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Innovation and adaptation in Tibetan land use and agriculture coping with climate change
Jan Salick 1, Anja Byg 2 and Katie Konchar 1
1
2
Missouri Botanical Garden, P.O. Box 299, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 23, 1958 Fredriksberg C, Denmark
Abstract
Using participatory approaches, Tibetan calendars and land use maps were drawn by Tibetan villagers in the Khawa
Karpo area of northwest Yunnan. Villagers were then asked to identify changes in both calendars and land use over the
last 20-50 years, identify the effects of climate change, and describe in detail their adaptations to climate change. Global
climate change per say is seldom recognized among Tibetans (there has been little or no explanation of these concepts in
the popular media), but virtually all people recognize such effects as warming temperatures, melting glaciers, irregular rain
patterns, advancing treeline, etc. Additionally, semi-structured/open ended interviews with local professionals (e.g.,
agronomists, foresters, meteorologists, NGOs, monks, Tibetan calendar makers, etc.) were held in Deqin, Shangri-la and
Lhasa. Results indicate that perceived causes of and reactions to climate change are often spiritual as with many other
indigenous peoples around the world. In addition, tourists, pollution (both physical and spiritual), cars and electricity are
often blamed for changes in climate. Both traditional knowledge processes (e.g. experimentation and innovation) and
outcomes (e.g., locally adapted varieties, soil amendments, and pest management) are evident. Reported effects,
adaptations and innovations include widespread farmer experimentation with new crops; varieties; planting, harvesting,
and herding dates; field locations; increased organic soil amendments; afforestation; changes in NTP populations,
phenologies and distributions; previously unseen or increased crop and animal diseases, insect pests, and weeds; and
negative effects on Tibetan health and culture. One of the most striking innovations/adaptations is the often dominant
commercial production of grapes and wine, including specialty and award winning ice-wine. Grapes (Cabernet Sauvignon)
were originally introduced by French missionaries a hundred years ago, grown then only in church yard cloisters,
protected from cold and severe weather, but which can now be grown throughout the Mekong (Lancang) river valley. This
local adaptation is most recently being dominated by government purchase of grapes and wine production, taking the
added value from locals and increasing the market to the point where traditional Tibetan agriculture is completely
displaced by commercial production in some villages. Indigenous peoples, including Tibetans, with their direct vulnerability
and adaptations to and perceptions and mitigations of climate change deserve a place at the table where climate change
policy is made.
Key words: climate change, adaptation, innovation, mitigation, indigenous agriculture, non-timber products, indigenous
calendar, participatory mapping, traditional knowledge.
1. Introduction
a. The Tibetan agropastoral system
The Tibetan agricultural system is described as agropastoral transhumanance, a mixed crop-livestock system that
involves herding livestock across a range of elevations combined with traditional field agriculture (Tulachan 2001; Yi et al.
2007). Field crops across the Kham region of the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (see Figure 1) include several cereals,
such as Tibetan barley, wheat, maize, and buckwheat; root crops including turnips and potatoes; and garden fruit and nut
trees such as apples and walnut (Salick et al. 2005b). Livestock include milk and draft animals, such as yak, cattle and
pianniu (a crossbred of yak and cattle); pack animals, such as horses, donkeys, and mules; as well as goats, sheep, pigs,
and chickens (Yi et al. 2007). Non-timber products (NTP) also supplement the Kham Tibetan livelihood system, especially
mushrooms, medicinal plants, and soil amendments (see also Olsen et al. 2003). Land is managed across the Tibetan
landscape (Salick et al. 2006; Salick et al. 2007b). Sacred space is a significant component of that landscape preserving
biodiversity, special NTPs and old-growth forest (Mittermeier et al. 1998; Anderson et al. 2005; Salick et al. 2007a; Salick
et al. 2007b).
b. Tibetan Landuse
i. Agricultural diversity
In high Tibetan villages (>3000m asl) and those distant from roads, there is greater overall plant diversity (Salick et al.
2005b) including that of traditional Tibetan crops such as barley, buckwheat, and turnips. There are also more new world
crops, such as maize and potato. In lower villages (<2500 m asl) and those near roads, there has been recent growth in
the area of horticultural and cash crop production, including tobacco and tree fruits such as apples (Tulachan 2001; Salick
et al. 2005b). Walnut cultivation also continues to thrive and is an important cultural, nutritional, and economic crop for
Tibetan families (Salick et al. 2007c).
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ii. Livestock and grazing lands
In traditional Tibetan agropastoralism, livestock are herded along elevational gradients with the changing seasons
(Goldstein et al. 2002; Bauer 2004). Grazing lands include high elevation grasslands, typically grazed during the summer,
hay and other fields of forage adjacent to agricultural fields for spring and fall grazing when agricultural crops are being
planted and harvested, and pastures near to villages for winter forage (Xie et al. 2000). Some Tibetan families and
communities share the responsibility of herding livestock collectively, allowing one to manage the herd while the others
remain in the village for other work. Traditionally, Tibetan herders actively managed grassland resources and practiced
controlled burning to prevent the encroachment of shrubs and other unpalatable vegetation in alpine meadows. Since the
1998 placement of a ban on burning however, alpine grazing land area has been severely reduced, decreasing forage
availability at high elevation locations. (See also Goldstein et al. 2003)
iii. Non-timber Products
For non-timber products (NTP) in northwest Yunnan there is an elevational gradient of diversity directly correlated with
overall biodiversity with a greater variety in species found at higher elevations. Tibetan medicines and forage species are
especially important in alpine habitats and Tibetan doctors take special yearly trips to the mountains to collect medicinal
plants, especially to the Menri or “medicine mountains.” Nonetheless, valuable non-timber products are found at all
elevations, each of which is important to Tibetans for collection. Increasingly, more and more of regional household
annual cash income is generated from the sale of NTPs (Salick et al. 2004).
