Co-management of rangelands
Co-management of rangelands supports pastoralists in restoring and sustainably using grazing areas.
Summarised
- Rangelands cover around 60% of the Hindu Kush Himalaya and is used by 25-30 million pastoralists.
- Climate change, land use change and unsustainable use can lead to rangeland degradation.
- Sustainable and inclusive land management can restore degraded areas, help resolve conflicts, protect biodiversity, and provide grazing land for all.
- Successful co-management must include local communities and government as well as national entities.
What is the issue?
Multiple pressures on rangelands together with climate change degrade the land. This is a threat to nature and biodiversity but can also lead to land conflicts and threaten the future of pastoralists in the Hindu Kush Himalaya.
People depend on livestock for meat, milk, wool, hide and fuel. The livestock herds need large grazing areas that sometimes cross national borders.
How do we solve the issue?
Co-management of rangelands is designed to resolve conflicts, allow the area to recover and to avoid challanges in the future. A neutral moderator will engage stakeholders in the area who create a management plan that has clear benefits for all groups. The plan is based on environmental- and local knowledge. The implementation of the plan is monitored by periodic meetings between the stakeholders, so that challenges can be identified and resolved quickly.
What is important to include in the solution
It can take a long time to restore degraded rangelands which make the link between co-management and the effect of better gracing land and improved biodiversity hard to see in the short term. Thorough discussions and knowledge sharing is important to ensure that the expectations are realistic.
The co-management approach has helped us in bringing multiple stakeholders onto the same platform for collective planning, decision-making and sustainably managing rangelands for livelihood benefits
Mr janga Bahadur Gurung, vice-Chair, Pancthar, Ilam, Taplejung Yak Network, Eastern NepalAre there any challenges?
The governance of rangelands can be fragmented. Nationally, it is often the case that the farming activities and the land management are governed by separate institutions. Rangeland can also cross national borders which require transboundary governance to allow for co-management. In these cases, both national and international coordination between institutions is needed, as well as the inclusion of local communities and consideration of the local context and knowledge.
