Relationship between grassland protection and sustaining household livelihoods in Tibet, China

For investigating how grassland protection influence on sustaining household livelihoods in Tibet, this study to elucidate the source of herdsmen's income and to test the hypothesis that both grassland protection (GP) and sustaining household livelihoods (SHL) can be achieved in Tibet China. Effects of 9 key predictor variables on the income increment of Tibetan herdsman was analyzed based on 20 years database from 1986 to 2005 (n = 20) (Tibet Statistical Yearbooks, 1996, 2002, 2008 and 2009). Contributions of the nine key variables of per capita main indicators on economic benefit, including annual increment of rural population (x(1)), annual increment of gross domestic product (x(2)), annual increment of primary industry product (x(3)), annual increment of gross output value of farming (x(4)), annual increment of gross output value of forestry (x(5)), annual increment of gross output value of animal husbandry (x(6)), annual increment of gross industrial output value (x(7)), annual increment of gross domestic product of construction (x(8)), and annual increment of tertiary industry product (x(9)), to per capita income increment of rural residents (y) were investigated via correlations and path analysis for evaluating if the GP conflict with SHL in Tibet. These results showed that neither direct nor indirect effect of x(6) contributes to y. And x(6) was irrelative to the income increment; so, it was educed that GP do not contravene SHL; therefore, both of them can be achieved in Tibet.