c. Climate Change in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture
For the Tibetan areas of western China and the Hengduan Mountains, climate plays a large role in traditional Tibetan
livelihood practices and particularly affects the agropastoral system. The parallel river valleys and north/south mountain
ranges characteristic of northwest Yunnan province include habitats ranging from tropical to temperate to alpine. This
area typically experiences two seasons, one wet (May-October) and one dry (November-April), each year, due largely to
the Indian monsoon (Ding et al. 2004; He et al. 2005). However, recent rises in temperature, irregular precipitation, glacial
retreat, monsoonal changes, and treeline advance have brought combined concern to Tibetans practicing agropastoralism
and increased threats to Tibetan cultural traditions.
i. Temperature changes
In the past several decades, annual temperatures have gradually increased across Yunnan province (Liu et al. 2000; He
et al. 2005; Xu et al. 2008b). This pattern is mirrored across the Tibetan Plateau with observed increases in annual mean
temperature of 0.16oC per decade and annual mean winter temperature increases of 0.32oC per decade (Meehl et al.
2007; Kang et al. 2010). Warming trends also tend to increase with increasing elevation (Beniston et al. 1997; Liu et al.
2000), making Tibetan villages perched high upon the mountain slopes of northwest Yunnan particularly vulnerable. In
fact, temperature across the high elevation Tibetan Plateau has increased earlier, faster, and with larger variation in
magnitude than any changes seen over the Northern Hemisphere (Liu et al. 1998; Meehl et al. 2007; Trenberth et al.
2007; Xu et al. 2009). According to the IPCC, annual temperatures are projected to continually increase across the
Tibetan Plateau region by 3.8oC to 6.1oC over the course of the next 80 years (Christensen et al. 2007).
Significant evidence of diurnal and seasonal temperature changes is particularly concerning for the Tibetan agropastoral
system. Although diurnal temperatures have been increasing overall, an asymmetric pattern has emerged where
nighttime warming trends are greater than daytime warming trends resulting in smaller diurnal temperature ranges (Liu et
al. 2006; Trenberth et al. 2007). Seasonally, warming trends are greater in winter (Shrestha et al. 1999; Zhai et al. 1999;
Liu et al. 2006) resulting in smaller seasonal temperature ranges. Additionally, the number of frost days has decreased
throughout the year and the number of warm days has increased significantly (Liu et al. 2006).
ii. Precipitation changes
In recent years, northwest Yunnan has seen fluctuations in the timing and duration of the rainy season as well as the
intensity of storms. The IPCC reports precipitation increases across the Tibetan Plateau and projects continued increases
between 10% to 28% based on MMD-A1B models (Meehl et al. 2007). However, due to characteristically complex
topography across the parallel mountains of the Hindu Kush Himalaya, projecting precipitation change is particularly
difficult (Trenberth et al. 2007). Unlike changes in temperature, changes in precipitation are more spatially affected and
exhibit larger degrees of annual variability (He et al. 2005; Kang et al. 2010).
However, although all models do not agree on increases in precipitation during the summer months, all models reported in
the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report do predict increases in precipitation during December, January, and February
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(Christensen et al. 2007). Correspondingly, in a 40 year assessment of climate changes in the Tibetan Plateau,
approximately 90% of meteorological stations sampled showed increases in annual precipitation in the autumn, winter,
and spring months, yet showed decreases in summer months (Xu et al. 2008b). Despite conclusions that annual
precipitation will increase across the Tibetan Plateau (Ibid.) and across Asia as a whole (Meehl et al. 2007), Tibetan areas
of the eastern Himalaya may eventually become water stressed since changes in water availability in the region are not
only affected by fluctuating precipitation, but also by glacial retreat and loss of snow cover (Lin et al. 2006).
iii. Glacial retreat and loss of snow cover on mountains
The glaciers of the Himalaya form the largest body of ice outside of the polar ice caps and as such, this region is often
referred to as the third pole (see Qiu 2008). Increasing temperatures in the region have resulted in easily observable
reductions in glacial size and extent across the Himalayas (WWF Nepal Program 2005; Moseley 2006; Baker et al. 2007).
In recent years, the rate of glacial retreat in western China has significantly increased (Lin et al. 2006). The lower latitude
Mingyong glacier on Mount Khawa Karpo in northwest Yunnan (one of Tibetan Buddhism's eight sacred peaks) is the
fastest retreating glacier in the region (Li et al. 2009; Salick et al. 2011b; Sheehan 2011).
