Across landscapes ranging from the Himalayan mountains and the Atacama Desert to the Sahel and the Italian Alps, pastoralist communities sustain livelihoods, biodiversity and cultural traditions through their relationships with livestock, land and mobility. Published to mark the United Nations’ International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists in 2026, this issue of Rooted Magazine, developed in collaboration with the World Alliance of Mobile Indigenous Peoples and Pastoralists (WAMIP), brings together 24 contributions exploring pastoralism through an agroecological perspective.

The collection examines how pastoralist and nomadic communities manage changing environmental and social conditions, maintain collective land-use practices and transmit knowledge across generations. Contributions explore transhumance, climate adaptation, fire prevention, biodiversity conservation, local food cultures and the governance of shared resources. They draw on experiences from diverse contexts, including Mapuche-Pewenche pastoralism in Chile, shepherd communities in the Himalaya, Bedouin communities in Palestine, pastoralism in Mauritania and Senegal, and the lives of herders in the Sahrawi refugee camps. Several contributions also address the pressures of displacement, conflict, marginalization and market systems that challenge pastoral livelihoods and territorial rights.

Bringing together narratives, field experiences, photography and analysis, the issue highlights pastoralism as a dynamic practice that contributes to landscape stewardship, ecological resilience and community identity. It also questions the limited recognition pastoralist knowledge and mobility have received in agroecological debates. The contributions offer perspectives on how these systems can inform more inclusive approaches to sustainable food systems and rural development, while recognizing the diversity of pastoralist experiences and the challenges communities continue to face.