{"id":109697,"date":"2024-05-22T19:40:08","date_gmt":"2024-05-22T14:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/?post_type=current-affairs&#038;p=109697"},"modified":"2024-05-23T11:58:49","modified_gmt":"2024-05-23T06:28:49","slug":"thematic-report-on-rangelands","status":"publish","type":"current-affairs","link":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/current-affairs\/thematic-report-on-rangelands","title":{"rendered":"Global Land Outlook Thematic Report on Rangelands and Pastoralists"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Global Land Outlook Thematic Report on Rangelands and Pastoralists<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, was prepared by the<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/current-affairs\/unccd-land-degradation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)<\/b><\/a><b>. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The report was prepared and<\/span><b> released by the UN Convention on Combating Desertification (UNCCD)<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The<\/span><b> year 2026,is declared as the\u00a0 International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP), <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">by the United Nations General Assembly.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><strong>About Rangelands<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Area:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> They cover <\/span><b>approximately 80 million sq km, which is 54 percent o<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">f the earth\u2019s land surface.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Only <\/span><b>12% or 9.5 million sq. km are categorized as\u00a0 protected rangelands worldwide.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Importance:\u00a0<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>33% of global biodiversity hotspots<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> found in rangelands<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>24% of\u00a0 proportion of world languages<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> found in rangelands<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Nature of Vegetation:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Rangelands are<\/span><b>\u00a0 characterized by low vegetation and comprises grasslands, steppes (shortgrass prairies), desert shrublands, shrub woodlands, savannas, chaparrals,mountain pastures, plateaus and tundra.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rangelands are <\/span><b>distinct from pastureland <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as they are <\/span><b>composed of native vegetation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, rather than cultivation by human societies.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They are <\/span><b>generally confined to areas of marginal or submarginal agricultural land<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or to areas that are <\/span><b>entirely unsuited to permanent cultivation.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Development:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Rangelands are developed<\/span><b> under conditions of periodic disturbance ie.\u00a0 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">drought, fire, grazing, weed incursions, outbreaks of insect pests, disease, and human activities.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These disturbances often help maintain the rangeland ecosystem\u2019s\u00a0 biological diversity and soil health over long periods of time.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"vc_button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pw.live\/batches\/upsc?utm_source=seo+upsc+batch&#038;utm_medium=seo+upsc&#038;utm_campaign=seo&#038;utm_id=upsc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Enroll now for UPSC Online Course<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><strong>Findings of the Global Land Outlook Thematic Report on Rangelands and Pastoralists<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Degradation of Rangelands<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Almost <\/span><b>half of the world\u2019s rangelands i.e. 50%\u00a0 are degraded a<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">nd accounts for <\/span><b>\u00a0one sixth of global food production <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and represent <\/span><b>nearly one third of the planet\u2019s carbon reservoir.<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Symptoms of degradation:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Diminished soil fertility and nutrients, erosion, salinization, alkalinization, and soil compaction inhibiting plant growth, increasingly contributing\u00a0 to drought, precipitation fluctuations, and biodiversity loss both above and below the ground.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Reason of Degradation:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is due to<\/span><b> climate change, population growth, excessive grazing, abandonment <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(end of maintenance by pastoralists) and growing farmlands\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Land use change:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Converting pastures to cropland and other land use changes due to <\/span><b>population growth and urban expansion, and rapidly rising food, fibre and fuel demands.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Weak governance: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Poorly implemented policies and regulations leading to overexploitation and lack of investment in rangeland communities and sustainable production models.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>The Greening Problem<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Rangelands are often the go through land for greening activities like afforestation and renewable energy production.<\/span>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: disc;\">\n<li><b>Less than 5 percent of India\u2019s grasslands fall within protected areas<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and the total grassland area <\/span><b>declined from 18 to 12 million hectares between 2005 and 2015<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Example: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wind energy and solar plants in the habitat of the Great Indian Bustard in India.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 16pt;\">Pastoralism In India:<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India has some <\/span><b>46 distinct pastoralist identities<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and they\u00a0 <\/span><b>distinguish themselves from farmers by not owning land.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0They\u00a0 use their herds or flocks to harvest \u201cwaste\u201d biomass, grazing on harvested fields, in the forest or on uncultivated land.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><b>They include transhumance<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (seasonal migrations, such as between lowlands and mountains), <\/span><b>nomadic and semi-nomadic movements, and village-based herding.