Rangelands: Managing a Fragile Frontier

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In drylands around the world, one ecosystem – the rangelands – is particularly susceptible to desertification. Rangelands lie along the desert margins and also border vast agricultural areas. Being very dry, they are poorly suited to crop production and are sparsely populated. For that reason, the predominant land-use in these areas is cattle and sheep production. In sub-Saharan Africa, another reason for the concentration of livestock rearing in rangelands is that the dry climate permits animals to escape debilitating diseases that are endemic in more humid ecosystems.

In many places, crop production is encroaching on rangelands but under conditions that are just barely adequate for even hardy species, such as barley, millet and sorghum. The chief threats to agriculture in these situations are frequent drought, declining soil fertility and soil erosion.

A major problem associated with livestock production, specifically in the semi-arid rangelands, is that of overgrazing. Once sparse vegetation has been grazed off, it is difficult for rangelands to recover, given low rainfall and frequent drought. Overgrazing also diminishes the edible species while permitting unpalatable species to multiply.

In the more arid regions with highly variable rainfall, which account for about half of Africa’s rangelands, a quite different dynamic prevails. Land degradation is not the result of livestock pressure, since stocking rates are invariably kept low by dry conditions. Rather, it depends on climatic patterns, specifically the frequency and severity of drought.

One result of these various pressures on rangelands – agricultural encroachment, overgrazing in some areas and more frequent drought – is biodiversity loss. Apart from the loss of vegetative cover, wildlife are threatened with extinction, as habitats are converted to other uses, such as cropping.

A central challenge in this ecosystem is to integrate crop and livestock systems, based on sound management of biodiversity, so that, rather than become focal points for land degradation and conflict, these activities can together provide a stronger basis for enhanced rural livelihoods.

Overgrazing is greatly influenced by public policies. Governments that provide subsidies for herders and encourage the overexploitation of public lands, for example, reinforce overgrazing and contribute to land degradation. Against this background, much agricultural research for rangelands is directed at building a global knowledge base that reflects a thorough knowledge of the causes and consequences of desertification. The intention is to provide decision makers with a more solid foundation for sound policy development. Researchers are also working closely with development practitioners and farmers to devise improved practices for crop and livestock management.

Improved policies for livestock management: In most arid and semi-arid regions, raising livestock is the predominant rural livelihood, but it is under constant threat from erratic rainfall. To cope with this hazard, pastoralists must be able to move their livestock; reliable access to a wide range of pasturelands is essential for sustaining traditional livestock systems.

Through a project entitled Property Rights, Risk, and Livestock Development, scientists from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) have examined key policy issues in three drought-prone countries: Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and Niger. The study determined which forms of property rights permit the mobility required for raising livestock in drought-prone areas, and it analyzed the risks involved with these options. The project was conducted jointly by IFPRI and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).

Among the study’s main conclusions was that cooperation between herders in resource management can significantly reduce grazing pressure. These findings offer policy makers valuable insights that can help them design strategies for mitigating the impact of drought on livestock production, particularly in countries that are signatories to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).

Managing drought in the Middle East and North Africa: Given that three-quarters of the arable land in these regions receive less than 400 mm of rainfall annually, virtually no scope exists for further expansion of rainfed farming and very little for irrigation. There is already competition between mechanized cereal production and grazing, and traditional nomadic systems of coping with drought through mobility are becoming difficult to maintain. Moreover, droughts are increasing in frequency.

The high social, economic and environmental costs have led governments to intervene with various forms of assistance to farmers and herders, including distribution of subsidized animal feed. During a major conference organized by the International Food Policy and Research Institute (IFPRI) and ICARDA, researchers examined the immediate benefits and costs of these measures as well as their longer term impacts on poverty and the environment. Among the conclusions was that, while these programs have reduced catastrophic losses of livestock, continued dependence on them has sent inappropriate signals to farmers and herders, encouraging unsustainable farming practices.

One innovative idea that emerged from the conference was that of rainfall insurance against catastrophic droughts, coupled with the development of more accurate, timely and accessible early warning drought forecasts. The insurance could eventually be provided by the private sector without subsidies but in its formative stages would require government support. Improved weather forecasts are likely to remain a government responsibility in the immediate future, helping decision makers, relief agencies and farmers prepare for drought more effectively.

Cultivating cactus: This activity, promoted by the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and its national partners, is gaining ground across North Africa and Central and West Asia. Production of spineless cactus (Opuntia spp.), a multipurpose plant, helps boost local supplies of animal feed, which translate into increased income for small farmers, while at the same time helping prevent wind erosion and stabilize sand dunes. Cactus is also a popular food, consumed fresh or processed into jelly, jam and juice. It has medicinal uses as well.