tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/grazing-26398/articles
Grazing – The Conversation
2024-03-13T12:38:06Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/225347
2024-03-13T12:38:06Z
2024-03-13T12:38:06Z
Climate-friendly beef? Argentina’s new ‘carbon-neutral’ certification could help reduce livestock emissions – if it’s done right
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580769/original/file-20240308-17800-vh4rq9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=134%2C0%2C5856%2C3988&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Cattle are major producers of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/ArgentinaFarmersStrike/32b525a49646407fb02737682544e817/photo">AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In Argentina, where beef is a <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210522-argentina-s-beloved-beef-becomes-bone-of-contention-as-prices-soar">symbol of national pride</a>, a government-led partnership has started <a href="https://www.lanacion.com.ar/economia/campo/cambio-climatico-certificaron-en-la-argentina-la-primera-produccion-de-carne-vacuna-carbono-negativo-nid12022024/">certifying certain livestock</a> as carbon neutral. It’s a big step that shouldn’t be underestimated, but getting the certification process right is crucial. </p>
<p>The world’s livestock sector is a key driver of climate change, contributing around <a href="https://foodandagricultureorganization.shinyapps.io/GLEAMV3_Public/">12% of global greenhouse gas emissions</a>. <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/cb1922en/cb1922en.pdf">Two-thirds</a> of agriculture’s annual greenhouse gas emissions come from livestock, with raising cattle for meat typically being the <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/environmental-impacts-of-food">most emissions-intensive</a> activity. While shifting diets to plant-based foods and <a href="https://gfi.org/initiatives/climate/">alternative proteins</a> can help reduce emissions, global <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/cb5332en/Meat.pdf">meat consumption</a> is growing with an expanding population and rising prosperity.</p>
<p>There are ways that livestock producers can reduce those emissions. However, beyond social pressure, ranchers have few incentives to do so. Unless those steps to reduce emissions also increase productivity, they typically become costs with little immediate benefit in return.</p>
<p>With formal certification, farmers can earn a higher price. This has been the case with certified organic or fair-trade products. If livestock could be raised in ways that produce fewer emissions and certified as climate-friendly, the resulting higher prices they could fetch might give producers an incentive to invest in reducing their herds’ emissions.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A cow photographed through a tree canopy." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580582/original/file-20240307-24-5jlkgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580582/original/file-20240307-24-5jlkgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580582/original/file-20240307-24-5jlkgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580582/original/file-20240307-24-5jlkgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580582/original/file-20240307-24-5jlkgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580582/original/file-20240307-24-5jlkgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580582/original/file-20240307-24-5jlkgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Argentina’s new ‘carbon-neutral’ certification hinges on the grazing landscape sequestering carbon in trees and in the soil to offset methane produced by the cattle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cattle_-_Eldorado,_Misiones_(31449238075).jpg">Papa Pic, Eldorado, Argentina</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Argentina’s certification approach <a href="https://www.lanacion.com.ar/economia/campo/cambio-climatico-certificaron-en-la-argentina-la-primera-produccion-de-carne-vacuna-carbono-negativo-nid12022024/">relies on a silvopastoral system</a>, which integrates tree growth with grazing or production of grasses or grains for fodder. Livestock are raised in forest interspersed with native natural grasslands and cultivated pastures. The pasture and grazing are managed to return nutrients and organic matter to the soil. </p>
<p>The trees and soil regeneration methods both store carbon, leading to the certification’s claim that the cattle, despite the greenhouse gases they produce, are carbon neutral. </p>
<p>The certification, approved in early 2024, is a collaboration between Argentina’s National Agricultural Technology Institute and National Industrial Technology Institute and the Argentinian private sector, <a href="https://epd.inti.gob.ar/assets/uploads/libreria/S-P-07361-Eng.pdf">with certification</a> from the <a href="https://www.environdec.com/about-us/the-international-epd-system-about-the-system">International Environmental Product Declaration System</a>, one of the first and longest operating third-party verification systems of environmental claims.</p>
