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Lun sum’s community initiated restoration of degraded winter and spring pastures
through reseeding”.
(D, male, Sum governor)
However, the understanding about gender equal participation in NRM, the labor
distribution of the men and women has not changed yet. Because quite a lot time to be need
it. But we cannot say that there is no change. Because women still more active to
participate in community meetings and they started to express their opinions.
Women group
According to the understanding of herders about gender equal participation, each
community has supported women activities and participation, so their establishment
women group is ona of the implementing activities of the co-management.
Case 3:
“... Women have clear roles in natural resource management. By establishing the
women group, women joined, and are sharing opinions, making joint decisions, and
helping each other”.
(M, female, secretary of community)
As a result of the establishment of women groups in all communities now women are more
involved in the community decision-making: they more participate in community meetings,
they freely express their ideas and report on the women group activities to other members.
4. Income generation and gender
The only source of the community herders’ income is animal husbandry, which leads to
overuse of the pasture. Creation of additional income generation ways is as important as it
can improve the community households’ livelihoods and solve the ecological problems or
i.e. pasture degradation.
Location, closeness to market centers, infrastructure, cultural and socio-economic
conditions of study sites are greatly impact in the implementation of co-management of
natural resources. For example, in Deluin SS culture, traditional custom, and close kinship
relations become positive factors for implementing co-management. In Khotont SS,
herders’ interest increases as they have limited pasture area (herders live close to each
other) and remoteness of market center requires joint cooperation. But as for Lun SS, the
households are more business oriented and interested in individual business due to their
closeness to the market center and good infrastructure.
The changing of income structure shows in Figure 3.
In 2001, the herding households were finding income from meat, milk/dairy,
wool/cashemere, skin and other sources such as pension of aged people. But now they have
had additional sources of income without animal products. It comes from planting
vegetables and making handicrafts. The additional source of income is very important for
livelihood of the herding households. Because they actually understood that it is dangerous
to find income only from animal husbandry according to natural disaster encountered in the
last 4 years.
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