AHP 42: Guardians of Nature: Tibetan Pastoralists and the Natural World

AHP 42: Guardians of Nature: Tibetan Pastoralists and the Natural WorldGuardians of Nature is a clearly written and very insightful view of the political economic, environmental, and social cultural transformations reshaping lives and livelihoods on the Tibetan Plateau. Written as a first hand narrative account of his work over several years with Yulshul villagers, Tsering Bums perceptive book discusses key issues of contemporary Tibetan pastoralism: mining, the importance of the caterpillar fungus economy, resettlement,

Guardians of Nature is a clearly written and very insightful view of the political economic, environmental, and social-cultural transformations reshaping lives and livelihoods on the Tibetan Plateau. Written as a first-hand narrative account of his work over several years with Yulshul villagers, Tsering BumÕs perceptive book discusses key issues of contemporary Tibetan pastoralism: mining, the importance of the caterpillar fungus economy, resettlement, co-ops, education policy, human-wildlife conflict, and sacred mountains. It also explores quite new phenomena, such as Tibetan pastoralists hiring Han Chinese as herding laborers while living off of caterpillar fungus income, and the rise of feral dogs as a result of the sharp drop in Tibetan mastiff prices. Tsering BumÕs analysis is informed by critiques of nature-culture binaries and illustrates the many effects of perverse policy incentives. Strongly recommended for anyone interested in understanding Tibetan pastoral areas today.