In anticipation of the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) in 2026, this report serves as a catalyst for global awareness and action. It analyses numerous case studies and good practices from around the world, drawing on the experience and lessons learned, and advocates for a new paradigm to inspire governments, donors, and other stakeholders to prioritise rangeland health in cooperation with local communities.
Year of publication: 2024Organization: United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
Topic: Climate change, Economy, Environmental services, Land, Resilience
Language: English
Type of document: Technical
Geographical coverage: Global
This executive summary provides a synthesis of the key messages contained in the full report. In anticipation of the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) in 2026, this report serves as a catalyst for global awareness and action. It analyses numerous case studies and good practices from around the world, drawing on the experience and lessons learned, and advocates for a new paradigm to inspire governments, donors, and other stakeholders to prioritize rangeland health in cooperation with local communities.
Year of publication: 2024Organization: United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
Topic: Climate change, Economy, Environmental services, Land, Resilience
Language: English
Type of document: Technical
Geographical coverage: Global
Agroecological approaches and practices have positive impacts on the sustainability, resilience and diversification of agriculture and therefore represent an important concept in the transformation of agricultural and food systems. On behalf of the German Government, GIZ supports its partners in developing and implementing concepts and strategies that improve the resilience, equity and sustainability of agricultural and food systems. This position paper reflects GIZ's position on the principles of agroecology.
Year of publication: 2024Organization: German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ)
Topic: Environmental services, Resilience
Language: English
Type of document: Technical
Geographical coverage: Global
This primer on pastoralism in Africa provides basic information on the core aspects of pastoralism as a livelihood and production system. Section 1 of the primer describes the ecological reasoning behind pastoralism in Africa, its productive efficiency, and its contribution to national economies. Section 2 describes the challenges facing African pastoralism, and the implications of trends such as livestock commercialization and declining access to rangeland.
Year of publication: 2024Organization: Individual authors, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), Tufts University
Topic: Climate change, Conflict, Land
Language: English
Type of document: Technical
Geographical coverage: West Africa, Central Africa, Eastern Africa
This briefing paper summarizes some of the nuances that exist and the shifts that are occurring within gender dynamics in pastoralist livelihood systems in Africa. If asked to describe gender roles in pastoralist settings in Africa, many development practitioners and policy makers might state that men control the livestock and women control the milk and/or the cultivation. These descriptions are accurate to a degree, but the intersection of gender and dryland livelihood systems is — and always has been — more complex than these dichotomies imply.
Year of publication: 2024Organization: Individual authors, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), Tufts University
Topic: Gender and youth
Language: English
Type of document: Technical
Geographical coverage: West Africa, Central Africa, Eastern Africa
This briefing paper provides an overview of pastoralist livestock marketing in Africa. It also explains the marketing behaviors of pastoralists and the economic logic behind their decisions on when, how many, and which types of animals to sell.
Year of publication: 2024Organization: Individual authors, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), Tufts University
Topic: Economy
Language: English
Type of document: Technical
Geographical coverage: West Africa, Central Africa, Eastern Africa
This briefing paper is one of six on specific topics of importance affecting pastoralists and their livelihood systems in Africa. Conflict associated with pastoralism is increasingly complex and often not well understood. It is sometimes associated with problematic negative narratives suggesting it is inherent to the pastoralist livelihood system, or reflects pastoralists being “backward” compared to people involved in other livelihoods, like agriculture.
Year of publication: 2024Organization: Individual authors, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), Tufts University
Topic: Conflict
Language: English
Type of document: Technical
Geographical coverage: West Africa, Central Africa, Eastern Africa
This briefing paper analyzes the major pastoralism and land access issues in Africa and complements Pastoralism in Africa: A Primer. The paper is divided into five parts. Following this introduction, part two provides a brief background to pastoralism and land in Africa. Part three sets out the policy and practical challenges that pastoralists face in their quest for secure access to land. Part four highlights some policy and institutional innovations that have been introduced to secure pastoralists’ access to land in Africa. Part five presents key conclusions and recommendations.
Year of publication: 2024Organization: Individual authors, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), Tufts University
Topic: Land
Language: English
Type of document: Technical
Geographical coverage: West Africa, Central Africa, Eastern Africa