Threats to the Chang Tang Wildlife Reserve, Tibet


Daniel J.Miller and George B. Schaller*

WITH the establishment of the Chang Tang Wildlife Reserve, Tibet in 1993, approximately 300 000 km2 of Tibetan wilderness were brought under protection. The Reserve, which is the second largest protected area in the world, includes one of the earth's last, largely undisturbed rangeland ecosystems and provides habitat for a unique assemblage of wildlife, several species of which are endangered and endemic to the Tibetan plateau. The southern and western most parts of the Reserve also support Tibetan pastoralists and their livestock.
The Chang Tang Wildlife Reserve is located in the north-western part of the Tibetan Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. The Kunlun Mountains and the boundary of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region define the northern edge of the Reserve. The eastern limit of the Reserve follows the border of Qinghai Province. The "northern road", which crosses Tibet from east to west and continues to Xinjiang, marks part of the southern and western boundary. Most of the Reserve lies at elevations between 4400 and 5000 m, and a number of mountains rise to elevations of over 6000 m. There are no major rivers in the Reserve; all drainage is internal, although the headwaters of the Yangtze River are located just outside the Reserve in the Southeast. The Reserve consists of broad, rolling steppes broken by hills and glacier-capped mountains and large basins often with saline lakes. The land is too cold to support forests and agriculture; vegetation is dominated by cold-desert rangelands, with a sparse cover of grasses, sedges, forbs and low shrubs.
The Chang Tang Reserve maintains an exceptional community of large mammals which includes six wild ungulate species: chiru or Tibetan antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii), Tibetan gazelle (Procapra picticaudata), Tibetan argali (Ovis ammon), blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur), kiang or Tibetan wild ass (Equus kiang), and wild yak (Bos grunniens). Predators on these ungulates include the common wolf (Canis lupus), snow leopard (Panthera uncia), brown bear (Ursus arctos) and lynx (Felis lynx). Among the widespread small mammals are: plateau pikas (0chotona curzoniae), Tibetan fox (Vulpesferrilata), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), Himalayan marmots (Marmota himalayana), and Tibetan woolly hares (Lepus oiostolus). The Reserve now represents the last and best place on the Tibetan plateau affording most of these species a future. All species of wild mammals, except wolves, are officially protected from hunting in the Reserve. Most species are also listed in either Appendix I or II of CITES, and as Class I or 2 species under Chinese legislation.
Four principal ecological landscapes are found in the Reserve: alpine steppe; alpine desert; high mountain sparse vegetation; and glaciers and bare ground. The alpine steppe zone covers about 49% of the Reserve on the southern side. It is dominated by a grassland community characterized by the grass, Stipa purpurea. Forbs of the genera Oxytropis, Astragalus, Leontopodium and Potentilla and small, dwarf shrubs such as Ceratoides compacta, Potentilla parviflora, and Ajania fruticolosa are found locally in Stipa rangelands. The alpine steppe zone provides the most important grazing land for wild ungulates and livestock.
The alpine desert zone covers about 18% of the Reserve in the northern part. It is characterized by arid rangelands dominated by the sedge, Carex moorcroftii, and sparse Ceratoides compacta shrublands. The desert steppe is used seasonally by chiru and some kiang, and wild yaks are generally found on, or near, mountain slopes in the desert steppe zone. This zone is not used by herders, being too remote and unfavourable for livestock.
The high mountain sparse vegetation zone covers about 17% of the Reserve and is found at elevations above 5100 m on mountains. Vegetation is dominated by scattered cushion plants of the genera Arenaria, Androsace, and Thylacospermum, small forbs, and graminoids. This zone provides seasonal grazing for most wild ungulate species. Glaciers and rocky, bare ground above the limit of vegetations growth covers another 12% of the Reserve.
Most of the Reserve is uninhabited, although a belt of rangelands in the southern and western parts supports Tibetan pastoralists and their livestock who, for centuries, have managed to exist there, despite living in one of the world's harshest environments and at altitudes as high as any other people on earth. The northern-most pastoral areas around the villages of Tsatsang, Garco, and Shuanghu, however, were settled less than 25 years ago by herders who were moved north from the administrative centre of Xainza. Today, there are about 19 000 people and 1.5 million head of livestock that depend upon rangelands in the Reserve. Pastoralists maintain milking and nonmilking herds of yaks, sheep, and goats, and horses for riding.
Geographically remote, and until recently, off-limits to Western scientists, the Chang Tang Reserve's ecosystem and wildlife have been little studied. The high alpine and desert steppes of the Chang Tang Reserve represent a large and unique ecosystem, and, remarkably, one of the very few rangelands in the world that has not yet been degraded by man and livestock. Recent surveys have provided preliminary information on rangelands, wildlife, and pastoral systems in the Reserve (1-4).
Rangelands in the Reserve are spatially heterogeneous ranging from patch to landscape scales in composition, structure and productivity. Although limited in the overall richness of plant species, the rangelands are nevertheless diverse and provide habitat for six wild ungulate species and four domestic livestock species, as well as a variety of large predators, small mammals, and birds. Vegetation differences define movements and foraging behaviour of both wildlife and livestock and influence the manner in which ungulates affect the ecosystem. In the Reserve, wildlife are often concentrated in "hot spots" where soils are rich in nutrients and there is good forage and available water.
The six wild ungulate species overlap broadly in their use of terrain, although blue sheep, argalis, and wild yaks are usually found on mountain slopes. Kiang, chiru and Tibetan gazelle prefer open plains. There is some resource partitioning among species, but considerable overlap remains. All six species feed on only a few plant species, mostly on two species of grass and a sedge, and a limited number of forbs. Diets differ in the proportion of plant types consumed, not on the basis of plant species. Kiang graze almost exclusively on grasses, while Tibetan gazelles avoid grasses and select mainly forbs. Argali, blue sheep and chiru are more opportunistic, selecting both grasses and sedges and a variety of forbs. Domestic sheep, goats and yaks graze primarily on grasses.
The migratory chiru, more than any other species, describes the vast Chang Tang ecosystem. There is evidence of three migratory chiru populations in the Reserve and a fourth one to the east of the Reserve in Qinghai Province. In May, the pregnant females with their female offspring from the previous year form large herds and migrate north as far as 400 kin to give birth in the desolate desert steppe zone. The exact location of these birthing grounds is still unknown. The fact that a major migratory wildlife population has eluded scientists to this day exemplifies the wildness and special significance of the Chang Tang ecosystem.
