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Momentum towards an International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026

27.08.2021

The Government of Mongolia’s proposal for an International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) in 2026 was endorsed at the 42nd session of the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on 14-18 June 2021 and the resolution on the United Nations (UN) observance of an IYRP 2026 was adopted.

Over half of the Earth’s land surface is rangelands, which are critical to the livelihoods of 500 million pastoralists. Healthy rangelands are vital for contributing to economic growth, resilient livelihoods and the sustainable development of pastoralism. Many rangelands are located in mountains. According to the journal Mountain Research and Development, mountains and high-elevation plateaus – including alpine grasslands and forests – have been used for centuries by people for livestock grazing, hunting and harvesting of plants. Pastoralism in mountains is a unique cultural way of life and production system. It encompasses diverse herding practices that link natural and social systems at several scales.

However, rangelands and pastoralism suffer from “benign neglect” in many countries, according to the proposal for an IYRP. Natural resources need to be legally protected to manage grazing areas, wildlife, water sources, livestock movement, risk and resilience, and to enable land-use planning and ecosystem management by pastoralists and public entities.

The IYRP aims to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by enhancing sustainable land management and restoration, enlightened policies, economic and cultural values of rangelands and pastoralism, pastoralists’ rights and the nutrition and well-being of all. It calls for greater attention to the challenges of a more erratic global climate, population growth and unsustainable land-use changes to guarantee food security and environmental services.

The Government of Mongolia’s proposal to declare an IYRP in 2026 was officially endorsed at the 27th session of the Committee on Agriculture of FAO. In December 2020, the FAO Council endorsed the draft FAO Conference resolution submitted by the Committee on Agriculture. Finally, in June 2021, the FAO Conference endorsed the proposal and adopted the resolution. The FAO Conference has requested FAO Dierctor-General QU Dongyu to convey the adopted resolution to the UN Secretary-General for consideration at the UN General Assembly in September 2021, where the Members will be asked to declare 2026 as the IYRP.

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Watch "Pastoralism is the future" with subtitles available in Arabic, Chinese, Engilsh, German, Hindi, Italian, Spanish and Mongolian. Additional versions are available in Amharic, Dutch, French, Hindi and Kiswahili.

Photo: ©FAO/Luis Tato