Small-scale Co-management for the Sustainable Use of Xilingol Biosphere Reserve,Inner Mongolia

There exists a negative externality of livestock breeding due to the differencebetween private and social breeding cost in Xilingol Biosphere Reserve (XBR),InnerMongolia,that has caused extensive ecorogical degradation of the grassland.Theproperty rights regime,the household production responsibility system (HPRS),wasadopted in the 1980s to increase livestock production in XBR.Although HPRS hassuccessfully increased productionby promoting private economic interests and leadsto inefficient enforcement of stock rate,it has led to grassland degradation due to.Through interviews conducted with government representatives and herding familiesin all management units of XBR,we elucidate the shortfalls of the currentmanagement regime and the Fencing Grassland and Moving Users policy initiatedin 2002 to restore grassland.We propose an alternative property rights regime,small-scale co-management,to concurrently promote both individual economicinterests and grassland conservation by improving the enforcement of stock rate.