Transhumance in Central Anatolia: A Resilient Interdependence Between Biological and Cultural Diversity

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Web End = J Agric Environ Ethics (2016) 29:439453

DOI 10.1007/s10806-016-9613-z

ARTICLES

Accepted: 29 March 2016 / Published online: 2 April 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016

Abstract Transhumance is a resource efcient means of livestock production by seasonally moving grazing animals to utilize pastures between varying ecological zones. This article investigated the interrelationship between the environmental services the transhumant provides whilst maintaining its cultural heritage and theorized what the cultural and environmental impacts would be if the practice of transhumance were to vanish. The authors interviewed 45 transhumant families during their 2015 seasonal migration through the Taurus Mountains and in their settled tent sites in Central Anatolia. The interview topics related to geography of the region, migration routes, natural resource constraints and opportunities, animal husbandry, grazing strategies and their income sources. By practicing agro-ecological principles over millennia, the research showed that the transhumant has helped shape a complex mosaic of habitats in one of Mediterraneans most interesting ecosystems. The mobile pastoralist with conservation and natural resource management skills over a long period has reduced erosion control, improved soil quality and deterred the likelihood of forest res, whilst weaving a resilient social web. The survey also indicated a clear link between social and ecological resilience emphasizing that sustainable development relies on the interconnectedness between biological and cultural diversity. The study recommends special provisions be made by the Turkish government for the educational needs for the children of the transhumant, provide initiatives for improved trading of their produce, introduce law enforcement for oppressive behavior against them and nally support the pastoralists to attain world heritage listing as a unique and an irreplaceable culture for the future welfare of humankind.

& Sezen Ocak [email protected]

1 Department of Animal Production and Technologies, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technologies, Nigde University, 51240 Nigde, Turkey

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Web End = Transhumance in Central Anatolia: A Resilient Interdependence Between Biological and Cultural Diversity

Sezen Ocak1

123

440 S. Ocak

Keywords Transhumance Resource management Social and ecological

resilience Pastoralism Cultural diversity

Introduction

Grasslands are among the largest ecosystems in the world covering some 52...