Working Equids: Their Conditions, Invisible Earning and Challenges- A Review

Working equids play vital role in pastoral economy nationally as well as globally and their role is very significant in providing livelihood to households of their owners through direct and indirect financial contribution. This review aims to analyze their conditions, constrains and their invisible income. Working equids contribute for both direct and indirect income to large number of households and provide draught energy to a large human population nationally and internationally. They are important components of livestock and as per the livestock census done by Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fishery, Government of India, equine contribution in livestock population was 0.39% in 1997 , 0.32% in 2003, 0.22% in 2007, 0.22% in 2012 and it came down to 0.10% in 2019. Though being comparatively less number in total livestock population, their roles are important in particular section of landless and marginalized human population engaged in rearing of these animals. Working equids are facing negligence, poor health and malnutrition. Excessive use of automobile, their declining contribution in agricultural GDP and some social issues are major constrains for declining trends in their population.

PASTORAL ECONOMY OF THE KAZAKHS AT THE TURN OF THE XIX-XX CENTURIES. ECONOMIC ASPECT

In this article, based on the identified historical source, a number of facts are presented that reveal the features of nomadic cattle breeding of the Kazakhs at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. The materials presented in the article allow us to understand how the economic relations between Russia and Kazakhstan were built, what was their main subject in the time interval under consideration, what characteristic features and features were inherent in them. The structure of the functioning of product sales markets is considered, the key figures of trade relations are identified. The change of the paradigm of exchange trade to commodity-money relations is shown. The features of the action of steppe fairs are revealed. Their role in ensuring the vital activity of steppe farms of the indigenous population of Kazakhstan is revealed. In general, the great importance of nomadic cattle breeding for the provision of meat, fat and various raw materials in Russia and a number of foreign countries is stated.

Grasslands

This chapter details Ottoman policies to regulate the exploitation of grasslands in the Tigris-Euphrates alluvial plain. The flow regime of the Tigris and Euphrates created extensive pastures that made the alluvium a major destination for pastoral groups, particularly during the harsh summer season. The Ottoman state regulated this lucrative pastoral economy by establishing herders’ associations, such as the Ahşamat, the Qara Ulus, and Qara’ul. This policy of social aggregation facilitated the monitoring, counting, and taxation of a mobile population that was difficult to control. The chapter demonstrates that mobile pastoralism was instrumental in Ottoman economic and political expansion into the challenging, peripheral environment of Iraq.

Quantitative description of the pastoral economy of western Tuvan nomads

Nomadic pastoralism persists at a substantial scale in Tuva and neighboring regions of Inner Asia. Tuvan pastoral lifeways reflect adaptations to both local environments and current economic realities. Much of our quantitative understanding of the economics of Tuvan nomads is derived from data collected in the first half of the 20th century. Accordingly, this paper provides an updated picture of the inner workings of nomadic households using data collected in Barun-Khemchik and Bai-Taiga provinces in 2013–2015. It analyzes herd composition and size, and compares the frequency of different animals kept today with values recorded in Tuva in 1916 and 1931. It then quantifies rates of provisioning hay and grain, and the production of meat and dairy products for consumption and sale. Finally, it characterizes typical costs of food, petrol, medicine, clothing, and school supplies faced by present-day herders. We advocate the collection of quantitative ethnographic data that can shed further light on the future of the Tuvan pastoralist niche.

The Human Impact on Changes in the Forest Range of the Silesian Beskids (Western Carpathians)

Changes in forest range are caused by human activity in many regions of the world. The aim of this paper is an attempt to determine the impact of pastoral and forest management on changes in forest cover and their fragmentation in the Silesian Beskids (southern Poland) in 1848–2015. Historical maps and landscape metrics were used to study changes in forest cover. Using a digital map of forests, analyses of the distribution of forest communities, site types and their condition were conducted. Since 1848 the forest area has increased by 11.8%, while the area of forest core zones has increased by 16.2%, accompanied by a 4.5% reduction in the forest’s internal buffer zone. From the mid-nineteenth century, the forest range has been systematically growing from 82.1 to 93.9% because of the pastureland abandonment and forest regeneration, despite temporary logging resulting in forest fragmentation. Minor changes in core area index (CAI) from 80.41 to 87.55 indicate that pastoral economy did not result in considerable fragmentation of forests. The impact of forest management was greater as the sites characterised by natural condition occupy only 28% of the forest land and anthropogenically transformed ones dominate occupying over 50%. An artificial spruce monoculture was died-off and large felling areas were created at the beginning of the twenty-first century covering almost 40% of the study area.

Portrayal of Camel Production in The Desert Ecosystem of Pakistan

Camel plays a pivotal role in the subsistence pastoral economy of diverse ecozones extending from Gobi Desert and India in central Asia to Somalia and Ethiopia in the horn of Africa. Camel has special attributes including its appearance and ability to survive in hot, harsh and versatile arid environments. Camel has fascinated mankind as it can tolerate many stresses like heat; scarcity of water; water with high salinity and shortage of feed. Camel can digest dry matter and coarse crude fiber better than any other ruminants. Among domestic animals, the dromedary is most important animal being survive in hot, arid and semi-arid regions and has potential to produce higher quality foods (meat and milk) under extreme environments at lower costs. Camel can tolerate solar radiations, higher temperatures and water scarcity. Camel consume those feed materials which remains un-utilized by other domestic animals, thus thrive well on sandy deserts with poor vegetation. Adaptation of Camelids in Pakistan is very well to their native environment as they are performing and well sustaining a life in hostile deserts. The dromedaries provide milk and meat to the pastorals and herders in those areas where the survival of other livestock species is very tough. So, camels equilibrate the food security chain in the deep deserts and provide nourishment to its keepers; proving it to be a good candidate of food security and sovereignty in the desert ecosystem.

Modelling Bronze Age sheepherding and wool production: the case of the Terramara settlement at Montale, Italy

Arguing for an integrated wool-textile economy in the Bronze Age, this paper assesses characteristics and scale of pastoral economy and sheepherding at the Terramare settlement of Montale (Modena province, Italy). Previous studies argued that Montale was a Bronze Age centre of wool production. The present work enhances the understanding of the local textile economy by investigating the evidence for sheepherding and landscape management at the site. It also proposes an interdisciplinary-based approach to investigate and reconstruct pastoral economy and sheepherding strategies in other prehistoric contexts as well.