As the source for numerous vital rivers, Himalayan glacial retreat threatens water availability, agriculture, and livelihoods
across all of Asia. Glacial and snow melt from the Himalayas of the Tibetan Plateau contributes between 5 - 45% of
average river flow to major rivers such as the Salween, Mekong, and Yangtze (Xu et al. 2008b; Xu et al. 2009). According
to the China National Climate Change Assessment Report, total glacial area in western China may be reduced by 27% by
2050, increasing water discharge 20-30% (Lin et al. 2006). Glacial lakes, currently increasing in size and number, are also
a burgeoning threat to downstream communities if they break through their moraines (Qiu 2010b). The International
Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) recently inventoried about 200 glacial lakes in the Hindu Kush
Himalayas with potential danger for glacial lake outburst flooding (ICIMOD 2009) .
iv. Unpredictability of seasons and monsoons
In addition to general changes in precipitation patterns and rapid glacial retreat, seasonal monsoons are also shifting.
Monsoons, or generally prevailing winds, are generated from thermal differences between land and water. In southwest
China, the Indian monsoon blows from the southwest in warm summer months, bringing rains, and from the northwest in
the cooler winter months bringing dryness (Ding et al. 2004). Changes in temperature, snow cover, and glacial extent on
the high Tibetan Plateau may cause shifts in the thermal differences between land and water across the region. Many
predict a weakening or delay in the summer monsoon (Shrestha et al. 2000; Zhu et al. 2007; Qiu 2008; Kang et al. 2010).
However, potentially confounding relationships with effects such as the El Nino Southern Oscillation remain unclear
(Trenberth et al. 2007; Qiu 2010a) and the IPCC documents emerging consensus among experts that projected increases
in moisture in the region will dominate, bringing increases in summer monsoonal precipitation (Christensen et al. 2007).
v. Treeline and shrubline advance
In addition to restrictions on fire management in alpine grasslands, climate change is further enabling shrub and other
woody species to encroach on high elevation alpine meadows. Increasing temperatures are causing upwards shifts in
vegetation distributions across the mountainous terrain of northwest Yunnan, exacerbating threats to biodiversity resulting
from land use/land cover change and population pressures (Baker et al. 2007; Meehl et al. 2007). Shrub encroachment
has been visually documented in the region by repeat photography (Salick et al. 2005b; Moseley 2006) and other reports
describe upward forest movement of 400 meters (Lin et al. 2006).
Shrub encroachment threatens useful endemic species and high levels of biodiversity across all alpine habitats (Salick et
al. 2004). Medicinal and other plant species native to alpine areas are of great value to the traditional Tibetan livelihood,
however with limited geographic range, they are particularly susceptible to climate change and reductions in habitat
(Salick et al. 2009a). Local plant phenology is also shifting; Rhododendrons, for example, have been found flowering a
month earlier in the season than is typical (Xu et al. 2009). The consequences of such a change in flowering time have
likely effects on population dynamics, species distributions, and community ecology across the entire mountain
ecosystem.
Agriculture and Tibetan livelihoods across the eastern Tibetan Plateau and Hindu Kush Himalaya are no doubt strongly
affected by the changes described above. Increasing temperatures and variability in water availability alone have impacts
across the Tibetan agropastoral system (Lin et al. 2006). The prospect of more severe weather, milder winters,
unpredictable monsoonal changes, and shifts in local biodiversity is a daunting combination of factors to which local
Tibetan communities must adapt and adjust their livelihood systems to in order to survive. This paper communicates local
Tibetan observations and interpretations of climate related changes in northwest Yunnan, outlines the impacts of those
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changes on Tibetan livelihoods, and describes ways in which Tibetans have made agricultural adaptations to and even
mitigations of climate change.
2. Methods
a. Study Site:
The Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (TAP) of northwest Yunnan, China borders on the Tibetan Autonomous Region
(TAR; Figure 1). The upper reaches of four of Asia’s great rivers – the Yangtze (Chang Jiang), Mekong (Lancang Jiang),
Salween (Nu Jiang), and Irrawaddy (Dulong Jiang) flow through the area within 90 kilometers of each other. This
mountainous region of the eastern Himalaya is part of the Hengduan Mountains, a world biodiversity hot-spot (Mittermeier
et al. 1998). Near Mt. Khawa Karpo, the highest mountain in Yunnan and a Tibetan sacred peak, we conducted
participatory rural appraisal (PRA) activities in 6 Tibetan villages. Agricultural and environmental professionals were
interviewed in and around Deqin (county seat), Shangri-la (prefecture seat), and Lhasa (provincial seat).
b. PRA with farmers:
To study the effects of climate change on Tibetan agriculture and land use from the perspectives of Tibetan farmers, two
participatory rural appraisal techniques were used (Chambers 1994a; Chambers 1994b; Chambers 1994c): 1) village and
farm mapping and 2) diagramming of yearly farm calendar and activity cycles. First, groups of farmers mapped their farms
and villages and diagrammed the farming cycle resulting in six maps and six calendars from six villages. Then, we asked
the farmers to point out changes in these maps and diagrams that had taken place in the last twenty years along with
causes of change. Specifically we inquired about long term changes in weather patterns and their effects on farming and
land use patterns and on their yearly calendar as depicted. Finally, we opened the discussion, encouraging personal
observations and reflections on agriculture and climate over approximately the last twenty years.
c. Semi-structured/open ended interviews with local professionals:
Personal interviews were also conducted with all local agricultural and environmental professionals who we could contact
in the towns of Deqin and Shangri-la. Calendar and astrological experts who make Tibetan almanacs were also
interviewed in Lhasa. Questions revolved around traditional agricultural practices and the yearly calendar, changes over
the last twenty years, changes in climate over this time period and agricultural effects of these changes. Since little
information on climate change was available to either professionals or farmers at the time of the study (summer 2007 and
2009), few of them had systematically considered these issues to any great extent. Nonetheless, farmers and
professionals all had many and detailed observations to relate and many concerns to express.
