The Critical Physical Geography in the Tibetan Plateau

Keywords: Tibetan Plateau, Critical Physical Geography, Climate Change, Land degradation, social-ecological systems
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

The Tibetan Plateau (TP) grassland is an important topographical and cultural region that plays a significant role in regional and global climate. However, the Chinese government has initiated a policy to control grassland resource extraction and degradation using sedentary and individualized production systems that differ from traditional practices. The surface temperature has increased by 1.8 °C since the 1980s and anthropogenic activities have significantly intensified. The human and ecological systems are interlinked, and the drivers of change include biophysical, economic, political, social, and cultural elements that operate at different temporal and spatial scales. To increase our understanding of the coupled social-ecological systems, there is a need for an integrated approach to rendering visible the deep interconnections between the social-ecological systems. Critical Physical Geography (CPG) is one such integrative approach that assumes that human and environmental problems can only be well understood through a mixture of social and physical science research methods. Therefore, this article uses the case study of the TP to argue that physical scientists and social scientists collaborate more holistically to explore problems and solutions related to land degradation and climate change that are applicable to vulnerable individuals and communities. Based on an extensive survey of the literature, the main goal of this study is to critique the methodological approaches traditionally used in climate change and land degradation studies and offer insights from CPG for a more comprehensive approach to the study of complex social-ecological dynamics of TP.