Livestock Grazing and Biodiversity Conservation: Comments on Saberwal

In a paper that combines archival research with empirical field data, Saberwal (1996) questioned an assumption that underlies conservation efforts worldwide, that human land-use practices lead to land degradation. In his work on the pastoral Gaddi community in western Himalaya, Saberwal tries to show (1) that government policy to curtail Gaddi grazing practices in northwest India has been based on this assumption, (2) that there has been no scientific information to suggest that Gaddi grazing leads to degradation of native plant and animal communities, and (3) through his own field data, that Gaddi grazing has an insignificant impact on plant communities at the landscape level. He concludes with an appeal to discard the notion that humans and biodiversity conservation are incompatible. We agree completely that traditional human land-use need not lead to degradation and in fact could enhance conservation objectives. Our own work suggests this (e.g., Mishra & Johnsingh 1996). Based partly on new data, however, we question the adequacy of the information and data set on which Saberwal has based his contentions. We also discuss several other pertinent conservation issues related to pastoralism in this region, issues neglected by Saberwal.