IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v10y2018i9p3325-d170427.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Influence of Livelihood Capitals on Livelihood Strategies of Herdsmen in Inner Mongolia, China

Author

Listed:
  • Wenqiang Ding

    (State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
    Institute of Grassland Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology and Restoration, Ministry of Agriculture, 120 East Wulanchabu Street, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia 010010, China)

  • Saheed Olaide Jimoh

    (Institute of Grassland Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology and Restoration, Ministry of Agriculture, 120 East Wulanchabu Street, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia 010010, China)

  • Yulu Hou

    (Institute of Agricultural Information, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China)

  • Xiangyang Hou

    (Institute of Grassland Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecology and Restoration, Ministry of Agriculture, 120 East Wulanchabu Street, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia 010010, China)

  • Weiguo Zhang

    (State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China)

Abstract

Herders’ living strategy is a function of the capitals at their disposal which also serve as a buffering mechanism when shocks arise. An insight into the connection between livelihood strategies and capitals owned by herders provides guidance to recognize their living situation. This study evaluated the different livelihood capitals of herders across the five ecological types (meadow, typical, desert, sandy, and desert steppe) in Inner Mongolia region of China, using the sustainable livelihood framework approach. An evaluation index was developed and used to investigate how the livelihood capitals of herders affects preferential selection of livelihood strategies using multinomial logit model. Results indicate that: (1) The stocks of human and social capitals were higher while those for natural, physical, and financial capitals were lower. (2) There were significant regional differences in the livelihood capital stock of herders’ families with zonal horizontal decrease from east to west. (3) Natural capitals affects the preferential selection of livelihood strategies by herders positively implying that possession of more natural capitals by herders leads to selection of livelihood strategies that are devoid of pastoral production; the preferred livelihood strategy of herders was significantly negatively affected by physical and financial capitals, an indication that, when herders possess more physical and financial capitals, they tend to choose livelihood strategies that involve pastoral production. The living strategy of herders was not affected by human and social capitals. (4) Production of rented pasture capital index affected the preferential selection of livelihood strategies by herders positively while cash income capital index had negative influence on how pastoralists select their livelihood strategies. In conclusion, the total livelihood capital of herders in Inner Mongolia is low, and there is perceived benefit in the differentiation of herders families into petty-herders and non-grazing families from the perception of natural resource management and sustainability. This requires income diversification programs such as capacity building and business education that will aid the smooth transition of households to these less resource exploiting livelihood strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Wenqiang Ding & Saheed Olaide Jimoh & Yulu Hou & Xiangyang Hou & Weiguo Zhang, 2018. "Influence of Livelihood Capitals on Livelihood Strategies of Herdsmen in Inner Mongolia, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-17, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:9:p:3325-:d:170427
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/9/3325/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/9/3325/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kandulu, John M. & Bryan, Brett A. & King, Darran & Connor, Jeffery D., 2012. "Mitigating economic risk from climate variability in rain-fed agriculture through enterprise mix diversification," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 105-112.
    2. Milgroom, J. & Giller, K.E., 2013. "Courting the rain: Rethinking seasonality and adaptation to recurrent drought in semi-arid southern Africa," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 91-104.
