Rangelands, Drylands & Pastoralism

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of climate change on the geographical distribution of selected native species from two areas from West Asia and North Africa. Three species representing two genera were selected for assessment of their vulnerability to climate change. The first species was Salsola vermiculata L. which is common to both study areas.

In four separate studies undertaken in the northern highlands of Ethiopia, changes in regulating ecosystem services, economic viability, and the perception of local communities following establishing exclosures on communal grazing lands were investigated. Replicated ( = 3) 5-, 10-, 15-, and 20-year-old exclosures were selected and paired each exclosure with an adjacent grazing land.

Restoring vegetation in low rainfall areas is difficult and urges the need to design an effective and low-cost method of vegetation restoration.

La Politique cadre pour le pastoralisme en Afrique, présentée dans ce rapport, est la première initiative de politique à l’échelle d’un continent ayant pour but de sécuriser, protéger et améliorer la vie des pasteurs africains.

Livestock production is the main source of livelihood in the arid and semi-arid lands in Africa. However, desertification characterized by vegetation degradation and soil erosion is a major threat to the sustainability of land-based production systems. Native rangeland forage species Cenchrus ciliaris L. (Buffel grass/African foxtail grass), Eragrostis superba Peyr.

Rangelands provide numerous goods and services that have great economic, social, cultural, and biological value. Inhabitants of rangelands have engineered pastoral, hunter-gatherer, and farming systems that have sustained their livelihoods in these usually dry environments for centuries. Primarily, rangelands are grazing-dependent systems, characterised by dry periods and droughts.