Pastoral Population Growth and Land Use Policy Has Significantly Impacted Livestock Structure in Inner Mongolia—A Case Study in the Xilinhot Region

Ye Jiang, Qing Zhang, Jianming Niu and Jianguo Wu
Additional contact information
Ye Jiang: School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China
Qing Zhang: School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China
Jianming Niu: School of Ecology and Environment, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010021, China
Jianguo Wu: School of Life Sciences and School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 24, 1-17

Abstract: The traditional livestock industry in Inner Mongolia has evolved rapidly in response to social and economic transformations during recent decades, resulting in substantial impacts on the rural economy and livelihoods of pastoralists. Improved understanding of these changes and potential drivers may help foster strategies to sustain the pastoral system of this region. Using long-term climate, social-economic, and livestock (cattle, horses, sheep, and goats) population data from 1970 to 2010, we analyzed the dynamics of the livestock industry and main driving factors in the Xilinhot region—a central part of the Inner Mongolia Grassland. Our results show that the total livestock population increased dramatically in the past four decades, especially during 1987–2010. Livestock composition also changed substantially, with increasing sheep, goat, and cattle populations but a decreasing horse population. Pastoral population growth and land use policy were the primary drivers for livestock dynamics during 1970–2010. Livestock structure became differentiated progressively with changes in land use policy. Also, climate factors had an important influence on livestock production. The current study suggests that sustainable animal husbandry in this region requires government policies that promote ecological urbanization, livestock production efficiency, incentive systems for grassland conservation, and collective action and cooperation for enhancing social capital and resilience.

Keywords: grassland sustainability; livestock composition; pastoral population; land use policy; Inner Mongolia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/24/7208/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/24/7208/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:24:p:7208-:d:298464

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().