Solomon T B, Snyman H A, Smit G N
Department of Animal, Wildlife and Grassland Sciences, University of the Free State, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, Republic of South Africa.
J Environ Manage. 2007 Mar;82(4):481-94. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2006.01.008. Epub 2006 Apr 17.
A survey was conducted in the Borana pastoral areas of southern Ethiopia to assess current livestock production systems, rangeland management practices and the perceptions of the pastoralists towards rangeland degradation. This information is considered vital to future pastoral development planning and interventions. Data were collected from a total of 20 villages that were identified from 5 peasant associations, namely Did Yabello, Moyatte, Did Harra, Dubuluk and Melbana. The average household size in the study area was 7.23. The majority of the pastoralists relied on both livestock and crop farming. The average livestock holding per household was 14 cattle, 10 goats, 6 sheep and 2 camels. Livestock holdings, with the exception of camels, has shown a declining trend over time. The two most important traditional rangeland management strategies adopted by the pastoralists included burning and mobility, but since 1974/75 burning has no longer been practised. With regard to mobility, the livestock herding falls in two categories, namely: home based and satellite herding. The former involves the herding of milking cows, calves and immature animals (<2 years) close to the encampments. The latter constitutes the herding of bulls and immatures (>2 years) further away from the encampments. Based on the pastoralists' perceptions, the major constraints on livestock production in descending order, were recurrent drought, feed and water scarcity, animal diseases, predators and communal land ownership. All the respondents considered the condition of the rangelands to have declined dramatically over time. In the past most development policies were based on equilibrium theories that opposed the communal use of the rangelands and traditional range management practices. The way in which the pastoral system affects the rangeland ecosystem functioning is contentious to this theory and the 'tragedy of the commons'. There was also a perceived problem of bush encroachment and the ban on traditional burning practices and recurrent droughts were seen as aggravating factors to this invasion process. The increasing practice of crop cultivation on the rangelands was identified as a serious threat to future livestock production and traditional resource management practices. Suggestions for possible interventions to improve the productivity and sustainable use of these rangelands are made.
在埃塞俄比亚南部的博拉纳牧区开展了一项调查，以评估当前的畜牧生产系统、牧场管理实践以及牧民对牧场退化的看法。这些信息对于未来的牧区发展规划和干预措施至关重要。数据收集自从迪德亚贝洛、莫亚特、迪德哈拉、杜布卢库克和梅尔巴纳这5个农民协会中确定的总共20个村庄。研究区域的平均家庭规模为7.23人。大多数牧民既依赖畜牧也从事作物种植。每户平均拥有14头牛、10只山羊、6只绵羊和2峰骆驼。除骆驼外，牲畜存栏量呈逐年下降趋势。牧民采用的两种最重要的传统牧场管理策略包括焚烧和迁移，但自1974/75年以来就不再进行焚烧了。关于迁移，牲畜放牧分为两类，即：居家放牧和卫星放牧。前者是指将产奶牛、小牛和未成熟动物（<2岁）在营地附近放牧。后者是指将公牛和成熟动物（>2岁）在离营地较远的地方放牧。根据牧民的看法，对畜牧生产的主要制约因素按降序排列依次为：反复干旱、饲料和水短缺、动物疾病、捕食者和公共土地所有权。所有受访者都认为牧场状况随着时间的推移大幅下降。过去，大多数发展政策基于平衡理论，反对公共使用牧场和传统牧场管理实践。畜牧系统影响牧场生态系统功能的方式与该理论和“公地悲剧”存在争议。人们还意识到存在灌木丛入侵问题，传统焚烧做法的禁令和反复干旱被视为这一入侵过程的加剧因素。在牧场上增加作物种植的做法被视为对未来畜牧生产和传统资源管理实践的严重威胁。文中还针对提高这些牧场的生产力和可持续利用提出了可能的干预建议。
