This study investigates the traditional and local knowledge of Bedouin (Badu) communities in the Badia region of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan with regard to livestock production, medicinal plant use and rangeland management, and examines how such knowledge has changed over time. Badu customs and practices from the last 50 years are compared with current realities in order to get a clear picture of how modernization, social change and environmental factors have negatively affected the land, the people, livestock and plant biodiversity in the Badia. The findings indicate that the rangeland environment has become severely degraded, herd sizes have decreased, plant species are in danger, and traditional Bedouin lifestyles have changed radically, due to unrelenting pressure on the land, water scarcity, manufactured livestock feed, government intervention, artificial borders, and the abandonment of natural water harvesting and hima practices.

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This paper discusses the qualitative impact of a grazing/herding management program on the profitability of Small Ruminant (SR) herds near the protected area of the Royal Botanic Garden (RBG) in Tell Ar-Rumman, Jordan. As the ultimate goal of establishing a protected area is to rehabilitate and enhance vegetation cover in a sustainable manner, a unique program was set up to meet the needs of local herders and enable the RBG to pursue its biodiversity conservation goals. Financial data pertaining to five local herders were recorded using the accrual accounting system and analyzed for the years 2009 and 2010. Significant changes occurred in the productivity and profitability of the SR herds, with the herders' net incomes increasing by 6% to 159% as a result of direct and indirect support provided by the RBG in 2010. The grazing/herding management program is not only improving the income of participating pastoralists, but is also contributing to the growth and conservation of vegetation and wildlife in Tell Ar-Rumman.