Pasture management through rotational grazing (ប្រទេសតាហ្ស៊ីគីស្ថាន)

Rotational grazing on private grazing land used as daily pastures

A riverbed divides the pasture where rotational grazing is practiced with the village Chargii poyon, where the certified land user and owner of the pasture lives. From a view point nearby his house, he has a good view on and hence a good control over the pasture area. This allows him to keep intrusive livestock outside, having a limited number of grazing livestock in the pasture. The area encompasses 119 ha, from which 5 ha are rented out as crop land.
Land tenure conflicts about this pasture existed over many years, because there wasn’t declared any owner. The certified land user of Chargii poyon claims to possess the pasture since 1999. It is unclear how he got the land transferred. Being aware of the ongoing degradation of this land, the certified land user divided the area into 3 parts and introduced controlled grazing in 2007. While one part is being grazed the other two lie fallow. After one to two months of grazing in one area, the herds move to the next area. The rotation phases depend on the availability of grass. In June 2012, at the moment of documentation, there were 145 cows and some 30 goats and sheep. The number of animals is varying seasonally, with a higher amount of animals in summer than in winter. Compared to other pastures in summer, more grass in available on the pasture with rotational grazing. In winter grass availability is comparable between the pastures. This may explain why a higher number of livestock is recorded on the pasture with rotational grazing in summer.
The pasture is controlled by the farmer and further 4 people to avoid livestock intrusion.

In a seminar organized by Caritas Switzerland, the farmer learned about increasing long-term productivity of pastures by vegetation recovery. The idea of pasture rotation convinced him in order to raise productivity on long-term. The main reasons for changing the pasture management were the advanced stage of deforestation, increasing overgrazing, and the additional source to get the land taxes paid. The management of the pasture by rotational grazing on three areas allows the non-grazed areas to rest and recover. Less grazed and trampled areas result in an increase of the vegetation cover and thus to higher fodder quality, as well as increased soil stability and therefore a reduced risk of disasters, such as floods.
The farmer expected that the implementation of land conservation measures would stop the on-going pasture degradation and would assure long-term and sustainable use of the land. Despite the rotating system, the grazing land is still overgrazed and shows signs indicating moderate erosion, but it is less degraded than other pastures in the watershed. The area being the most far away from the settlement is in best conditions. The closer to the riverbed the more degraded and eroded the pasture is.
Additional measures are necessary to reduce soil erosion and gully formation in the area

Livestock owners have to pay a fee to the farmer for grazing cows, but not for grazing sheep and goats. The amount of the fee depends on the provenance of the herder. Fees vary greatly between the villages. Because of solidarity, Chargii villagers pay much less than herders from villages located further away. Momandion villagers pay 3 times, Dilolo villagers even 9 times more than Chargi villagers. But the certified land user claims to be flexible in the amount of fees for poor herders. He has to pay taxes to the government for the property and salary to the surveillants. If more money is available, also generated by the fees, the certified land user claims to invest a part of the money into the pasture. He would like to build another water point and to plant trees in the upper area. Livestock could graze in more remote areas which would reduce the pressure on the pastures in the lower area and decrease the soil compaction.

The pasture is located in the middle zone of the Obishur watershed and on the foothill above the riverbed plain. This pasture, located between the villages of Chargi poyon, Chargi bolo and Momandion and not far from Dilolo village, is a reachable place for many livestock of private households. In the riverbed, the only water point is installed where livestock is watered at midday. Due to tree cutting in the past, only a few shady places exist. Vegetation cover varies depending on the exposition of the slopes and the accessibility of the pasture. North-facing slopes have a more abundant vegetation cover. Some flanks are difficult to reach because of dense thorn bushes. A big gully, hardly accessible by livestock, is about to be covered again by naturally re-growing bushes and trees. Nevertheless, signs of erosion and rill building can be observed. Due to the closeness to the villages and to the pressure on natural resources it is crucial to sustain a controlled pasture management.

ទីតាំង: Muminabad, Khatlon, Tajikistan, ប្រទេសតាហ្ស៊ីគីស្ថាន

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