Rangelands Atlas

Rangelands can be described as land on which the vegetation is predominantly grasses, grass-like plants, forbs or shrubs, and often with trees that are grazed or have the potential to be grazed by livestock and wildlife. They are diverse in their vegetation driven by highly fluctuating rainfall, temperature and other climate phenomena, and habitat for a wide range of wildlife, many species of which are found nowhere else. Rangelands store vast amounts of carbon and either originate or serve as freshwater catchment areas for most of the world’s largest rivers and wetlands. Rangelands are home to millions of people, from pastoralists to hunter-gatherers to ranchers to conservationists. Rangelands feed millions of people worldwide. Rangelands have significant cultural and aesthetic value too, and for many, are places of inspiration and beauty. This Rangelands Atlas has been developed to document and raise awareness on the enormous environmental, economic and social value of rangelands as well as their different ecosystems. It highlights many of the changes taking place in rangelands due to climate change, land use and conversion trends, investments and other changes: of most concern is the predicted trends of climate change and biodiversity loss, which will have significant impacts on some rangeland ecosystems. The spatial mapping of rangelands was produced by focusing on seven of the 14 global biomes categorised by WWF in their mapping of terrestrial ecoregions around the world. These seven biomes include different types of mainly dryland grasslands, savannas, shrublands and forests, together with wetter and colder biomes such as tundra. Though this mapping does not take into account actual land use and other changes that have taken place on the ground, it is a useful starting point for identifying, documenting and raising awareness on the overall characteristics of rangelands, their contribution to livestock and other food production, ecosystem services, conservation and the broader trends of change taking place. The Atlas also highlights significant data gaps in rangelands, which have seen proportionately less investment in this regard than other land uses and ecosystems. The spatial map of rangelands is combined with other existing global datasets on different themes, to produce a mapping of that data ‘for rangelands.’ Each entry is presented with a short explanation of the map, some key figures produced from the big data that produced the map, a story from the field adding a taste of a local experience and/or perspective, and some explanation of terminologies used in the map as required. We are reliant on the accuracy of the datasets we have accessed: the data have not been verified at regional, country or local level, and therefore is only an indicator of broad and estimated figures and trends

A generalisable integrated natural capital methodology for targeting investment in coastal defence

This is the final version. Available on open access from Taylor & Francis via the DOI in this recordCoastal ecosystems, such as saltmarsh, produce a range of ecosystem services that underpin human well-being. In the UK, and globally, saltmarsh extent and quality is declining due to coastal squeeze, deteriorating water quality, and agricultural activities. Here, we develop a general framework to evaluate changes in coastal defence. Using this framework, we identify priority areas for saltmarsh re-alignment: re-creation of saltmarsh in areas that have been saltmarsh in the past – but that have been claimed for a variety of land uses, particularly agriculture. We base our re-alignment prioritisation on the ecosystem services provided by saltmarsh in the North Devon Biosphere Reserve: specifically carbon sequestration and recreational benefits, and the economic values of those services. We compare potential economic benefits with the economic costs of creating new saltmarsh areas – specifically lost agricultural output, property damages and direct re-alignment costs. We identify a number of priority areas for managed re-alignment that generate high recreational values in areas where properties would not be damaged. These findings provide a necessary and timely analysis for the managers of the North Devon Biosphere Reserve. Furthermore, we outline a comprehensive methodology to plan future management of coastal zones.This research formed part of the Valuing Nature Programme (valuing-nature.net) which is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Just transitions for a Climate-Resilient Development in Africa – Transforming Dialogue into Action

CCDA-X1, hosted by the Government of Namibia, convened on the theme: “Just transitions for a Climate-Resilient Development in Africa – Transforming Dialogue into Action” in collaboration with Africa’s civil society organisations, academia, development partners, regional and international organisations and the private sector. The conference resulted in the following key messages to be taken forward to COP27 by Namibia

La corona verde

Progetto di rigenerazione urbana di Bagnoli, il cui assetto urbanistico è stato approvato con lo Stralcio urbanistico del Programma di risanamento ambientale e di rigenerazione urbana - PRAR

La sécurité des droits fonciers coutumiers à l’épreuve des programmes de modernisation foncière au Sud-Kivu (RD Congo)