3. Results
a. Observations of a Changing Climate
With the villagers interviewed in the six Tibetan villages, it was clear that little outside information has been shared
regarding global climate change and its predicted effects on the Tibetan Plateau. However, villagers are acutely aware of
changes in the local climate, particularly in regards to observations in regional weather patterns and seasonal changes
that affect agriculture and other livelihood practices.
Most villagers interviewed have observed increases in temperature in the region over the last several years; one villager
stated that temperatures have been getting warmer every year for the last ten years. Glaciers are clearly shrinking and
yak butter and cheese, previously stored for months, more frequently goes bad. Weather has become more difficult to
predict and extreme and rare weather events (e.g., heavy floods, droughts and hailstorms) have been witnessed more
frequently in the region. Now, it is becoming harder to depend on the Tibetan agricultural calendar, villagers say. Rains
and snows are sometimes unusual in the time they arrive and there is more variation in the amount. Seasons run together
when before they were more distinct. Water is evaporating faster, people notice, and it has become difficult to keep water
for irrigating crops. Droughts may come early when farmers expect rain, creating numerous worries for when to plant and
harvest crops and how long the growing season may last each year. Rains may last through the harvest season causing
crops to rot or be attacked by diseases.
Alternatively, among some high elevation villages in northwest Yunnan, there was a generally positive outlook on the
changes they have witnessed in the local climate. Some mentioned better harvests and enjoyable warmer temperatures
during the winter months. However, many Tibetans are highly concerned by such changes and see them as threats to
their agropastoral lifestyle. Traditional climate knowledge and weather predictions necessary for successful crop and herd
management are no longer reliable. Many Tibetans worry that the warmer temperatures and irregular precipitation
patterns observed in the area are the result of angry local deities and give reference to the spiritual meaning behind such
changes in the environment.
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b. Impacts of Climate Change to the Tibetan Livelihood
i. Agriculture
The crops that Tibetans are growing are changing, by species, varieties and distributions. Lowland crops, particularly
garden vegetables (e.g., cabbage and onions), some grains (e.g., maize and wheat), as well as fruit and nut trees (e.g.,
peaches and walnuts), are being grown at higher elevations than previously. Reciprocally, highland crops (e.g.,
indigenous buckwheat) are being abandoned at lower elevations. Instead, commercial cash crops such as grapes are
becoming more common and replacing traditional Tibetan crops. Although historically it has not done well in the
mountainous Tibetan regions of northwest Yunnan, rice production is also increasing. During the Cultural Revolution, rice
cultivation was encouraged across all of China in an attempt to promote cultural similarity. Once the government policy
changed, rice production dropped in most of the Tibetan areas. Now, however, it is seeing a resurgence at lower
elevations (<2000m). Crop varieties traditionally grown by Tibetans are also changing dramatically. With warmer winters,
there is increased cultivation of winter wheat and barley and concomitant decreased cultivation of traditional varieties.
The cultivation of winter grains changes the Tibetan agricultural calendar to some extent. Some events on the calendar
depend on specific tasks (e.g., the harvest festival depends on harvest time as do plowing and manuring) and change
with the timing of those tasks. Both planting and harvesting seasons are often reported to be earlier now than they were in
the past. Sometimes this is a problem if crops are ready to harvest before the monsoons have ended and they begin to rot
in the field. We were told that the traditional Tibetan calendar predicts these altered planting and harvesting dates. When
we talked to the Tibetan monks that make the traditional Tibetan calendar in Lhasa, some reported to be struggling now to
integrate the traditional Tibetan astrology and pragmatic farmer knowledge to produce meaningful contemporary
calendars. Another calendar maker suggested that the astrology, properly interpreted, already corrects for changing
climate and planting and harvest dates. Yet another monk noted that they always provide three planting dates and that for
the recent past the earliest of the 3 planting dates repeatedly has been the best. These described calendar changes could
be used as testable hypotheses, for a classically trained Tibetan scholar to trace climate change through the archives of
1200 years of Tibetan calendars. These soil variables also affect mitigation of climate change as discussed below.
One change in agriculture that we had not anticipated is the increasingly rapid breakdown of organic matter and the
concomitant changes in soil management. Traditionally, Tibetans incorporate huge amounts of organic matter, such as
leaves, sticks, detritus, and manure, into their highly erodable mountain soils to retain both the soil itself as well as
valuable soil nutrients, texture, and water holding capacity. Now, a few farmers complain that they need to incorporate
ever-increasing amounts of organic matter and that it is disappearing faster and faster. This is a factor seldom discussed
in the literature and would be another hypothesis to test by agronomists and soil scientists.
ii. Forestry
Increase in forest cover and advancing treeline – afforestation – measured in repeat photographs (Salick et al. 2005b;
Baker et al. 2007; Salick et al. 2011b) has two causes: Chinese policy and traditional Tibetan taboos on tree cutting.