Despite its remoteness, the Chang Tang Reserve faces numerous threats which endanger the future of the exceptional wildlife and the rangeland ecosystem that nourishes them and the Tibetan pastoralists. Confronting these threats should be a priority issue for conservation in Tibet.
Commercial hunting is one of the main threats to the survival of wildlife in the Chang Tang Reserve. Subsistence hunting with muzzle loader and foot trap has been part of pastoral life for centuries and was sustainable under the low human population pressure that existed in Tibet in the past. The advent of roads, vehicles, and modem weapons in recent decades, however, has resulted in considerable depletion of wildlife populations, especially wild yak and chiru. Wild yak were killed for their meat to such an extent that few now exist outside the Reserve. Only an estimated 7000-7500 wild yak remain in the Reserve, and most of them are in the north, far from people. Chiru have also been persecuted for their wool, known as shatoosh-the finest wool in the world-to such an extent that many areas are now devoid of the species. Explorers in Tibet 100 years ago recorded congregations of 20 000 antelopes. Nowhere are such herds found today and, despite official protection, poaching of chiru continues. Reserve staff lack training and equipment to control this illegal hunting.
Changes in traditional pastoral production systems pose a danger to wildlife and the Chang Tang ecosystem. Remote pastoral areas that used to take months to reach on horseback or by yak caravan are now accessible in a few days by vehicle from Lhasa. Trucks travel hundreds of kilometers to nomad camps, bringing subsidized grain and supplies and collecting wool for transport to markets. Herders also have access to hospitals, schools, and other goods and services that were unavailable a few years ago. With improved access to markets there is interest among pastoralists to increase livestock numbers and livestock off-take from the rangelands. The pastoral population is also increasing and more people will go into livestock herding, escalating potential conflicts with wildlife, if alternative employment is not available. The complex system of grazing rotation, which up to now has maintained the rangelands, is being modified. Nomad groups which herded livestock on the open range now fence winter pastures and some have built long fences across valleys and hills to keep wildlife out and livestock in, yet kiang and chiru need open range to survive. Pastoralists who lived in tents as recently as 1990 now have permanent winter homes and the extensive spatial movement that characterised traditional pastoralism is changing as nomads "settle down". This sedentarization poses problems of over-grazing and increased competition for forage between wildlife and livestock. Many herders now have less tolerance towards wildlife. Predators, especially wolves, have always been persecuted. Pikas are increasingly seen as destroyers of rangeland vegetation and are often exterminated, yet pikas are an important food supply for bears, wolves and birds of prey. Kiang are also believed to compete with livestock for forage and there are demands from borders to control kiang populations.
The basic issue of coexistence between wildlife and livestock needs to be addressed and more information is needed on food habits and requirements of wild ungulates and livestock, but, for a reserve with an explicit purpose to protect wildlife, there may have to be limits placed on the number of livestock allowed, at least in some areas such as chiru breeding grounds, at certain seasons.
Rangelands on alpine steppes, which belonged almost exclusively to wildlife a quarter of a century ago, are now settled, at least seasonally, to their northern limit. Further north, good grazing land is limited, yet government authorities would like to expand livestock production into this uninhabited area. Areas with good forage in these inhospitable uplands are critical to the survival of wildlife. With most of the alpine steppe zone now essentially usurped by pastoralists, the northernmost part of the Reserve represents the last real refuge for wildlife and especially for the wild yak, wolf, Tibetan brown bear, and chiru birthing grounds. Further encroachment by pastoralists into these last wildlife refuges will have a profound detrimental effect on wildlife populations.
The chiru is the keystone species for the Chang Tang ecosystem and preserving chiru requires that its entire range, including the birthing grounds, be protected. The western most chiru population in the Reserve is known to migrate into the neighbouring Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to give birth, an area currently not included in the protected area system. The easternmost population is also believed to migrate out of the Reserve into Qinghai Province, a region not officially protected at the present time. These vital birthing grounds need to be preserved if the remaining chiru populations are to survive and authorities should consider expanding the Reserve to include these areas.
Other man-induced developments also threaten the reserve. About 2000-3000 gold diggers from Qinghai Province moved into the Nyima area, along the Reserve's southern boundary, in 1994. Oil exploration teams were in the Reserve that year also. Such extractive activities must be strictly regulated and monitored to avoid excessive damage to the environment and illegal hunting by oil workers and miners.
Other events, not influenced by man also have important implications for the Chang Tang ecosystem. Recent research (5) indicates a general climatic trend of desiccation and warming in Central Asia. Other researchers (6-7) have noted changes in vegetation in Tibet due to desiccation, especially the transformation of alpine, Cyperaceae mat vegetation to alpine steppe. These vegetational changes have important implications for the future of the Chang Tang ecosystem as these Cyperaceae mat vegetation types provide vital grazing areas for livestock (8) and wildlife. Reduced plant productivity in these areas could have serious repercussions for livestock production and pastoralism over a wide area of Tibet, with critical implications for wildlife as well. These climate-induced dynamics need to be better understood and vegetation changes should be monitored to detect changes and to develop appropriate pastoral management plans.
With the establishment of the Reserve, the Tibetan and Chinese authorities have expressed their commitment to conservation. The future of the Chang Tang ecosystem, however, will depend on the implementation of innovative conservation and development programs. Policies and strategies should strive to maintain the Reserve as a viable and undamaged ecosystem. To achieve this goal it will be necessary to develop management plans for the Reserve that take into account the needs of the wildlife as well as the aspirations of the local people. Developing such plans requires a much better understanding of ecosystem dynamics, more detailed information on the status, distribution, and ecology of wildlife, increased understanding of present pastoral production practices, more thorough analysis of the issues and opportunities facing pastoralists, and modifications in policies and current approaches to development. These actions are critical for conserving the wildlife and their habitat. Finally, the international community must commit itself to recognizing the value of conserving the Chang Tang ecosystem and will invest in preserving it for future generations. n

