Third International Congress on Yak

4–9 September 2000, Lhasa, Tibet, P.R. China

The Third International Yak Congress was held from 4–9 September 2000 in Lhasa, Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) of P.R. China. The aim of the meeting was to provide a forum for delegates from yak-raising and non-yak-raising countries to explore multidisciplinary aspects and approaches to sustainable yak production on the high altitude rangelands of the Central Asian Region, to exchange scientific information, to deepen mutual friendship, and to strengthen co-operation. It was the third time that the congress was held in P.R. China, the most important yak rearing country, following the conferences in Lanzhou (Gansu, August 1994) and in Xining (Qinghai, September 1997). With the permissions from the State Administrations of Science and Technology, Agriculture and Foreign Affair, and the TAR Government, the Tibetan Academy of Agricultural and Animal Sciences of TAR (TAAAS), the Department of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry of the TAR, the Department of Science and Technology of the TAR and the Foreign Affairs Office of TAR worked for the preparation of the meeting under full co-operation from the International Yak Information Centre (IYIC), the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations-Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (FAO-ROAP) and the Yak and Camel Foundation of Germany.

Hosts

National organising committee

• Tibetan Academy of Agriculture and Animal Sciences of the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) (TAAAS)

• Department of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry of TAR

• Department of Science and Technology of TAR

• Foreign Affairs Office of TAR

• China Yak Breeding Association

National sponsors

• People's Government of TAR

• Heifer Project International, China Office (Sichuan)

• Qinghai Academy of Animal and Veterinary Sciences

• Datong Yak Farm

International organisers

• International Yak Information Centre (IYIC)

• International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)

• International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)

• Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations-Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (FAO-ROAP)

International sponsors

• Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations-Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (FAO-ROAP)

• International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)

• International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)

• The Yak and Camel Foundation of Germany

• Kyrgyz Swiss Agricultural Project (KSAP), Helvetas, Kyrgyzstan

• Royal Netherlands Government Embassy to P.R. China, Beijing

• Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Beijing

Congress symposia themes

Symposia will be held to highlight the following major themes of the Congress:

• Pastoral production systems in yak-rearing areas, focusing on the cultural and ecological importance of yak for sustainable livelihoods and economic development on the Tibetan Plateau (hosted by ICIMOD). Papers are invited to cover multi-disciplinary aspects, such as agro-ecology of pastoral areas, culture, policy and economics.

• Genetic diversity of wild and domestic yak: conservation and management (hosted by FAO-ROAP and ILRI). Papers are invited to cover all aspects of conservation, including yak-wildlife interactions and protected area management, as long as it relates to the preservation of yak and associated pastoral livelihoods.

Technical sessions

Technical papers are invited to cover specialised topics along the following themes:

• Reproduction and breeding

• Nutrition and forage management

• Environmental physiology

• Diseases and health services (including traditional medicine)

• Yak products and their processing and marketing

Organising Committee for the Third International Congress on Yak

Lhasa, Tibet, P.R. China, 4–9 September 2000

Honorary Chairman: Mr Gyalbu (Vice Governor, People's Government of Tibetan Autonomous Region, P.R. China)

Chairman: Mr Wang Chengjie (Director, Department of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, P.R. China)

Vice Chairmen: Mr Chen Zhenrong (President, Tibetan Academy of Agricultural and Animal Sciences of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, P.R. China)

Mr Ju Jianhua (Deputy Director, Foreign Affair Office of the People's Government of Tibetan Autonomous Region, P.R. China)

Mr Gen Zhanxiu (Deputy Director, Department of Science and Technology of the People's Government of Tibetan Autonomous Region, P.R. China)

Dr Danis Hoffmann (Representative of FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific)

Secretary General: Dr Han Jianlin (Executive Secretary of International Yak Information Centre; IYIC)

Executive Secretaries: Prof Wei Xuechen (Tibetan Academy of Agricultural and Animal Sciences of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, P.R. China)

Dr Nyima Tashi (Tibetan Academy of Agricultural and Animal Sciences of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, P.R. China)

Members of the Scientific Committee of the Third International Congress on Yak

Chairman: Wei Xuecheng (Tibet, P.R. China)

Secretary General: Han Jianlin (Gansu, P.R. China)

Members: Zhang Rongchang (Gansu, P.R. China), Yang Rongzhen (Qinghai, P.R. China), Zhong Guanghui (Sichuan, P.R. China), Fu Changxiu (Sichuan, P.R. China), Gui Rong (Inner Mongolia, P.R. China), Nyima Tashi (Tibet, P.R. China), Yun Dan (Tibet, P.R. China), Han Kai (Qinghai, P.R. China), Liang Yulin (Gansu, P.R. China), Richard Camille (ICIMOD, Nepal), Lham Tshering (Bhutan), R.N. Pal (India), Gerald Wiener (UK), Corneille Jest (France), Denis Hoffmann (FAO-ROAP, Thailand), David Steane (FAO-ROAP, Thailand), Ed Rege (ILRI, Ethiopia), D.D. Joshi (Nepal), Abdul Wahid Jasra (Pakistan), A. Magash (Mongolia), Horst Geilhausen (Germany), Laurens Wester (EU-funded QLDP, Qinghai, P.R. China), Kulsina Kachkynbaeva (Kyrgyzstan), T. Suzuki (Japan), Micharl Goe (Swiss)