Afforestation effects climate change mitigation. With the implementation of the Sloping Land Conservation Program
(SLCP) in 1999, Chinese policy promotes conversion of all cropland with slopes greater than 25 degrees to forested land.
Traditionally, Tibetans ban cutting sacred and family trees and condone cutting old growth only for necessity. However, in
addition to observing increases in forest cover that followed, local Tibetans also notice other changes in the forested land
surrounding their villages, including more trees with diseases and insects. Observations regarding changes in the
phenology of forest species include later leaf fall, which would also mitigate climate change.
iii. Animal Husbandry
Livestock herding patterns in northwest Yunnan have also shifted with a changing climate (see also Yi et al. 2007). Cattle
and yaks are being moved to increasingly higher pastures to graze. Farmers and professionals notice that forests and
shrubs are extending upward to higher elevations (see also Salick et al. 2005a). These advancing shrubs and forests are
encroaching upon alpine pastures that are essential for yak grazing. Concurrently, the agricultural department has placed
limitations on high alpine grazing due to increasing herd sizes and concomitant environmental damage from overgrazing.
As a result, diminished pastures limit animal production, threaten animal health, and endanger Tibetan culture and diet
largely dependent on yaks.
iv. Non Timber Products (NTPs)
The reduction of alpine areas also threatens the availability and biodiversity of non-timber products traditionally collected
by Tibetans for food, medicine, and household cash income. Tibetans notice changes in the distributions and phenologies
of NTPs, especially those of edible mushrooms and medicinal plants. Although mentioned only by a limited number of
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Tibetan doctors and commercial collectors, collecting seasons of these valuable products are apparently changing and
unpredictable. Mushroom collection is heavily affected by fluctuations in precipitation and moisture. Some mushrooms
such as matsutake and caterpillar fungus (chong cao) are fruiting earlier but producing less. Mushrooms and medicinal
plants have also been observed growing at higher elevations. Less beimu (Fritillaria cirrhosa) is also available; however
villagers remark that it is not clear if the reduced availability of NTPs like beimu is due to recent climate changes or an
effect of overharvesting (see also Konchar et al. 2011).
v. Diseases, Insects, and Weeds
We had long and detailed discussions with both farmers and professionals about increases in various crop, animal, and
human pests and diseases. Grain and animal diseases are prominent including descriptions of a new killer disease of
swine. Cattle produce less milk (possibly attributable to the decrease in fodder availability mentioned above) and more
injections are needed to keep animals healthy. Mice populations have increased, villagers say, and seem to survive more
abundantly from one growing season to the next. Insects attack crops, causing them to shrivel in the fields. New weeds
have also been observed, although the old ones are still around, causing difficulties for farming when the season is very
wet. Farmers also note using more natural fertilizer than before. Noticeable population increases of rats, flies, and
mosquitoes were on many peoples’ minds although there is still no reported malaria in northwest Yunnan. Food spoilage
was previously never a problem in Tibet with cold temperatures and little need for refrigeration. Recently, however, food is
spoiling and human health is plagued by stomach problems and diarrhea, presumably caused by bacteria that thrive with
the rising temperatures noticed by all.
vi. Tibetan culture
Adaptation to high elevations, intense solar radiation, and large fluctuations in diurnal temperatures and weather extremes
has always characterized Tibetan life. The Tibetan diet, high in yak butter and fat, and their warm, layered traditional
clothing are aspects of Tibetan culture that uniquely suit their environment. Now, a changing climate is making such
aspects of Tibetan life unsuitable, the chief Tibetan calendar maker in Lhasa reports. Tibetan dress is too warm and
traditional Tibetan food is too heavy for the warmer temperatures. Climate change, he said in frustration, is facilitating the
eradication of Tibetan ethnicity.
Tibetan spiritual beliefs are also cultural traditions upon which they lean for some explanation of the recent, more drastic,
changes in their local environment. Many Tibetans interpret climate change in terms of spiritual beliefs and religion. With
the widely apparent loss of glaciers and permanent snows on Tibetan sacred peaks, one Tibetan elder-woman
perceptively feared for the health and welfare of the entire earth. She explained that the local gods are angry and must be
retreating in line with retreating glaciers. Tibetans must pray, she said. Indigenous communities have long been known to
react spiritually to changes in the local climate, offering sacrifices, dancing or fasting for the gods in return for rains or a
good harvest. One particularly erratic and unpredictable water dragon, Lhu, frequently receives Tibetan prayers and
supplication for more rain or less rain. Now, climate change seems to be accentuating Lhu’s role in Tibetan cosmology
(Salick et al. 2011a). Around the world indigenous peoples respond to climate change spiritually to interpret causes, to
influence outcomes and to give succor in frightening times of change (Salick and Byg 2007, Climate Frontlines 2009).
c. Tibetan Agricultural Adaptations to and Mitigations of Climate Change
It is important to realize that Tibetans are not solely and passively affected by climate change; they also actively adapt to
climate change and even mitigate climate change, albeit often without scientific understanding of their mitigation.
Nonetheless, there is profound traditional knowledge informing their responses.
