Comprehensive evaluation of returning grazing lands to grasslands in a desertification control area based on the perspectives of farmers and herdsmen: A case study of Etuoke Banner, Inner Mongolia

To curb the accelerated degradation of natural grasslands in western China and promote ecological restoration, the Chinese government has encouraged the return of grazing lands to grassland since 2002. As both stakeholders and implementers of the technology for returning grazing lands to grasslands, farmers and herdsmen have important roles to play in adjusting and improving the technology for returning grazing lands to grasslands. In this paper, using micro-data on farmers and herdsmen in Etuoke Banner, Inner Mongolia, engineering techniques based on fence enclosure and management techniques that combine grass-fixing and seasonal grazing are used as evaluation objects along with an analytic hierarchy process and entropy weight method. The combination method includes an evaluation index system that includes five aspects:technical maturity, technical application difficulty, technical suitability, technical benefits, and technical promotion potential. From the perspective of farmers and herdsmen, the result of the comprehensive evaluation of the technology for returning grazing lands to grasslands was 0.469 8, indicating that the technology received an overall medium score by farmers and herdsmen, technical satisfaction was medium, and technical sustainability was considered weak. Farmers and herdsmen affirmed the degradation function of grassland ecosystems and the ecological benefit evaluation was considered high, while economic benefits and technology sustainability received a low score. The evaluation results followed the order of technical suitability > technical benefits > technical maturity > technical application difficulty > technical promotion potential. Regional differences in the comprehensive evaluation results were small. Many of the problems associated with the technology, if not appropriately resolved, will affect continuous and effective implementation, making achievements in returning grazing lands to grasslands difficult to consolidate. The comprehensive evaluation reflects the degree of satisfaction with the technology among farmers and herdsmen, and provides a reference for the continued effective implementation of the technology for returning grazing lands to grassland.