and
traders who run their businesses along the Kali Gandaki river,
Mustang’s central artery. Salt and grain have been exchanged
along this Himalayan highway for hundreds of years. Today, thousands
of tourists hike through the southern regions of this district,
part of the Annapurna trekking circuit. The northern reaches of
Mustang, called Lo in Tibetan, are home to Jigme Palbar Bista,
the 25th king in a lineage of rulers that dates to the 14th century.
From 1960 until 1974, Mustang was home to groups of Tibetan resistance
fighters who, with CIA assistance, waged guerrilla attacks across
the border. Lo was closed to foreigners until 1992 and is now
open to trekking groups on a restricted basis. Tourism and development
are overseen locally by the Annapurna Conservation Area Program.
Ladakh is located within the Indian state of Jammu-Kashmir, on the far
western flank of the Indian Himalaya, and is defined by the rugged,
stark beauty of the Zanskar and Ladakh mountain ranges, which
parallel each other. Ladakh covers nearly 4,000 square miles and
is separated from the Changtang wilderness region of Tibet to
the east by a disputed line on the maps of India and China. Ladakh
is truly at the crossroads of the Himalaya and Central Asia. Here,
the Indus and Zanskar rivers meet, above which rise perpetually
snow-capped peaks. When walking through Leh, the capital city
of Ladakh, one feels the presence of many religious, cultural,
and political influences. This town of approximately 10,000 people
is home to Buddhists and Muslims, as well as migrant populations
of other Indians, Kashmiris, and Nepalis, who come to Ladakh for
seasonal work. Like Mustang, Ladakh was also part of a vast network
of vassal states and autonomous kingdoms that at one point defined
the greater Tibetan cultural world. Today, Ladakh still harbors
some of the most impressive Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the
world, and is home to communities of pastoralists, traders, and
farmers.
Damshung, Tibet which means "chosen valley" in Tibetan, is approximately 90 percent nomadic, and has
long been associated with the image of high-altitude pastoralism: green pastures in
which yak, sheep, and goat roam. Damshung town is a hub of pastoral production and
commerce. The county has been one site in which new rangeland policies - such as
fencing and livestock development - are being put into action on the Tibetan Plateau.
Such government policies are designed to improve nomads' livelihoods and protect
grasslands from overgrazing and other problems. However, such government initiatives
have had a mixed impact among Damshung's communities, given the distinct environmental
and cultural elements of Tibetan nomadic pastoralism. Damshung County lies at a midpoint
between Nagchu Prefecture and Lhasa, along the route of the new Qinghai - Tibet railway,
which connects Lhasa to Golmud and beyond. Damshung is also the gateway to the Nam Tsho
region, an important site for tourism and pilgrimage.
Kham, Sichuan Province, Chinahe, the region of southwestern Sichuan Province also known as Kham to Tibetans
is an area of lush grasslands and large, historically important monasteries -
many of which are still vital centers of greater Tibetan culture, commerce, and
civilization. People from Kham are known particularly for their trading and
equestrian abilities, and the region boasts a number of famous annual horse
festivals. The town of Dartsendo (Kangding) in the Kandze (Garzi) Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture (TAP) is located in a narrow gorge along the Cheto Chu (Zhenduo River),
and is a hub between Tibet and Sichuan.