    3. Solomon Zena Walelign & Mariève Pouliot & Helle Overgaard Larsen & Carsten Smith-Hall, 2017. "Combining Household Income and Asset Data to Identify Livelihood Strategies and Their Dynamics," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(6), pages 769-787, June.
    4. Bingzhen Du & Lin Zhen & Huimin Yan & Rudolf De Groot, 2016. "Effects of Government Grassland Conservation Policy on Household Livelihoods and Dependence on Local Grasslands: Evidence from Inner Mongolia, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-18, December.
    5. Babulo, Bedru & Muys, Bart & Nega, Fredu & Tollens, Eric & Nyssen, Jan & Deckers, Jozef & Mathijs, Erik, 2008. "Household livelihood strategies and forest dependence in the highlands of Tigray, Northern Ethiopia," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 98(2), pages 147-155, September.
    6. Frank Ellis, 2000. "The Determinants of Rural Livelihood Diversification in Developing Countries," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(2), pages 289-302, May.
    7. Fei Wang & Degang Yang & Changjian Wang & Xinhuan Zhang, 2015. "The Effect of Payments for Ecosystem Services Programs on the Relationship of Livelihood Capital and Livelihood Strategy among Rural Communities in Northwestern China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(7), pages 1-21, July.
    8. Wenjia Peng & Hua Zheng & Brian E. Robinson & Cong Li & Fengchun Wang, 2017. "Household Livelihood Strategy Choices, Impact Factors, and Environmental Consequences in Miyun Reservoir Watershed, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-12, January.
    9. Ansoms, An & McKay, Andrew, 2010. "A quantitative analysis of poverty and livelihood profiles: The case of rural Rwanda," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(6), pages 584-598, December.
    10. Alemu, Zerihun Gudeta, 2012. "Livelihood Strategies in Rural South Africa: Implications for Poverty Reduction," 2012 Conference, August 18-24, 2012, Foz do Iguacu, Brazil 125411, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    11. van den Berg, Marrit, 2010. "Household income strategies and natural disasters: Dynamic livelihoods in rural Nicaragua," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 592-602, January.
    12. Dingde Xu & Jifei Zhang & Golam Rasul & Shaoquan Liu & Fangting Xie & Mengtian Cao & Enlai Liu, 2015. "Household Livelihood Strategies and Dependence on Agriculture in the Mountainous Settlements in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(5), pages 1-20, April.
    13. Li, Ang & Wu, Jianguo & Zhang, Xueyao & Xue, Jianguo & Liu, Zhifeng & Han, Xingguo & Huang, Jianhui, 2018. "China’s new rural “separating three property rights” land reform results in grassland degradation: Evidence from Inner Mongolia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 170-182.
    14. Zhifei Liu & Qianru Chen & Hualin Xie, 2018. "Influence of the Farmer’s Livelihood Assets on Livelihood Strategies in the Western Mountainous Area, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-12, March.
    15. Angelsen, Arild & Jagger, Pamela & Babigumira, Ronnie & Belcher, Brian & Hogarth, Nicholas J. & Bauch, Simone & Börner, Jan & Smith-Hall, Carsten & Wunder, Sven, 2014. "Environmental Income and Rural Livelihoods: A Global-Comparative Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(S1), pages 12-28.
    16. Miyuki Iiyama & Patrick Kariuki & Patti Kristjanson & Simeon Kaitibie & Joseph Maitima, 2008. "Livelihood diversification strategies, incomes and soil management strategies: a case study from Kerio Valley, Kenya," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(3), pages 380-397.
    17. Caizhi Sun & Kunling Zhang & Wei Zou & Bin Li & Xionghe Qin, 2015. "Assessment and Evolution of the Sustainable Development Ability of Human–Ocean Systems in Coastal Regions of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(8), pages 1-29, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Haibin Dong & Saheed Olaide Jimoh & Yulu Hou & Xiangyang Hou, 2020. "Willingness to Pay for Livestock Husbandry Insurance: An Empirical Analysis of Grassland Farms in Inner Mongolia, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-13, September.
    2. Mukisa, Nicholas & Zamora, Ramon & Lie, Tek Tjing, 2020. "Assessment of community sustainable livelihoods capitals for the implementation of alternative energy technologies in Uganda – Africa," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 886-902.
