Sustainable Development in Western China: Managing People, Livestock and Grasslands in Pastoral Areas

China accounts for around one-eighth of the world's grassland and almost all of its grasslands are being degraded. The authors analyse how China is grappling with the complex ecological and livelihood problems these pastoral areas present. The sustainable development of these extremely poor, culturally sensitive, strategically important and extremely diverse western pastoral areas poses one of the foremost challenges confronting the Chinese government.

This much-needed study provides a uniq...