Pastoral practices in High Asia

In conventional views, pastoralism was classified as a stage of civilization that needed to be abolished and transcended in order to reach a higher level of development. In this context, global approaches to modernize a rural society have been ubiquitous phenomena independent of ideological contexts. The 20th century experienced a variety of concepts to settle mobile groups and to transfer their lifestyles to modern perceptions. Permanent settlements are the vivid expression of an ideology-driven approach. Modernization theory captured all walks of life and tried to optimize breeding techniques, pasture utilization, transport and processing concepts.
New insights into other aspects of pastoralism such as its role as an adaptive strategy to use marginal resources in remote locations with difficult access could only be understood as a critique of capitalist and communist concepts of modernization. In recent years a renaissance of modernization theory-led development activities canbe observed. Higher inputs from external funding, fencing of pastures and settlement of pastoralists in new townships are the vivid expression of 'modern' pastoralism in urban contexts. The new modernization programme incorporates resettlement and transformation of lifestyles as to be justified by environmental pressure in order to reduce degradation in the age of climate change.

“This edited volume addresses a highly important and so far rather neglected issue, namely the ongoing transformation processes affecting pastoral communities in the mountainous regions of Inner and Central Asia. … this volume on pastoralists in High Asia is a very welcome contribution to our knowledge on this part of the world, and a tentative look into its future. … offers a lot of interesting data and food for thought.” (Professor Peter Finke, Nomadic Peoples, Issue 19, 2015)

“The volume focusses on pastoral systems from the perspective of the social sciences and anthropology, with most chapters taking a case study approach. … The book ends with a discussion of the central questions of land rights and pressure on common pastures and on the role of the state and of the pastoralist communities themselves in determining their own futures. It is a useful and timely overview of pastoral systems in the region today.” (Sarah Robinson, Pastoralism, Vol. 3 (3), 2013)

Prof. Hermann Kreutzmann has been a professor of human geography at Freie Universität Berlin since April 2005. He had previously completed his doctorate at the Department of Earth Sciences at Freie Universität Berlin in 1989. Kreutzmann’s research focuses on geographical development studies. He conducts his research mainly in high mountain areas, especially in South and Central Asia, in the context of globalization and climate change debates. His research also focuses on sustainable resource use as well as minority studies and migration research.

Hermann Kreutzmann is a recipient of the Tianshan Prize China from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. He received the award for his “outstanding contribution to the economic and social progress” of this region located in northwest China. For more than 25 years Kreutzmann has been conducting research there on issues of resource use and the development of mountain regions. In addition, he was honored for his contribution to scientific cooperation and his support of German-Chinese cooperation in the education of young scientists. This award is the highest that can be awarded to a foreign expert in Xinjiang.