This paper examines agropastoral transhumance in 12 sampled villages on the southeast Tibetan Plateau . By analysing trends in this indigenous livelihood system and exanming causes and potential consequences , we conclude that Tibetan agropastral transhumance is a fragile system extremely vulnerable to external impacts .Within the context of China’s rapid development and globalisation ,this agriculture heritage is changing rapidly , as is most saliently reflected in herd size and structure ,movement patterns , relative economic importance of pastoral activities and the reflations between pastoralism and crop cultivation . Immediate causes of changes are local changes in livestock management objectives , land uses and labour availability , which are driven by more fundamental changes of environmental ,political ,socioeconomic ,technological and cultural profiles , from local to global scales . Changes in local livelihood systems can have multifacted and profound political , socioeconomic cultural and ecological consequences , in both constructive and destructive terms . Policy-makers and/or project designers must have a holistic perspective so as to integrate multiple objectives of promoting sustainable socioeconomic development ,preserving biological and cultural diversities and maintaining the environmentally stable balance of human society , animal population and ecosystem that has existed in the area for centuries.