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XXI International Grassland Congress / VIII International Grassland Congress Proceedings International Rangeland Congress

Indigenous Yak and Yak‐Cattle Crossbreed Management in High Altitude Areas of Northern Nepal: A Case Study from Rasuwa District

Shikui Dong Beijing Normal University, China

Eklabya Sharma International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Nepal

Zhaoli Yan International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Nepal

K. K. Shrestha Nepal Agricultural Research Council, Nepal

D. Pariya Nepal Agricultural Research Council, Nepal

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Part of the Plant Sciences Commons, and the Soil Science Commons This document is available at https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/21/9-1/26 The XXI International Grassland Congress / VIII International Rangeland Congress took place in Hohhot, China from June 29 through July 5, 2008. Proceedings edited by Organizing Committee of 2008 IGC/IRC Conference Published by Guangdong People's Publishing House

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Indigenous yak and yak‐cattle crossbreed management in high altitude areas of northern Nepal : A case study from Rasuwa District

倡 Dong S .K .1 ,2 ,Sharma E .2 ,Y an Z .L .2 ,Shrestha K .K .3 ,Pariya D .4 1 School o f Env ironment ,Beij ing Normal University ,Beij ing ,100875 ,China ; 2 N atrual Resource M anagement Program , ICIMOD ,K humaltar ,L alitpur ,K athmandu ,Nepal ; 3 A gricultural Research Station ( Pasture) ,NA RC ,Dhunche ,Rasuw a , 倡 Nepal ; 4 Pasture and Fodder Div ision ,NA RC ,K humaltar ,L alitpur ,K athmandu ,Nep al . E‐mail o f corresponding author : dongshikui＠ sina .com

Key words : indigenous knowledge ,yak and hybrids ,management system Introduction Nepali mountain farmers actively conserve ,manage and improve the yak an‐d hybrids resources in harmony with their spe２c０if０ic２ environmental conditions ,food needs ,animal pathogenic conditions ,socio economic options and cultural values ( Shaha , ) .However ,the livestock resources ,knowledge and practices of pastoralists and other livestock keepers are often ignored in livestock policies and research programs .This study was conducted to introduce and broadcast the traditional yak and chauri management systems in high mountainous areas of ‐Northern Nepal , to evaluate the effectiveness of indigenous management systems and disseminate the good practices in yak raising areas and other dominance of the world . Materials and methods This paper sum‐mar‐izes and documents the indigenous yak and chauri managements in high altitude mountaino２u７°s５a７r′e３a０s″of ２N８°e２p３a′l３t０h″rough on the８s５p°o７t′０s０u″rvey８s５°o４n８′t１h５e″fa３rm５ ers from three villages of case study‐site ,Rasuwa D‐istrict ( latitude ２０ to N ,longitude to ‐ ‐ ) . households w４e７re surveyed with open ended and pre tested questionnaires , keypersons were interviewed with face to face conversation and participants were involved in participatory rural assessment ( PRA) . Results T ranshumance characterized by the seasonal movements of livestock between different ecological belts is dominate grazing pattern in the case site .Rotational grazing of the pasturelands according to feed availability is the example of deployment of indigenous knowledge adapted by local farmers .Cross breeding of yak with cattle ( Tibetan cattle bull or Zebu cattle cow ) is popular in traditional herd farming system .The breeding patterns in local yak farming systems reflect the seasonal availability and climatic variation ,matching very well to transhumant grazing strategie１s .Summplementing the herd with a s２mall amount of concentrates in harsh lean period is the traditional feeding management .F hybrid calf is carefully reared and F hybrid calf is killed by carelessly rearing is an indigenous practice to improve the herd productivity .Careful grazing management and herbal remedies for various diseases ,pests and plant poisoning are good examples of indigenous knowledge in animal health care . Conclusions It can be recommended and suggested from this case study that making better use of the vast indigenous knowledge that the local farmers posse‐ss is necessary when making improved management plans for yak and chauri farming system . Participatory research ,policy making and extension network should be developed to encourage the farmers to work together with profess摧ionals for better integrating the indigenous skills with advanced technologies .Indigenous institution development and farmers capacity building are imperative for better planning and successful implementation of livestock management program . References ２００２ Shaha ,B .K .O . , .Economics of yak farming with relation to tourism in Nepal .In : Jianlin ,H . ,Richard ,C . ,Hanotte ,O . , Proceeding o f the Third International McVeigh ,C . ,Rege ,J .E .O .( Eds .) ,Yak Production in Central Asian Highlands . Congress on Y ak , ４‐９ ２０００ １３４‐１４０ September , ,Lhasa ,China , .

Grasslands/Rangelands Production Systems——— Livestock Production Systems