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Pastoralists Economy:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> They\u00a0 contribute to the economy <\/span><b>through livestock rearing and milk production with the livestock sector contributing 4 percent<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of national gross domestic product and <\/span><b>26 per cent of agricultural gross domestic product.\u00a0<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The country also accounts for <\/span><b>20 per cent of the world\u2019s livestock population.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Community:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> They\u00a0 are estimated to be around 2<\/span><b>0 million or more in population making up 1% of total <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and include prominent groups such as<\/span><b> Maldharis, Van Gujjars, Rabaris,etc<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Marginalization:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0 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\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Rights and welfare Initiatives:\u00a0<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><b>The Forest Rights Act 2006<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:\u00a0 It has given pastoralists grazing rights across states in the country.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Legal victory:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0 The<\/span><b> Van Gujjars <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">community won the\u00a0 grazing rights and received land titles in the Rajaji National Park, following the high court judgment.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Welfare schemes: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0Schemes by the government providing assistance to pastoralists under the<\/span><b> National Livestock Mission, Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund and the Rashtriya Gokul Mission on sustainable dairy production <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for bettering their socio-economic status.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-size: 16pt;\">Key Recommendations:<\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Integrated Management Plans:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies should combine with the sustainable rangeland management plans to increase carbon sequestration while enhancing the\u00a0 pastoralist and rangeland communities&#8217; resilience.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Limit Land use change:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Reduce rangeland conversion and other land use changes especially on indigenous and communal lands that diminish the diversity and multifunctionality of rangelands,\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Conservation Measures:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 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.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Pastoralism:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Adopt and support pastoralism-based strategies and practices to mitigate harms to rangeland health.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Policy Intervention: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Promote supportive policies, full people\u2019s participation and flexible management and governance systems to boost rangeland\u00a0 and pastoralist services.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"vc_button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pw.live\/batches\/upsc\/pw-only-ias?utm_source=seo+upsc+batch&#038;utm_medium=seo+upsc&#038;utm_campaign=seo&#038;utm_id=upsc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Enroll now for UPSC Online Classes<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 99.9987%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; background-color: rgba(184, 165, 217, 0.53); text-align: left; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%;\">\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; color: #000000;\"><strong>About\u00a0 United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification UNCCD<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Establishment:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It is an <\/span><b>international agreement on good land stewardship established in 1994 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to protect and restore our land and ensure a safer, just, and more sustainable future.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Objective: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The UNCCD is the <\/span><b>only legally binding framework set up to address desertification and the effects of drough<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">t and promotes\u00a0 <\/span><b>practices that avoid, reduce and reverse land degradation <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and are the driving force behind <\/span><b>Sustainable Development Goal 15 and Land Degradation Neutrality.<\/b><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Membership:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The Convention is party to <\/span><b>197 member countries<\/b><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Permanent\u00a0 secretariat: It\u00a0 is located in Bonn, Germany.\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Principles: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Convention is\u00a0 based on the principles of<\/span><b> participation, partnership and decentralization\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Flagship Initiatives:\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>The\u202fUNCCD 2018-2030 Strategic Framework: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is a comprehensive global commitment to achieve<\/span><b> Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) with\u00a0 129 countries <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0have set up\u00a0 their voluntary national LDN target already.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The<\/span><b> Drought Initiative launched in 2018.<\/b><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 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management.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"paper-wise":[2089],"subject":[4642],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs\/109697"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/current-affairs"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109697"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs\/109697\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109753,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs\/109697\/revisions\/109753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109697"},{"taxonomy":"paper-wise","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/paper-wise?post=109697"},{"taxonomy":"subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/subject?post=109697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}