Vol. 8 · No. 2 · 2004

Sarah Goodall

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This brief report presents some findings of a study conducted among the nomadic pastoral Changpa in the trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh. The research forms the basis of a doctoral dissertation in human geography, focusing on the rural to urban migration of nomads in Ladakh. The study uses the theoretical literature on human migration to examine the sedentarisation process that has gained momentum in the latter decades of the Twentieth Century. The sedentarisation of nomadic pastoralists in Ladakh is taking place amidst a global trend toward settlement (Barfield 1993; Blench 2001). Despite a few exceptions, where pastoralism either continues to thrive or is being revitalised by market reforms, many nomadic pastoral communities are facing an unprecedented rate of change, as they are increasingly drawn into national economies.