    3. Yueyue He & Tanveer Ahmed, 2022. "Farmers’ Livelihood Capital and Its Impact on Sustainable Livelihood Strategies: Evidence from the Poverty-Stricken Areas of Southwest China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-24, April.
    4. Yaping Liu & Huike Shi & Zhen Su & Tafazal Kumail, 2022. "Sustainability and Risks of Rural Household Livelihoods in Ethnic Tourist Villages: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-26, April.
    5. Jiping Zhang & Linbo Zhang & Xiaona Liu & Qing Qiao, 2019. "Research on Sustainable Development in an Alpine Pastoral Area Based on Equilibrium Analysis Between the Grassland Yield, Livestock Carrying Capacity, and Animal Husbandry Population," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-11, August.
    6. Julius Uti Nchor, 2023. "Livelihood Strategies and Their Determinants among Informal Households in Calabar, Nigeria," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-20, February.
    7. Tran, Dung Duc & Huu, Loc Ho & Hoang, Long Phi & Pham, Tien Duy & Nguyen, Au Hai, 2021. "Sustainability of rice-based livelihoods in the upper floodplains of Vietnamese Mekong Delta: Prospects and challenges," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    8. Hong Chang & Xinchao Liu & Yu Xie & Yahong Liu & Wu Yang & Jianming Niu, 2022. "The Grassland Ecological Compensation Policy Drives the Differentiation of Herders’ Livelihoods in Inner Mongolian Desert Grassland," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-15, August.
    9. Jianhua Ren & Hongzhen Lei & Haiyun Ren, 2022. "Livelihood Capital, Ecological Cognition, and Farmers’ Green Production Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-16, December.
    10. Mukisa, Nicholas & Zamora, Ramon & Lie, Tek Tjing, 2022. "Multi criteria analysis of alternative energy technologies based on their predicted impact on community sustainable livelihoods capitals: A case of Uganda," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 182(C), pages 1103-1125.
    11. Rui Sun & Jianing Mi & Shu Cao & Xiao Gong, 2019. "Classifying Livelihood Strategies Adopting the Activity Choice Approach in Rural China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-22, May.
    12. Kibria, Abu S.M.G. & Costanza, Robert & Gasparatos, Alexandros & Soto, José, 2022. "A composite human wellbeing index for ecosystem-dependent communities: A case study in the Sundarbans, Bangladesh," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    13. Ram Nayan Yadava & Bhaskar Sinha, 2020. "Vulnerability Assessment of Forest Fringe Villages of Madhya Pradesh, India for Planning Adaptation Strategies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-17, February.
    14. Héctor Eduardo Hernández-Núñez & Isabel Gutiérrez-Montes & Angie Paola Bernal-Núñez & Gustavo Adolfo Gutiérrez-García & Juan Carlos Suárez & Fernando Casanoves & Cornelia Butler Flora, 2022. "Cacao cultivation as a livelihood strategy: contributions to the well-being of Colombian rural households," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(1), pages 201-216, March.
    15. Bo Yang & Marcus W. Feldman & Shuzhuo Li, 2021. "The Status of Family Resilience: Effects of Sustainable Livelihoods in Rural China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 153(3), pages 1041-1064, February.
    16. Fatma Aribi & Mongi Sghaier, 2021. "Livelihood vulnerability assessment to climate change and variability: the case of farm households in South-East Tunisia," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(8), pages 12631-12658, August.
    17. Yang Liu & Qing Zhang & Qingfu Liu & Yongzhi Yan & Wanxin Hei & Deyong Yu & Jianguo Wu, 2020. "Different Household Livelihood Strategies and Influencing Factors in the Inner Mongolian Grassland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-15, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yang Liu & Qing Zhang & Qingfu Liu & Yongzhi Yan & Wanxin Hei & Deyong Yu & Jianguo Wu, 2020. "Different Household Livelihood Strategies and Influencing Factors in the Inner Mongolian Grassland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-15, January.
    2. Shanta Paudel Khatiwada & Wei Deng & Bikash Paudel & Janak Raj Khatiwada & Jifei Zhang & Yi Su, 2017. "Household Livelihood Strategies and Implication for Poverty Reduction in Rural Areas of Central Nepal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-20, April.
    3. Jinhai Ma & Jie Zhang & Li Li & Zhanjing Zeng & Jingrong Sun & Qilou (Bill) Zhou & Yuling Zhang, 2018. "Study on Livelihood Assets-Based Spatial Differentiation of the Income of Natural Tourism Communities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-20, January.
