Institutional Change in the Syrian Rangelands

Bedouin pastoral communities in West Asia and North Africa have developed different mechanism for coping with rainfall variability and seasonal feed resources (Masri 1991; Metral 2000; Nesheiwat 1991). Amongst these strategies, transhumance and nomadism were the most important production systems used by Bedouin communities to access feed and grazing resources in cropping areas and other rangelands located regionally, inationally or internationally Each of these grazing niches was, however, governed by sets of access and use rules and regulations that helped the affected communities mitigate the effects of feed shortages in their local pastures and ensure their livelihoods (Ngaido 2000). As such, the reliance on reciprocal institutional access-options for seasonal grazing was the dominant feature of these livestock production systems.European Research Council (ERC

Institutional Change in the Syrian Rangelands

Summaries During the past forty years, the Syrian rangelands have been the focal point of government interventions. These had four major components: assertion of state ownership over rangelands, settlement and transformation of herders into farmers, formal reorganization of the Bedouin population into range improvement and sheep husbandry cooperatives, and development of rangeland reserves. Each of these interventions has had many implications for livestock production, on rangeland management as well as on the livelihood strategies of herding households and communities. In 1994, the Syrian government took a major decision by banning cultivation in rangelands and committed itself to enhancing livestock production through better conservation, improvement and management of rangeland resources. The ban on cultivation, which is transforming sheep production systems and livelihood strategies of herding communities, is forcing herding communities to devise new strategies for overcoming their production constraints. Under present range conditions, it is clear that herding communities cannot stay there all year round and have, necessarily, to seek alternative feed resources. This article asks the questions: are herding communities likely to revert to old Bedouin livestock production systems based on trans?humance and reciprocity or will they opt to use more individualistic and market?based feed resources? Are feed access strategies differentiated by livestock ownership? How will these changes affect their production systems and livelihood strategies

International conference on policy and institutional options for the management of rangelands in dry areas. Workshop summary paper

The System-wide Program for Collective Action and Property Rights (CAPRI) sponsored an International Conference on Policy and Institutional Options for the Management of Rangelands in Dry Areas, May 7-11, 2001 in Hammamet, Tunisia. The conference focused on institutional aspects of rangeland management and brought together policy makers and researchers from North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and West Asia to discuss sustainable rangeland production strategies and livelihood of pastoral communities in dry areas. This conference summary paper contains summaries of the CAPRI sponsored research findings on institutional options for rangeland, policy makers' interventions and reactions as well as the synthesis of discussion groups. These working groups evaluated outcomes of policies and institutions guiding rangeland management in terms of their impact on livelihoods and environmental sustainability, and explored alternative policies and institutional strategies in light of their capacity to reduce poverty and enhance food security