ABSTRACT
On the pastures around Xilinhot, grass is life. It is the foundation for longstanding communities of herders who eke out their livings in the punishing conditions of the plains of Inner Mongolia. Extreme winters are the norm here, but now pastoralists must contend with longer periods of drought. Zhamusurong has seen that change for himself. He was born and raised on the grasslands and lived through the decade-long absence of plentiful rains. Less rain means less grass, and thus little fodder for his livestock. ‘We have a serious fodder shortage. Compared with snowstorms, droughts are a bigger threat for us, as our hands are really tied during droughts,’ he said. ‘When there is little grass we only keep a small number of livestock over the winter and slaughter the rest for sale. It very much depends on the weather.’ China is a vast country composed of diverse cultures. Its peoples’ livelihoods and traditions shape and have been shaped by a variety of landscapes and ecosystems. The north of China is particularly arid, comprised primarily of grassland steppes. Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China’s third-largest province, spans much of northern China and lies on the border with Mongolia and Russia. The pastoral areas of Inner Mongolia are mostly located in the Greater Khingan Range and the Inner Mongolia Plateau in the west and are made up of highlands, grassland and sand lands. The western half of Inner Mongolia overlaps the vast Gobi Desert, and a crook of the Yellow River crosses through the south-west. Even though the Han population is now dominant (79%), the customs and traditions of the ethnic Mongol population (17.1%) and those of groups such as the Hui, Duar and Orogen peoples have shaped the landscape for millennia (Inner Mongolian Statistical Bureau, 2013). Many of the population traditionally engaged in nomadic pastoral lifestyles that emphasised simple living and an intimate awareness of the climate and ecology of the harsh
grassland steppe. Ethnic Mongol communities can still be found practising their traditional nomadic way of life, following herds of goats, sheep or cattle across the open steppe (Hang et al., 2012). Economic, social, environmental and climate change processes are dramatically altering the lifestyles, livelihoods and traditions of the peoples of Inner Mongolia. The livestock industry of Inner Mongolia is China’s largest, producing meat, dairy, cashmere and other animal products for domestic and international markets. However, much of the region’s recent economic boom – Inner Mongolia has seen an average annual GDP growth of 18.7% from 2000 to 2009 – has been driven by energy extraction and industry (He, 2011). The expansion of industries has increased economic development and led to improvements in infrastructure and services. At the same time, these mining practices, conducted with little environmental regulation and minimal oversight, have contributed to the widespread destruction of fragile grassland ecosystems, increased demand on the area’s meagre water resources, and exacerbated pollution and the gradual loss of nomadic lifestyles. Addressing the challenges facing the peoples of Inner Mongolia around resource and economic development, and their implications for economic, ecological and climate well-being, is critical. The grassland ecosystems and the herding communities that rely upon them are very sensitive to climate and environmental change (Dong et al., 2011; Yin et al., 2011; Zhang, 2011; Wang and Zhang, 2012). Climate and socio-economic change have imposed risks on traditional pastoral livelihood systems. Land degradation and drought, wildfires, and increasing climate variability have contributed to productivity decreases in grassland production and livestock, as well as biodiversity loss and increasing desertification (FAO, 2009). The socio-economic, environmental and climate consequences of mining operations are juxtaposed against the desires for grassland protection. Inner Mongolia contains nearly one-quarter of the world’s coal reserves, as well as substantial deposits of rare earth metals critical in the manufacturing of the world’s electronics such as cell phones and computers (Dai et al., 2008; Dai et al., 2006; Kexi, 2005). The coal reserves of Inner Mongolia help to support economic development throughout China and provide electricity to many urban and industrial centres. At the same time, however, the exploitation of such resources is contributing to rapid grassland degradation, mining pollution and stress on water resources within Inner Mongolia. Within China, the use of coal in power generation is contributing to severe air and water pollution and negative health impacts (Chan and Yao, 2008; Stanway and Birsel, 2014). Coal emissions contribute to the Asian brown cloud which, in addition to altering the Asian monsoon system and climate systems across the Pacific, is exacerbating global climate change (Wang et al., 2014; Lau et al., 2005). In short, the socio-economic and environmental change processes that are occurring within Inner Mongolia have much larger geographic repercussions; meanwhile, the
local populations and grassland ecosystems have to deal with the localised impacts. Despite the challenges pastoralists face due to the intimate connection between their livelihoods, culture and the elements, they are taking action to adapt. Zhamusurong’s household has joined forces with others in the area to form a cooperative. They pooled some of their land and resources to build protective infrastructure and plant fodder. ‘We are building more infrastructure for livestock and creating more fodder plant fields, which are irrigated and thus can produce feed to sustain animals through winter, when it is extremely dry,’ he said. ‘This is how we offset the impact of natural disasters.’ Zhamusurong hopes the organisation can grow to make its members more resistant to changes in the environment around them. ‘Nobody knows how the climate, the grasslands and the market price will change in the future . . . [but] herders can only carry on their lives when there is grass.’ As discussed in Chapter 1, some goals of adaptation planning processes are to be able to develop policies and actions that help communities, improve livelihoods and help preserve or restore ecosystems. This chapter focuses upon the herder populations of Inner Mongolia and the socio-economic, environmental and climate change pressures facing the grassland ecosystems upon which their livelihoods and culture depend, and how these pressures influence their vulnerability, adaptive capacity and climate risks. This chapter is different from Chapter 6 in that it predominantly focuses upon the social vulnerability of pastoralists. In contrast, Chapter 6 focused on the projected climate change impacts to grassland productivity using biophysical impact assessment approaches. The research in this chapter highlights one of the first studies within China to integrate regional-scale climate projections with participatory assessment research on social vulnerability and adaptation planning at the pastoralist household level (Du et al., 2012). The work of the study connected local knowledge, perceptions and insights from nomadic populations, as well as those of recentlysettled communities, to academic and policy maker views of climate change. The importance of this study in China’s adaptation journey should not be underestimated, as it offers a bridge between the traditional academic research that characterises many of China’s adaptation assessments (also typical in many other countries’ adaptation programmes) and herders’ knowledge and observations of their vulnerabilities, risks and views of a changing climate. The research examines factors affecting people’s and ecosystems’ vulnerability, potential climate impacts in light of observed and projected changes and steps taken and needed to improve adaptation policy in Inner Mongolia.
