Linking traditional ecological knowledge and sustainable resource management of saxoul in the Alashan Region, Inner Mongolia, China

Abstract

As a dominant tree species in the Gobi desert, saxoul (Haloxylon ammodentron) plays a critical role in combating desertification. However, saxoul is disappearing rapidly. The government has used closed reserves to conserve saxoul, but with limited success. Mongolian herders possess traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of saxoul, but they do not participate in government-based resource management. Currently, no data exist on Mongolian TEK of saxoul, and my research fills this gap in the literature. This thesis is based on research in Hatuhuduge Gacha in Inner Mongolia, where I interviewed all 33 Mongolian families in the community. My main findings are: saxoul has degraded, and the degradation is caused by a complex set of interacting variables including human activities and environmental changes; Mongolians possess a large amount of TEK, but it is disappearing rapidly due to changes in traditional practices, institutions, and the belief system; TEK and the Western scientific literature agree on a number of themes referring to saxoul's natural history and causes of degradation, but have different approaches to conservation. I suggest possibilities for applying TEK through increasing local participation and power over resource management, and by pulling from the strengths of both TEK and Western scientific approaches.