A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Natural Resources Management, School of Environment, Resources and Development

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2009

This paper attempts to understand the roles of animal husbandry play in agro-pastoralist livelihood, and examine how to different groups sustain the agro-pastoralist livelihood under various limited factors through using empirical data from a case study of Gongshan County, in NW Yunnan Province of China. This paper explores the economic, ecological and social contribution of livestock, purposes of animal rearing, problems and constraints, feed supply, and gender division of livestock production. This paper examines the current situation and issues of Gongshan county Animal Husbandry Bureau through analyzing the administrative system, financial situation, staffing, objectives and tasks, and required key improvements. This paper also explores the effects of the participatory technology development through assessing people' participation, limited factors, impacts, and the differences compared to the government approaches. In the end, some recommendations are given as reference for the animal husbandry policy-makers and Center for Biodiversity and Indigenous Knowledge.