Grassland tenure, livelihood assets and pastoralists’ resilience: evidence and empirical analyses from western China

Pastoralists in western China are highly vulnerable due to harsh natural conditions and the poor socioeconomic environment they confront. More than 50% of the pastoralists in major grassland areas are living below the survival line; moreover, around 90% of the usable grasslands in China have been degraded to some degree, and the degradation expands at a rate of two million ha per year. Enhancing pastoralists’ resilience is desirable for the economic development and social stability in pastoral areas. As an important aspect influencing livelihoods, grassland tenure in China has not been well studied to learn how it affects the welfare of pastoralists, and what can be done to strengthen their resilience. Based on the evidence from four periods of fieldwork conducted by the authors during 2005–2014, the study applies an analytical framework adapted from the sustainable livelihood theory to examine the interactions of grassland tenure, livelihood assets of pastoralists and their resilience. Main findings show that the existing grassland tenure arrangements cause unbalanced and decreased livelihood assets, which in turn reduce the resilience of pastoralists by lowering their capacities of coping with stresses or shocks. Of the policies and measures aiming to enhance the pastoralists’ adaptive capacity and ongoing development, building social capital is critical. Developing functional livelihood asset markets such as grassland rental markets and financial markets will also contribute to a more robust livelihood structure.