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China Population, Resources and Environment >

2026 , Vol. 36 >Issue 3: 184 - 198

DOI: https://doi.org/10.12062/cpre.20250919

Impact of rangeland cooperative management models under the herder-grassland-livestock coexistence framework on livestock production efficiency

  • ZEREN Gongbu ,
  • LUO Yunying ,
  • WU Junqian
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  • 1. Research Institute of Social Development, Southwest University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu Sichuan 611130, China;
    2. Institute of Western China Economic Research, Southwest University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu Sichuan 611130, China

Received date: 2025-03-19

  Revised date: 2025-09-21

  Online published: 2026-06-05

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Abstract

Innovative rangeland cooperative management models are viewed as critical pathways for achieving harmonious coexistence among herders, grasslands, and livestock. However, under the current property rights framework, how to optimize rangeland cooperative management models while safeguarding individual herder rights remains to be explored in depth. This study examined the emerging practice of innovative rangeland cooperative management in pastoral areas of Ruoergai County, focusing on three models: individual household management, multi-household cooperative management, and village-wide cooperative management. Using data development analysis (DEA), the study measured livestock production efficiency and empirically tested the impact of cooperative management mod-els on production efficiency, along with their underlying mechanisms. In addition, drawing on the “bundle of rights” theory in public re-source governance and case survey data, the study systematically explored the practical experiences and theoretical implications of in-novative cooperative management models in pastoral areas. The results demonstrated that: ① Compared to individual household man-agement, both multi-household and village-wide cooperative models significantly improved livestock production efficiency. ② The im-pact of grassland transfer behavior on production efficiency varied across management models. In individual household management, households not participating in grassland transfer exhibited slightly higher technical efficiency than those participating, whereas in multi-household and village-wide cooperative models, participants in grassland transfer demonstrated higher efficiency. ③ Individual household management relied more on market-based production strategies, while multi-household and village-wide cooperative models tended to adopt combined market-based and collaborative strategies, thereby achieving better efficiency outcomes. ④ Mechanism analy-sis indicated that multi-household and village-wide cooperative models positively influenced production efficiency through collaborative production strategies, while market-based production strategies exhibited a negative effect. ⑤ The innovation of rangeland cooperative management models lay in enriching the connotations of the management rights based on improved rangeland contracting rights, includ-ing rights such as grazing quotas, seasonal grazing rights, and critical resource access rights. These management rights were allocated through complex social networks integrating market networks, social reciprocal relationships, and collective redistribution. Based on these findings, this study argues that rangeland management should clearly distinguish between initial resource rights and the resource management rights and further enrich the connotations and allocation mechanisms of the management rights. This approach serves as a key pathway for advancing cooperative management models within the existing property rights framework, while also extending the “bundle of rights” theory in public resource governance.

Key words： bundle of rights; management rights; cooperative governance; rangeland property rights

Cite this article

ZEREN Gongbu , LUO Yunying , WU Junqian . Impact of rangeland cooperative management models under the herder-grassland-livestock coexistence framework on livestock production efficiency[J]. China Population, Resources and Environment, 2026 , 36(3) : 184 -198 . DOI: 10.12062/cpre.20250919

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