Most rangelands are degraded, as per UN. What exactly are rangelands?

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has released a report saying that more than 50% of the world’s rangelands are actually degraded. These rangelands need policy intervention, the report says. Many communities depend on these rangelands, so they need careful support. Are rangelands important for the survival of these communities? What exactly are these ecosystems? What did the UNCCD report find?

Let’s try to find answers to these questions little by little.

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First of all, what exactly are these lands?

The report of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) gives a clear definition of pasture.

According to this definition, rangeland is a semi-natural or natural ecosystem where wildlife or livestock graze. This type of land includes agroforestry systems and vegetation such as shrubs, woodlands, scrub, grasslands, etc.

There are many different types of pastures, and their nature depends on climatic factors such as temperature and rainfall.

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification report reveals the current proportion of pastures on Earth. The report states that more than 80 million square kilometers of the Earth’s land surface is covered by pastures. This means that about half of the land on Earth is covered by pastures.

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Importance of pastures

The largest land cover on Earth has a lot of uses for the planet. Capturing carbon from the environment is an important aspect of reducing global warming levels, and pastures play a role in this regard. These pastures actually help to absorb a lot of carbon from the environment and even absorb carbon that they release, thus acting as a carbon sink.

This is just one of the many important benefits these ecosystems provide to the planet. These pastures help prevent the land from becoming desertified. In doing so, it protects biodiversity, mitigates the effects of climate change, and maintains agricultural productivity.

Another important function these pastures play is that they act as huge freshwater storehouses.

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UNCCD report and its findings

The UNCCD report first talks about the percentage of pastures in the world. The report states that more than 16% of global food production comes from pastures. The report also states that these pastures provide more than 70% of the food for domestic herbivores, especially in South America and Africa. India has a pasture area of ​​up to 1.21 million square kilometers. Millions of people around the world rely on pastures not only for their livelihoods, but also for food security.

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When it comes to changes in pasture quality, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification report states that more than half of the world’s pastures are facing a silent death. The report states that more than 50% of the planet’s pastures can actually be considered “degraded.”

The main factors contributing to the “silent death” of rangelands include poor land management, climate change, biodiversity loss and poor livestock management. In addition, large-scale conversion of these rangelands to cropland is also one of the main causes of rangeland degradation.

It is also important to look at the impacts of this degradation, especially on the communities that depend on these ecosystems. It would be better if the land rights of pastoralist communities were settled, but this is not the case. These communities rely heavily on pastoral lands for their livelihoods, but face the brunt of pasture degradation. This change in pastures affects biodiversity and soil fertility. This further leads to a decline in income. Recently, there has been a surge in conflicts over grazing rights.

The number of people who depend on pastures is not small. About 500 million pastoralists worldwide actually depend on livestock production and similar occupations and are therefore heavily dependent on pastures. This is just an estimate and the actual statistics are likely to be higher. The quality of pastures greatly affects the livelihoods of pastoralist communities. Moreover, these communities demand greater certainty over their rights on these lands. Therefore, while the protection of these pastures is important for the preservation of these communities, their voices are not heard because they belong to marginalized groups in society.

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Source: https://dinhtienhoang.edu.vn
Category: Optical Illusion