The Herdsmen's Dilemma

Migratory herding is still an important part of the livelihood ofa significant section of the Bhutanese people; but it wascentral to our traditional pastoral economy. Cattle, grazingland, labour and cultivatable land were the four primarysources of wealth in the past. A balance among these fourfactors of production had to be struck for the agrarian societyto be sustained. Obviously, the area of grazing land, and thenumber of cattle depended on it, could not have been so largeas it was if forests were allowed to grow with rampant vigour,as we do now.Migratory herding embodies considerable empirical knowledgeabout ecology, climate and topography among the herdsmen,although this is not widely acknowledged. This fund ofknowledge have enabled the herdsmen to know the bestgrazing places and the most nutritious plants, which can beforaged by being at the right place in the right time, bymoving with precision. Being always out in the open, theherdsmen, and to some degree their cattle, have acuteperceptions of weather patterns. They have an acute sense oftiming to move from one place to another to avoid frost at apasture, or snowfall on a pass, or to escape the vampirishexperiences of ticks and leeches drilling into their eyes, noses,and groins.