Pashmina production and socio‐economic changes in the Indian Changthang: Implications for natural resource management

A unique pastoral community uses the arid rangelands of eastern Ladakh, known as Changthang, northern India. The nomadic people rear a variety of livestock such as sheep, goats, horses and yaks, which provide them with various goods and services. Nevertheless, the needs and aspirations of the people are changing. There is a trend towards increasing the livestock population, especially of a breed of goat that produces one of the finest natural fibres: Pashmina, which is the mainstay of their economy. This increase in goat population, however, is jeopardising the long‐term survival of the wild herbivores in the region, and as such is not sustainable. We present information on the current trends in socio‐economy, Pashmina production, wildlife conservation, and the conflicts of interest between wildlife and nomads in the region. On the basis of this information, we make suggestions for the conservation of natural resources in the region. We recommend preserving the historical societal norms and notions of the people, and capitalising on them to manage natural resources. We also recommend joint management of natural resources by the local people, State and non‐governmental organisations. Our findings provide a platform on which a grazing policy for the region may be formulated.     

Carnivore-Caused Livestock Mortality in Trans-Himalaya

The loss of livestock to wild predators is an important livelihood concern among Trans-Himalayan pastoralists. Because of the remoteness and inaccessibility of the region, few studies have been carried out to quantify livestock depredation by wild predators. In the present study, we assessed the intensity of livestock depredation by snow leopard Uncia uncia, Tibetan wolf Canis lupus chanku, and Eurasian lynx Lynx l. isabellina in three villages, namely Gya, Rumtse, and Sasoma, within the proposed Gya-Miru Wildlife Sanctuary in Ladakh, India. The three villages reported losses of 295 animals to these carnivores during a period of 2.5 years ending in early 2003, which represents an annual loss rate of 2.9% of their livestock holdings. The Tibetan wolf was the most important predator, accounting for 60% of the total livestock loss because of predation, followed by snow leopard (38%) and lynx (2%). Domestic goat was the major victim (32%), followed by sheep (30%), yak (15%), and horse (13%). Wolves killed horses significantly more and goats less than would be expected from their relative abundance. Snow leopards also killed horses significantly more than expected, whereas they killed other livestock types in proportion to their abundance. The three villages combined incurred an estimated annual monetary loss of approximately $USD 12,120 amounting to approximately $USD 190/household/y. This relatively high total annual loss occurred primarily because of depredation of the most valuable livestock types such as yak and horse. Conservation actions should initially attempt to target decrease of predation on these large and valuable livestock species.