    4. Walelign, Solomon Zena & Jiao, Xi, 2017. "Dynamics of rural livelihoods and environmental reliance: Empirical evidence from Nepal," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 199-209.
    5. Longjunjiang Huang & Cong Liao & Xuan Guo & Yanlin Liu & Xiaojin Liu, 2023. "Analysis of the Impact of Livelihood Capital on Livelihood Strategies of Leased-In Farmland Households: A Case Study of Jiangxi Province, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-29, June.
    6. Gil, J.M. & Diaz-Montenegro, J. & Varela, E., 2018. "A Bias-Adjusted Three-Step approach for analysing the livelihood strategies and the asset mix of cacao producers in Ecuador," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277215, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    7. Solomon Zena Walelign & Mariève Pouliot & Helle Overgaard Larsen & Carsten Smith-Hall, 2015. "A novel approach to dynamic livelihood clustering: Empirical evidence from Nepal," IFRO Working Paper 2015/09, University of Copenhagen, Department of Food and Resource Economics.
    8. Jang-Hwan Jo & Taewoo Roh & Seunguk Shin & Yeo-Chang Youn, 2019. "Sustainable Assets and Strategies Affecting the Forestry Household Income: Empirical Evidence from South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-16, July.
    9. Rui Sun & Jianing Mi & Shu Cao & Tianyi Zhang, 2021. "Trends and Determinants of Income-Oriented Livelihood Transitions in Rural China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 155(2), pages 601-624, June.
    10. Gamel Abdul-Nasser Salifu, 2019. "The Political Economy Dynamics of Rural Household Income Diversification: A Review of the International Literature," Research in World Economy, Research in World Economy, Sciedu Press, vol. 10(3), pages 273-290, December.
    11. Nguyen, Trung Thanh & Do, Truong Lam & Bühler, Dorothee & Hartje, Rebecca & Grote, Ulrike, 2015. "Rural livelihoods and environmental resource dependence in Cambodia," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 282-295.
    12. Jiao, Xi & Walelign, Solomon Zena & Nielsen, Martin Reinhardt & Smith-Hall, Carsten, 2019. "Protected areas, household environmental incomes and well-being in the Greater Serengeti-Mara Ecosystem," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 1-1.
    13. Fengchun Wang & Hua Zheng & Xiaoke Wang & Wenjia Peng & Dongchun Ma & Cong Li, 2017. "Classification of the Relationship between Household Welfare and Ecosystem Reliance in the Miyun Reservoir Watershed, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-15, December.
    14. Jue Wang & Haiwei Jiang & Yuan He, 2023. "Determinants of Smallholder Farmers’ Income-Generating Activities in Rubber Monoculture Dominated Region Based on Sustainable Livelihood Framework," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-17, January.
    15. Van den Broeck, Goedele & Maertens, Miet, 2017. "Moving Up or Moving Out? Insights into Rural Development and Poverty Reduction in Senegal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 95-109.
    16. VAN DEN BROECK, Goedele & MAERTENS, Miet, 2016. "Moving Up or Moving Out? Insights on Rural Development and Poverty Reduction in Senegal," Working Papers 242367, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Centre for Agricultural and Food Economics.
    17. Dingde Xu & Xin Deng & Shili Guo & Shaoquan Liu, 2019. "Sensitivity of Livelihood Strategy to Livelihood Capital: An Empirical Investigation Using Nationally Representative Survey Data from Rural China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 144(1), pages 113-131, July.
    18. Ghulam Raza Sargani & Yuansheng Jiang & Abbas Ali Chandio & Yun Shen & Zhao Ding & Asif Ali, 2023. "Impacts of livelihood assets on adaptation strategies in response to climate change: evidence from Pakistan," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(7), pages 6117-6140, July.
    19. Benyong Wei & Guiwu Su & Yingkui Li & Yuling Ma, 2019. "Livelihood Strategies of Rural Households in Ning’er Earthquake-Stricken Areas, Yunnan Province, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-18, October.
    20. Chuan Liao & Christopher Barrett & Karim-Aly Kassam, 2015. "Does Diversification Improve Livelihoods? Pastoral Households in Xinjiang, China," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 46(6), pages 1302-1330, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:9:p:3325-:d:170427. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.