<p>This silvopastoral system may be hard to replicate elsewhere, but it’s only one way to reduce livestock emissions. I’m an <a href="https://keough.nd.edu/people/paul-winters/">agricultural and resource economist</a> and executive director for the <a href="https://innovationcommission.uchicago.edu/">Innovation Commission for Climate Change, Food Security and Agriculture</a>, led by Nobel Laureate Michael Kremer. Here are some other emerging innovations that could lead to livestock certifications that reduce emissions:</p>
<h2>1. Feed additives</h2>
<p>Innovative feed additives, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0247820">such as red seaweed</a>, could reduce livestock methane emissions by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1071/AN20295">26% to 98%</a>, depending on the type of additive and how it is administered.</p>
<p>Methane is a potent greenhouse gas with many times the warming potential of carbon dioxide. About 12% of ruminants’ gross energy intake goes into digestive processes that generate methane, which the cows belch into the air. So reducing methane emissions via feed additives could also <a href="https://theconversation.com/feeding-cows-a-few-ounces-of-seaweed-daily-could-sharply-reduce-their-contribution-to-climate-change-157192">increase productivity</a> while <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/climate/news/can-seaweed-cut-methane-emissions-on-dairy-farms">maintaining milk quality</a>. If cattle can conserve energy in the digestive process, they can redirect it toward animal growth and milk production.</p>
<p>Startup companies, such as <a href="https://blueoceanbarns.com/">Blue Ocean Barns</a> and <a href="https://www.future-feed.com/">FutureFeed</a>, have started to produce feed additives to reduce methane. However, products like these aren’t widely used yet, largely because cattle producers have no incentive to invest in changing their practices.</p>
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<h2>2. Gene editing</h2>
<p>Research underway into gene editing – intentionally altering the genetic code of a living organism – <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/food/news/can-crispr-cut-methane-emissions-cow-guts">may also have the potential</a> to change the microbes that produce methane in livestock’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-021-01014-7">gut microbiomes</a>. That could substantially reduce livestock emissions.</p>
<p>This type of innovation <a href="https://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/news/igis-audacious-new-frontier-crispr-editing-microbiomes-climate-and-health">might benefit farmers</a> who let their livestock graze in fields rather than provide them with feed. Compared to additives like seaweed, gene editing is meant to be a long-term solution, which would make it more cost-effective over time. But like feed additives, currently there is limited incentive for breeders and producers to consider this direction.</p>
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<h2>3. Advanced farm-management practices</h2>
<p>Advanced farm-management practices, such as improved feeding software, could also help reduce methane emissions intensity. These practices tend to be more affordable than other options.</p>
<p>For example, dairy production in sub-Saharan Africa is much more <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/CA2929EN/ca2929en.pdf">emissions intensive</a> per gallon of milk than production in North America or Europe, and cows in the region are only 5%-7% as productive. This is due to a host of management limitation in low-income settings.</p>
<p>Existing technologies for animal management can be adapted to <a href="https://www.athian.ai/knowledge-hub/post/dfa-purchases-first-verified-carbon-credits-in-livestock-inset-marketplace">increase production efficiency</a> and <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/ab129327-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/ab129327-en#section-d1e24585">reduce overall emissions</a>. Methods of providing better nutrition and animal care for livestock that limit excess methane production are already <a href="https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2019-16576">widely used in higher-income countries</a>. These methods could also be adapted for producers in low- and middle-income regions, with support and the right incentives.</p>
<h2>Certification as a path forward</h2>
<p>Certification can give livestock producers incentive to use these methods, but certification systems must be carefully designed. </p>
<p>Claims like Argentina’s should be <a href="https://www.environdec.com/home">reliably verified</a> to ensure that the certification is credible. Argentina took an important step by including a proven third-party verification system, going beyond similar “climate-friendly” national programs <a href="https://www.climateactive.org.au/sites/default/files/2023-09/NAPCo%20Public%20Disclosure%20Statement_CY2022_Final.pdf">initiated in Australia</a> and <a href="https://modernfarmer.com/2021/12/low-carbon-beef-certification/">the United States</a>.</p>