One of the most developed adaptations to climate change is the flourishing grape production in northwest Yunnan.
Cabernet sauvignon grapes were introduced into the area by French monks during the early 1900s. Within the walled
cloister behind the Catholic Church in Cizhong, great care and protection was provided from the biting cold climate and
the monks could coddle enough grapes to produce their cherished wine. After liberation in 1905, when the monks were
sent back to France, local people maintained the church and vines in spite of government disapproval. With recent
changes in climate, locals have found that the grapes no longer need to be so protected, and in fact grapes can grow
prolifically throughout the now hot dry valley bottoms. As a result, whole villages turn away from traditional agriculture to
grape production with good profit. With quick autumn freezes, some local Tibetans further capitalized on their new found
crop and started producing quality ice wine. At the time of this research, a local winery, “Sun spirit wine,” had just received
the second place prize in an international wine competition for their unique ice wine. This is adaptation with attitude!
Tibetans mitigate climate change as well, through many traditional conservation and spiritual practices. Above we report
increasing incorporation of organic matter – litter, leaves, sticks, manure - into soils. Soil organic matter has been shown
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to contain more carbon than the forests of the world (IPCC 2001; Smith et al. 2007) and is a highly effective strategy for
mitigating carbon emissions (Post et al. 2000; Lal 2003; Lal 2004). Tibetans traditionally maintain forest cover and indeed
there is now more forest cover in the region than previously, as discussed above concerning both afforestation policies
and climate change. These expanding forests capture carbon and mitigate climate change. Tibetan sacred sites preserve
natural vegetation, including old growth forests that also act as carbon sinks (Anderson et al. 2005; Salick et al. 2007a).
4. Discussion
a. Vulnerability, Perceptions, and Adaptations to a Changing Climate
Tibetans villagers interviewed in this study observe and explain changes in the climate of northwest Yunnan that reflect
similar observations previously reported for the region (Salick et al. 2007b; Byg et al. 2009; Chaudhary et al. 2011) and
concur with scientific evidence for rapid climate changes in the eastern Himalaya (He et al. 2005; Christensen et al. 2007;
Cruz et al. 2007). In reflecting on the influences of these changes, Tibetans largely listed vulnerability of and negative
impacts to their agricultural systems, although some did appreciate positive aspects of local increases in temperature on
agriculture and life styles with the current climate change. Nonetheless, Tibetan villagers of northwest Yunnan portray a
deep understanding of the potential long-term detrimental effects that climate change could have on their land-based
agropastoral livelihood. While Tibetans feel warmer temperatures, observe changes in the timing and duration of the
monsoon, and watch snow and ice melt from sacred mountain tops and glaciers, they also correlate such changes with
changes in water availability, increases in crop diseases, and new or increasing weeds and pests in the area. These
changes have been repeatedly reported and continue to be projected for the eastern Himalaya (see Fischer et al. 2002;
Sharma et al. 2009).
Tibetans directly manage their natural environment and resources and have done so for centuries and millennia
(Aldenderfer et al. 2004), developing livelihood strategies suitable to the harsh and rugged landscape in which they live.
Changes in the Hengduan Mountain ecosystem as well as within the human/landscape interaction that will result from
climate changes are unpredictable and complex. New interactions among soils, crops, pests, weeds, diseases, water, and
solar radiation, etc. will likely ensue (Fischer et al. 2002), forcing Tibetans to continually adapt their agricultural systems
and livelihoods. Many recent changes in Tibetan lifestyle from herding practices (e.g., Salick et al. 2005b; Yi et al. 2007)
to agricultural crop choices (e.g., Banskota et al. 2000; e.g., Shen et al. 2010) to changes in diet have already occurred in
the region and are rapidly accumulating in an effort to adjust and adapt to a new climatic environment. As reported from
PRA and open ended interviews above, several agricultural adaptations – both ecological and economic – have already
been initiated by Tibetan villagers in the Hengduan Mountain region, including changes in soil management, livestock
herding practices, crop diversity, as well as changes in both the field crop and NTP timetables (see also Byg et al. 2009).
These innovative responses to climate change also parallel those of indigenous peoples previously documented around
the world (see Salick et al. 2007b). For example, in Grenada, contour plowing has been traditionally used to conserve
soils, increase soil quality, and mitigate the impacts of natural disasters such as floods, storms, and landslides (Galloway
McLean 2010). In Kenya, rain-fed subsistence agriculture is strongly affected by local variations in precipitation.
Traditional communities there have well developed indigenous forecasting methods which are still the best source of
weather and climate information for rural farmers (Galloway McLean 2010).
i.
Soil Management and climate change mitigation
Traditional mitigators of climate change (Salick et al. in prep.), Tibetans continue to limit forest cutting and conserve
sacred old growth forest (Anderson et al. 2005; Salick et al. 2007a). Carbon based soil amendments (leaves, stems, litter,
dung) are applied to fields in an attempt to reduce erosion and fertilize crops and also add a significant amount of organic
matter. Adding soil organic carbon to crop lands can increase soil moisture and halt increases in soil decomposition rates
that result from increases in temperatures (Lal 2004; Davidson et al. 2006) resulting in improved crop yields and better
land management. In Cameroon, indigenous farmers also maintain soil health and increase fertility by applying manure
and other organic matter to the fields in the traditional ankara system (Galloway McLean 2010). Soil amendments have
been shown to enhance microbial activity and overall nutrient quality of soils as well as store carbon. Further investigation
by agronomists and soil scientists is needed to further quantify the climate mitigating effects of this traditional practice in
Tibetan areas.
ii.