Une appréciation des bilans des programmes de reconnaissance, d'enregistrement et de certification des droits fonciers ruraux au Sud Kivu dans l'Est de la RDC est faite dans cette communication. Les points saillants notent que ces programmes sont implémentés au cas par cas selon les spécifiés de chaque territoire rural et suivant la confluence d'acteurs et d'espaces d'où le recours à l'analyse par la théorie des "maîtrises foncières". Par ailleurs, face aux blocages de ces programmes sur le terrain, la communication pointe les faiblesses de la décentralisation foncière, de l'obsession du recours au titre comme seul mode ultime de sécurité juridique et de la prééminence des tribunaux de droit écrit sur les autres formes d'instances de médiation sociale dans les conflits fonciers

Use of a Business Excellence Model to Improve Conservation Programs

The current shortfall in effectiveness within conservation biology is illustrated by increasing interest in “evidence-based conservation,” whose proponents have identified the need to benchmark conservation initiatives against actions that lead to proven positive effects. The effectiveness of conservation policies, approaches, and evaluation is under increasing scrutiny, and in these areasmodels of excellence used in business could prove valuable. Typically, conservation programs require years of effort and involve rigorous long-term implementation processes. Successful balance of long-term efforts alongside the achievement of short-term goals is often compromised by management or budgetary constraints, a situation also common in commercial businesses. “Business excellence” is an approach many companies have used over the past 20 years to ensure continued success. Various business excellence evaluations have been promoted that include concepts that could be adapted and applied in conservation programs. We describe a conservation excellence model that shows how scientific processes and results can be aligned with financial and organizational measures of success. We applied the model to two well-documented species conservation programs. In the first, the Po’ouli program, several aspects of improvement were identified, such as more authority for decision making in the field and better integration of habitat management and population recovery processes. The second example, the black-footed ferret program, could have benefited from leadership effort to reduce bureaucracy and to encourage use of best-practice species recovery approaches. The conservation excellence model enables greater clarity in goal setting, more-effective identification of job roles within programs, better links between technical approaches and measures of biological success, and more-effective use of resources. The model could improve evaluation of a conservation program’s effectiveness and may be used to compare different programs, for example during reviews of project performance by sponsoring organizations

Pastoralism: A sustainable and nature-positive production system

This Rangelands Atlas is a collaborative initiative of the ILRI, IUCN, FAO, of the United Nations, WWF, UNEP, and the global Rangelands Initiative of ILC. This Rangelands Atlas has been developed to document and raise awareness on the enormous environmental, economic and social value of rangelands as well as their different ecosystems. Drawing on publicly available data, this Atlas provides a preliminary set of maps, which will be added to over time. These maps illustrate the complex nature of rangelands found around the world. Furthermore, the Rangeland Atlas reflects a strengthening, global movement to protect, restore and appropriately invest in rangelands. The Rangelands Atlas is available online at: www.rangelandsdata.org/atlasThis film shows how pastoralism is a sustainable and nature-positive production system in Italy, contributing to economies, societies and the environment. Filmed in three different areas of the country - Sardinia, the Italian Alps, and Abruzzo - it brings together the opinions and views of different stakeholders on benefits, challenges and opportunities, including for the future. Filmed by Marco Buemi Website: http://www.marcobuemi.com Directed by Fiona Flintan, Marco Buemi and Cristina Ghinass

Rangelands Atlas Testimonies

This Rangelands Atlas is a collaborative initiative of the ILRI, IUCN, FAO, of the United Nations, WWF, UNEP, and the global Rangelands Initiative of ILC. This Rangelands Atlas has been developed to document and raise awareness on the enormous environmental, economic and social value of rangelands as well as their different ecosystems. Drawing on publicly available data, this Atlas provides a preliminary set of maps, which will be added to over time. These maps illustrate the complex nature of rangelands found around the world. Furthermore, the Rangeland Atlas reflects a strengthening, global movement to protect, restore and appropriately invest in rangelands. The Rangelands Atlas is available online at: www.rangelandsdata.org/atlasThis film provides a short introduction to the global Rangelands Atlas 2021 with testimonies from the international partners involved in its production. Produced by Marco Buemi and Patrick Augenstei