References and Notes

1. Surveys in the Chang Tang Wildlife Reserve were a collaborative effort between the Wildlife Conservation Society, New York. USA, and various Chinese and Tibetan Autonomous Region governmental agencies: Ministry of Forests, Tibet Forest Bureau, Tibet Bureau of Science and Technology, and Tibet Plateau Institute of Biology. Research was funded by the Wildlife Conservation Society.
2. Schaller, G.B. and Gu Binyuan. 1994. Comparative ecology of ungulates in the Aru Basin of Northwest Tibet. Natl Geogr. Res. Explor. 10, 266-293.
3. Miller, D.J. and Schaller, G.B. 1997. Rangeland dynamics in the Chang Tang wildlife reserve, Tibet. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Karakorum Hindukush-Himalaya: Dynamics of Change. Islamabad, Pakistan. Pak-German Research Project.
4. Miller, D.J. 1994. Survey Report: Rangelands of the Chang Tang Wildlife Reserve,Tibet. Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, New York.
5. Shi Yafeng. 1994. Climate desiccation and warming in Central Asia: Indications from alpine glacier retreat and lake area shrinkage. Chin. Environ. Dev., 75-95.
6. Miehe, G. 1994. Recent climatic changes in subhumid to arid regions of High Asia (Karakorum, Kunlun, Himalaya, Tibet) as indicated by vegetation features. In: Proceedings of International Symposium on the Karakorum and Kunlun Mountains. Zheng Du, et al. (eds). China Meteorological Press, Beijing, pp. 333-347.
7. Miehe, G. 1992. Vegetation successions and humidity changes in the Himalayas and the Karakorum. In: Occasional Papers 2, Pak-German Workshop: Problems of Comparative High Mountain Research with Regard to the Karakorum, Tübingen, October 1992. Stellrecht, I. (ed.). Pak-German Research Project, Tübingen, Germany, pp. 60-80.
8. Cincotta, R.P., van Soest, P.J., Robertson, J.B., Beall, C.M. and Goldstein, M.C. 1991 Foraging ecology of livestock on the Tibetan Changtang: A comparison of three adjacent grazing areas Arctic Alpine Res. 23.149-161. n

*Authors are rangeland specialist and director for science, respectively. The Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, New York. Mr. Miller is presently with the International Centre for Integerated Mountain Development, Kathmandu, Nepal.
This article is reprinted from
Rangelands 18(3), June '96

[ Homepage ] [ Environmental Situation ] [ Green Tibet 1998 ]



This site is maintained and updated by The Office of Tibet, the official agency of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in London. This Web page may be linked to any other Web sites. Contents may not be altered.
Last updated: 9-Oct-1998