Livestock Herding
Traditional agropastoral transhumance is changing throughout the Tibetan Autonomous prefecture and region due to
governmental policy (Goldstein et al. 2002; Bauer 2004) and environmental change. The reduction of suitable grazing
lands for livestock, resulting from both encroaching shrubs and prohibited alpine land management practices (i.e., burning
as well as climate change; Salick et al. 2005b), has especially strained Tibetan households economically. The timing of
herding livestock has changed, but more drastically many villages have now turned to sedentary husbandry or more
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localized cash crops, reducing the time for travel across the mountains and streamlining the amount of labor expended on
livestock (Xie et al. 2000; Yi et al. 2007). The timing of herding, agriculture, and NTP gathering also come into conflict,
pulling Tibetans away from herding and towards the collection of more high-value NTP products. Shifts in herd migration
timing have also been documented in Iran where drought and reduced rangelands have forced herders to prolong
migration routes and turn to towards other livelihood strategies (Galloway McLean 2010).
iii.
Crop Diversity
For indigenous peoples around the world, the primary means of adapting to climate change is the management of
biodiversity and crop diversity. Higher levels of crop diversity can decrease the risks of insect, fungal or viral attack or
other climate induced tragedy from affecting entire plant communities. However, in order to meet household monetary
needs, commercial agricultural is increasing throughout northwestern Yunnan. One of the largest effects of a changing
climate on the Tibetan agricultural landscape is not only changes to crop diversity in species and variety but in the
geographic distribution of those crops. Crops are now producing better at elevations previously unsuitable, expanding
efforts placed upon new cash crop species and varieties such as tobacco and winter wheat. In lower villages (<2500 m
asl) and those near roads, commercial agriculture is especially more prevalent (Salick et al. 2005b). These changes can
threaten traditional Tibetan agriculture and culture.
Concurrent with these changes, road development has brought increased access to a supply of agricultural fertilizers,
pesticides, and new seed varieties to the region. Increased yields for field crops such as corn and wheat have ensued,
although crop studies in the region report that the area under production has remained stable (Tulachan 2001). The
increase in cash crops recently observed in northwest Yunnan may also be correlated with government afforestation
policies, such as the Grain for Green program. Forced to plant and care for trees on steeply sloping land, many
communities are choosing to plant economically valuable tree crops. While an increase in the number of trees serves as a
carbon sink, local Tibetan are also choosing to plant economically valuable tree crops such as apples, citrus (Ediger et al.
2006) and walnuts (Gunn et al. 2010).
iv.
Tibetan calendars
All over the world, indigenous communities have well developed calendars that often include seasonal crop and weather
information and store a history of local ecological and climatic information. In building a record of seasonal changes over
time, indigenous peoples are “the guardians of historical climate data that ranges from temperature, rainfall and the
frequency of climactic events, as well as current gatherers of fine-scale information. Their intimate knowledge of plant and
animal cycles, which has been gained over thousands of years and passed down from generation to generation gives
them the ability to link events in the natural world to a cycle that permits the prediction of seasonal events, and this has
been a key element of the survival of indigenous communities.” (Galloway McLean 2010, pg. 13)
These calendars continue to evolve and many indigenous communities including the Tibetans with whom we spoke have
shifted their seasonal crop planting and harvesting timelines to adapt to a changing climate. Tibetan monks who formulate
the Tibetan calendar remark on their struggle to interpret so many recent changes in the environment with traditional
Tibetan astrology in concert with pragmatic knowledge about the landscape and local ecology. Shifts in planting dates
have been generally earlier and of three planting dates traditionally designated by the Tibetan calendar, recently the
earliest recommended dates have been consistently the best. In Uttar Pradesh, India, along the foothills of the Himalaya,
communities have also adjusted their crop calendar in response to climate induced flooding and soil loss (Galloway
McLean 2010). It would be a fascinating study for a Tibetan scholar to test the direction and extent of shifts in the Tibetan
calendar through an intensive investigation of 1200 years of archived Tibetan calendars; the study could further inform
agricultural adaptation strategies in the region.
b. Challenges to Adaptation
i.
Continued climatic change
The Tibetan landscape, agropastoral livelihood, cultural traditions and human health are inextricably linked to local
climatic changes in the environment (see also Xu et al. 2008a). Based on results from interviews in 6 Tibetan villages
surrounding the sacred peak of Khawa Karpo, we see that Tibetans are acutely aware of changes in the local climate
despite little outside information. Their observations are in line with scientific assessments in the region and their worries
are real. Additionally, the efforts of Tibetan communities to adjust to not only a rapidly changing climate but also to rapid
changes in development and economic markets in the region are remarkable. Nonetheless, climate scenarios projected
for the region by the IPCC and others only predict continued changes in temperature, precipitation and water availability,
and in the distribution of plants, pests, and diseases. In the fragile ecosystem of the high-elevation Himalaya, such
changes make Tibetan communities particularly vulnerable (Khoday 2007/2008).