<p>The organizations that verify certificates should play a role in establishing the rules, but so should governments. For example, feed additives alone are unlikely to reach “carbon-neutral,” but organizations are exploring whether <a href="https://www.athian.ai/knowledge-hub/post/dfa-purchases-first-verified-carbon-credits-in-livestock-inset-marketplace">lesser reductions</a> could be sufficient for livestock to be certified as “climate friendly” and earn a higher price for producers. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Cattle cross a dirt road with trees and rangeland in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580771/original/file-20240308-24-c14550.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580771/original/file-20240308-24-c14550.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580771/original/file-20240308-24-c14550.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580771/original/file-20240308-24-c14550.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580771/original/file-20240308-24-c14550.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580771/original/file-20240308-24-c14550.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580771/original/file-20240308-24-c14550.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cattle graze in Argentina.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/ArgentinaElectionsFarmers/c017cec73c3d425a91263832aca47bd3/photo">AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Finally, certification will only work if consumers are willing to pay a higher price for carbon-neutral, or even just climate-friendly, meat and dairy products.</p>
<p>Higher payments can come directly from consumers buying certified products or through government regulations requiring all meat and dairy products be certified. For example, under its <a href="https://food.ec.europa.eu/horizontal-topics/farm-fork-strategy_en">Farm to Fork Strategy</a>, the European Commission encourages food systems that can mitigate climate change. If the commission were to only accept meat and dairy products certified as climate-friendly, that would create an incentive to pursue certification to enter the large European market.</p>
<p>Some environmental groups have complained that climate certification for beef and <a href="https://www.athian.ai/knowledge-hub/post/dfa-purchases-first-verified-carbon-credits-in-livestock-inset-marketplace">related carbon credits</a> result <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/175337/bs-behind-usdas-new-climate-friendly-beef-label">in greenwashing</a>, allowing companies and the industry to burnish their reputations while continuing to release emissions. But certification can also encourage livestock producers to take steps they otherwise wouldn’t to reduce overall emissions for a better planet.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225347/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Winters does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Cattle are major producers of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. But there are methods that can reduce their climate impact – if ranchers have incentive to use them.
Paul Winters, Professor of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/216423
2024-03-12T12:30:14Z
2024-03-12T12:30:14Z
Solar power occupies a lot of space – here’s how to make it more ecologically beneficial to the land it sits on
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580757/original/file-20240308-22-g0m361.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3019%2C1783&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Solar panels shade grassland at Jack's Solar Garden, an agrovoltaic farm in Longmont, Colo.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Matthew Sturchio</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As societies look for ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions and slow climate change, large-scale solar power is playing a central role. Climate scientists view it as the tool with <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/">the greatest potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 2030</a>. In the U.S., the Department of Energy predicts that solar will <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=61424">account for nearly 60%</a> of all new utility-scale electricity-generating capacity installed in 2024. </p>
<p><iframe id="k06YW" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/k06YW/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>But ideal locations for solar development often overlap with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-47803-3">croplands or grasslands used for livestock grazing</a>. Typically, large-scale solar arrays are designed to maximize energy generation, without much consideration for the ecosystems in which they are placed. </p>
<p>For example, grading land and removing vegetation can <a href="https://www.popsci.com/environment/solar-farm-construction-epa-water-violations/">cause erosion and send runoff into waterways</a>. Solar developers have been fined for such environmental violations in <a href="https://www.pv-magazine.com/2023/05/10/u-s-court-orders-developer-to-pay-135-5-million-in-100-mw-solar-property-damage-case/">Georgia</a>, <a href="https://www.gazettenet.com/Developer-to-pay-$1-14-million-for-wetlands-stormwater-violations-38651958#">Massachusetts</a>, <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/settlements-resolve-clean-water-act-violations-four-solar-farm-construction-sites-alabama">Alabama, Idaho and Illinois</a>. </p>
