Context

The Global Land Outlook Thematic Report on Rangelands and Pastoralists, was prepared by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The report was prepared and released by the UN Convention on Combating Desertification (UNCCD)

• The year 2026,is declared as the  International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP), by the United Nations General Assembly.

About Rangelands

• Area: They cover approximately 80 million sq km, which is 54 percent of the earth’s land surface. 
  • Only 12% or 9.5 million sq. km are categorized as  protected rangelands worldwide.
• Importance: 
  • 33% of global biodiversity hotspots found in rangelands
  • 24% of  proportion of world languages found in rangelands
• Nature of Vegetation: Rangelands are  characterized by low vegetation and comprises grasslands, steppes (shortgrass prairies), desert shrublands, shrub woodlands, savannas, chaparrals,mountain pastures, plateaus and tundra.
• Rangelands are distinct from pastureland as they are composed of native vegetation, rather than cultivation by human societies.
  • They are generally confined to areas of marginal or submarginal agricultural land or to areas that are entirely unsuited to permanent cultivation.
• Development: Rangelands are developed under conditions of periodic disturbance ie.  drought, fire, grazing, weed incursions, outbreaks of insect pests, disease, and human activities.
  • These disturbances often help maintain the rangeland ecosystem’s  biological diversity and soil health over long periods of time.

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Findings of the Global Land Outlook Thematic Report on Rangelands and Pastoralists

• Degradation of Rangelands: Almost half of the world’s rangelands i.e. 50%  are degraded and accounts for  one sixth of global food production and represent nearly one third of the planet’s carbon reservoir.
  • Symptoms of degradation: Diminished soil fertility and nutrients, erosion, salinization, alkalinization, and soil compaction inhibiting plant growth, increasingly contributing  to drought, precipitation fluctuations, and biodiversity loss both above and below the ground.
  • Reason of Degradation:
    • It is due to climate change, population growth, excessive grazing, abandonment (end of maintenance by pastoralists) and growing farmlands 
    • Land use change: Converting pastures to cropland and other land use changes due to population growth and urban expansion, and rapidly rising food, fibre and fuel demands.
    • Weak governance: Poorly implemented policies and regulations leading to overexploitation and lack of investment in rangeland communities and sustainable production models.
    • The Greening Problem: Rangelands are often the go through land for greening activities like afforestation and renewable energy production.
      • Less than 5 percent of India’s grasslands fall within protected areas, and the total grassland area declined from 18 to 12 million hectares between 2005 and 2015
      • Example: Wind energy and solar plants in the habitat of the Great Indian Bustard in India.

• Pastoralism In India:

  • India has some 46 distinct pastoralist identities and they  distinguish themselves from farmers by not owning land.
  •  They  use their herds or flocks to harvest “waste” biomass, grazing on harvested fields, in the forest or on uncultivated land. 
    • They include transhumance (seasonal migrations, such as between lowlands and mountains), nomadic and semi-nomadic movements, and village-based herding. 
  • Pastoralists Economy: They  contribute to the economy through livestock rearing and milk production with the livestock sector contributing 4 percent of national gross domestic product and 26 per cent of agricultural gross domestic product. 
    • The country also accounts for 20 per cent of the world’s livestock population.
  • Community: They  are estimated to be around 20 million or more in population making up 1% of total and include prominent groups such as Maldharis, Van Gujjars, Rabaris,etc
  • Marginalization:  Pastoralists in India are considered as marginalized community with little influence on policy decisions, thus needs better recognition of their rights and access to markets 
  • Rights and welfare Initiatives: 
    • The Forest Rights Act 2006:  It has given pastoralists grazing rights across states in the country.
    • Legal victory:  The Van Gujjars community won the  grazing rights and received land titles in the Rajaji National Park, following the high court judgment.
    • Welfare schemes:  Schemes by the government providing assistance to pastoralists under the National Livestock Mission, Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund and the Rashtriya Gokul Mission on sustainable dairy production for bettering their socio-economic status. 

• Key Recommendations:

  • Integrated Management Plans: The climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies should combine with the sustainable rangeland management plans to increase carbon sequestration while enhancing the  pastoralist and rangeland communities’ resilience.
  • Limit Land use change: Reduce rangeland conversion and other land use changes especially on indigenous and communal lands that diminish the diversity and multifunctionality of rangelands, 
  • Conservation Measures: Rangeland conservation measures need to be adopted , within and outside protected areas, to support biodiversity and improve the health, productivity, and resilience of extensive livestock production systems.
  • Pastoralism: Adopt and support pastoralism-based strategies and practices to mitigate harms to rangeland health.
  • Policy Intervention: Promote supportive policies, full people’s participation and flexible management and governance systems to boost rangeland  and pastoralist services.

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