Pastoralism, a traditional and extensive form of raising livestock, employs more than 200 million people in 100 countries. Pastoralists guide and feed their animals through diverse landscapes such as prairies, savannas or tundra.
Employing different species of local breeds that adapt to variable environments, pastoralism is critical to reducing poverty and providing food security in these areas. By working with nature, it champions productivity, sustainability and animal welfare.
Here are seven reasons why pastoralism plays a key role for a better future:
1. It diversifies food production
In a world where the availability of natural resources and climate patterns are increasingly variable, meeting demand for milk and meat through different methods, including pastoralism, spreads the risk of production failures. Pastoralism provides affordable, high-quality proteins and nutrients to meet local demand and can help reduce a country's reliance on imports. And because herders travel with their livestock and work knowledgeably with nature to access water and forage, production inputs are low relative to outputs.
2. It acts against climate change
Research shows that pastoral landscapes have the potential to achieve a neutral carbon balance, as grazing can offset carbon levels by stimulating plant growth, which helps sequester carbon in soil. In pastoral systems, livestock can also be moved to fallow lands and fields to make use of crop residues for feed and to distribute animal manure as fertilizer – recycling nutrients as part of a circular bioeconomy.
By moving livestock around, pastoralism diversifies strategies for adapting to a changing climate. For example, in Mongolia, pastoralists make use of "otor" – reserved areas that can be used in times of crisis, such as the late arrival of rains – thereby preserving other rangeland areas from overgrazing. Pastoralists also effectively manage natural resources, helping preserve biodiversity in all kinds of environments, from deserts to wetlands and forests. Thus, respecting and incorporating pastoralists' knowledge and practices can help protect these ecosystems.