Dynamics and Resilience of Rangelands and Pastoral Peoples Around the Globe

Abstract

Rangelands cover more of Earth's land surface than any other type of land. They have variable and harsh climates, are sparsely populated and remote from markets, produce significant quantities of livestock, and are mostly used and managed in common. Under this already unpredictable and harsh climate, pastoral peoples and rangelands face new and accelerating political, economic, and climatic stresses that challenge their coupled resilience and ability to adapt. In response, pastoralists are creating new ways to manage rangelands through conservancies and community-based institutions on state, common, and private land. In this review, we focus on recent advances in our understanding of rangeland social-ecological systems, as well as on the causes and consequences of change in these systems. We then explore how pastoral peoples, governments, and businesses are responding to these changes to build resilience to sustain both pastoralism and rangelands. We close with a description of unresolved issues, challenges, and questions for the future. 217 Annu. Rev. Environ. Resourc. 2014.39:217-242. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org Access provided by Monash University on 12/15/14. For personal use only.

Sand and Dust Storms: Impact Mitigation

“…Livestock may be excluded from pastures (either permanently, for a few years, or seasonally), a ban often enforced with fencing. Alternatively, authorities may seek to reduce stocking rates, frequently by putting a cap on livestock densities with the introduction of prescribed carrying capacities per hectare in areas where grazing is allowed, although it should be noted that the notion of carrying capacity is a controversial one [80,81]. All of these measures have been introduced in various parts of China's rangelands in recent decades as policy instruments designed to improve the environment by restoring grassland ecology, combatting desertification and reducing dust storms [82].…”

Resilience as a framework for analyzing the adaptation of mountain summer pasture systems to climate change

“…For pastoral systems in particular, in which the social and ecological dimensions are closely linked, a balanced approach is essential (Reid et al 2014). Our model thus makes it possible to understand the coherence between the practices of livestock https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol22/iss4/art25/ farmers and herders and the functioning of pastoral environments.…”

“…Many case studies in different schools and disciplines have qualified and described the characteristics of SESs and their resilience mechanisms and have aimed to identify their conditions for adaptability (defined as "the capacity of actors in the system to influence resilience") and transformability (defined as "the capacity to create a fundamentally new system when ecological, economic, or social structures make the existing system untenable"; Folke et al 2004, 2006. SESs research thus covers a range of different issues such as irrigation (Cifdaloz et al 2010), fisheries (Camp et al 2015), or rangelands (Reid et al 2014) and focuses on disturbances as diverse as water pollution (Carpenter et al 2001), coastal disasters (Adger et al 2005), climate change (Smit and Wandel 2006), or global change (Anderies et al 2013). However, with a few exceptions, listed in particular by Miller et al (2010) and Salt (2006, 2012), scientific articles that attempt to make tangible management recommendations remain limited (e.g., see Cabell and Oelofse 2012).…”

Rangeland Systems in Developing Nations: Conceptual Advances and Societal Implications

“…"Developing nations" refer to countries having a relatively low standard of living, an underdeveloped industrial base, a low gross domestic product per capita, and a low Human Development Index (Sullivan and Sheffrin 2003 (Coppock et al 2011), and decentralized or community-based natural resource governance (Reid et al 2015).…”

“…By rangelands we refer to landscapes-largely unsuitable for sustained cultivation-providing forage, water, and cover for grazing and browsing animals. These landscapes occur in deserts, grasslands, shrublands, savannas, woodlands, and alpine systems [definition modified from Holechek et al (2011, p. 1)]."Developing nations" refer to countries having a relatively low standard of living, an underdeveloped industrial base, a low gross domestic product per capita, and a low Human Development Index (Sullivan and Sheffrin 2003 (Coppock et al 2011), and decentralized or community-based natural resource governance (Reid et al 2015).The dominant economic use of rangelands in the developing world is livestock production as practiced by pastoralists using communal resources on state-owned or community-owned lands and, to a lesser extent, by producers using resources on privately held lands (Holechek et al 2011). Other economic uses are on the rise and include dryland farming, hard-rock mining, oil and gas extraction, renewable energy production, recreation, and tourism.…”