​Both Western and Chinese (including Tibetans and Mongolians) scholars presented at the conference, which was attended by nearly 50 participants, and was simultaneously translated between English and Chinese. Most of the papers had also been submitted in advance and translated, and a book was printed up for all the participants, containing conference papers in both languages. The keynote speaker was Melvyn C. Goldstein, a prominent Tibetologist who has conducted long-term studies (1986-2009) of a pastoralist community in the Tibet Autonomous Region. The conference included sessions on Herding culture in transition, Sustainability and grassland degradation, Ecological resettlement and Development.