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ii.
Loss of Biodiversity
Despite the many efforts Tibetans have made to adapt their livelihood strategy to climate changes in their mountain
environment, local biodiversity continues to suffer. Universally used as a buffer against environmental variation,
biodiversity provides indigenous peoples with the tools to adapt to change (Berkes et al. 2000; Salick et al. 2007b).
Tibetan peoples are fighting rapid losses of biodiversity in the Hengduan Mountains – in agriculture and especially in
NTPs and medicinal plants – and adapting to climate change through a myriad of techniques (Macchi et al. 2008).
Nonetheless, as climate change threatens biodiversity, especially at high elevations characteristic of the eastern
Himalaya, the major resource for adaptation and defense against climatic variation and change is at risk (Salick et al.
2009b).
iii.
Food Security
Tibetan agricultural adaptation is further challenged by climate change scenarios where higher temperatures combined
with irregular precipitation may result in decreased staple crop production (e.g., barley and wheat) (Fischer et al. 2002;
Cruz et al. 2007). Increasing climatic pressures on the production of cereal crops are particularly concerning for food
security and will further exacerbate economic stresses in the region. In the rugged terrain of the eastern Himalaya, nearly
all arable land is already in use for cultivation and a continuing upward shift in the agricultural zone suitable for crops such
as wheat, rice, and barley is severely limited by topography and soils. A large degree of uncertainty remains regarding
how regional climate change will affect agricultural production, food supply and demand in the region (Cruz et al. 2007),
as well as the local diet. Changing pest and disease patterns combine with changes in infrastructure, urban development,
population increases and migration to create a multifaceted environmental and economic scenario that is complex and
difficult to anticipate (Zeqiang et al. 2001).
c. Facilitating Tibetan Adaptation for the Future
Tibetan agropastoralism has a long history of sustainability in the extreme environment of Hengduan Mountains. Local
ecological and agricultural knowledge among Tibetan communities is a valuable resource for continued adaptation to
climate change. Yet in order to address the variety of challenges reported above, Tibetan communities need to be
informed, supported by the local government, and assisted in their efforts to adapt and sustain suitable livelihoods. Efforts
to assist local communities in adapting to and mitigating climate change are strongly needed. Local communities must be
viewed as active participants and innovators needing assistance and not as passive victims to be cared for. Community
based efforts that incorporate local ecological knowledge to build capacity (e.g., Salick et al. 2005a) are especially
powerful methods that encourage sustainable development and adaptations that meet the needs of the Tibetan
community. Yet, assistance programs for Tibetan villages to innovate and adapt local agricultural practices to a rapidly
changing climate are largely lacking and increasingly imperative.
Additional scientific studies are also needed to elucidate some of the confounding factors affecting agriculture and land
management in the region. For example, overharvesting of NTPs such as beimu (Fritillaria cirrhosa) (Salick et al. 2005b;
Buntaine et al. 2007; Konchar et al. 2011) and snow lotus (Saussurea laniceps) (Law et al. 2005) has placed pressures on
Tibetan household cash income on top of existing strains resulting from climate change on agropastoralism. Population
increases from Han and other immigration into the region have also placed additional pressures on land use. Livestock
herds are increasing while suitable alpine grazing lands are slowly shrinking from shrub encroachment and poor
management. Tourism has also brought changes to northwestern Yunnan that are increasingly apparent. Work forces are
being diverted, outside money is gaining influence and traditional Tibetan livelihoods are being left behind. Horses, for
example, are often requested by tourists to travel across the rugged landscape and bring valuable cash to local
communities. However, an increase in the number of horses has also shifted fodder crop production towards more corn
and away from traditional Tibetan agricultural crops such as barley. Increasingly, Tibetans blame climate change on
tourists because of increased pollution (both spiritual and physical), electricity, and transportation.
d. Indigenous Peoples and Climate Change Policy
In summary, with this and our previous research on Tibetan responses to climate change we clearly document that
Tibetans perceive, adapt to and indeed mitigate climate change. We have incorporated Tibetans directly in our climate
change research. They have detailed knowledge about, creative ways of adapting to, and traditional ways of mitigating
climate change. Tibetans like other indigenous peoples are on the frontline of climate change, experiencing not only
temperature and other weather related changes, but also the direct effects on their agriculture, health, welfare, livelihoods,
and culture. That indigenous people interpret climate change spiritually certainly and in no way invalidates their
knowledge, insights and efforts – quite the opposite. Why has it been so difficult to include indigenous perspectives in
climate change policy and indigenous peoples in climate change policy formation? Other international environmental and
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cultural efforts – such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous
Issues– include indigenous peoples, perspectives and knowledge. These agreements have incorporated diverse peoples
easily, productively and to the benefit of all. It is past time for new climate change agreements and policies to include
indigenous peoples and traditional knowledge. In good faith and in the fulfillment of obligations assumed under the United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, we must incorporate indigenous peoples (Nations) in the
Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change and traditional knowledge in its reports.
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Figure 1: The Menri mountain region or “medicine mountains” of northwest Yunnan Province, China. This region
borders the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) to the north and west of Khawa Karpo, one of Tibetan Buddhism's
most sacred peaks, and is sharply divided by the Mekong River (Lancang Jiang).
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