Tibet’s nomadic lifestyle is one of the last examples in the world of sustainable pastoralism. For centuries, Tibetan nomadic herders have made a sustainable living uniquely adapted to the harsh conditions of the Tibetan plateau. However, since the beginning of the Western Development Strategy in 1999-2000, the Chinese government has been implementing policies of settlement, land confiscation, and fencing of pastoral areas inhabited primarily by Tibetans, dramatically curtailing their livelihood. Hundreds of thousands of Tibetan nomads have been required to slaughter their livestock and move into newly built housing colonies inor near towns, abandoning their traditional way of life.