<p>There also are concerns about how large solar installations affect <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/02/11/climate/climate-change-wildlife-solar.html">animal movement patterns</a>. In the western U.S., removing native vegetation to make room for solar farms can threaten endangered animals and insects that rely on these plants as food and habitat. Native plant communities take a long time to reestablish themselves in these water-limited areas after they are disturbed.</p>
<p>I am <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Oyns6e8AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">an ecologist</a> and a member of a research team led by <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=e5RTvRMAAAAJ&hl=en">Alan Knapp</a> at Colorado State University. We investigate how solar development affects grassland ecosystem health – in particular, how plants’ growth and water use patterns and response to light change once solar panels are installed overhead. Through this work, we hope to inform a more sustainable future for solar energy. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580762/original/file-20240308-20-ka23d0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A row of solar photovoltaic panels with bushy tomato plants in front of them" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580762/original/file-20240308-20-ka23d0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580762/original/file-20240308-20-ka23d0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580762/original/file-20240308-20-ka23d0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580762/original/file-20240308-20-ka23d0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=568&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580762/original/file-20240308-20-ka23d0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=714&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580762/original/file-20240308-20-ka23d0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=714&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580762/original/file-20240308-20-ka23d0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=714&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">This agrivoltaic solar array uses the space between rows of panels to grow tomatoes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Matthew Sturchio</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Two land uses are better than one</h2>
<p>A growing alternative to using land solely for solar power generation is called agrivoltaics. As its name suggests, this strategy combines agriculture and solar power on the same piece of land. Agrivoltaic projects can take place on croplands, grazing lands and habitat for agriculturally important pollinators. This dual-use approach to solar development <a href="https://science.osti.gov/-/media/sbir/pdf/Market-Research/SETO---Agrivoltaics-August-2022-Public.pdf">has become popular worldwide</a></p>
<p>The <a href="https://openei.org/wiki/InSPIRE/Agrivoltaics_Map">vast majority</a> of agrivoltaic projects in the U.S. are on lands managed for livestock grazing and pollinator habitat. These sites are ideal for solar power colocation because, unlike croplands, they do not require irrigation or the use of large machinery. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/T6PEk_OZUmI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">One version of agrivoltaics is combining solar arrays and livestock grazing.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, these lands rely on rainfall to support plant growth, and the presence of solar panels affects how water reaches the soil. Most agrivoltaic arrays use sun-tracking programs that maximize energy production by tilting panels to follow the sun across the sky. As this happens, the panels create distinct micro-environments that are quite different from natural conditions. </p>
<p>For example, in Colorado, most precipitation occurs in the afternoon, when solar panels are tilted west toward the sun. As a result, most rainfall on agrivoltaic sites is concentrated at the panels’ western edges where it drops to the ground. This redistribution can multiply rainfall at panel edges by up to a factor of four, while restricting rainfall in other patches. </p>
<p>Another factor is that solar panels introduce shade on grasslands that are adapted to high light conditions. Because the arrays are optimized to intercept sunlight, much less light reaches plants beneath the panels.</p>
<h2>The ecology behind ecovoltaics</h2>
<p>So far, our work shows that the distinct micro-environments created by solar arrays produce similarly <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4334">varied patterns of plant growth</a>. This finding is encouraging: It means that the environmental variation created by solar panels passively tracking the sun is enough to make plants respond differently. These micro-environments could potentially support a mosaic of plant communities that benefit from different conditions.</p>
<p>In some cases, mixed conditions like these, with varying levels of light and water, can be a good thing. A well-tested concept in restoration ecology – the science of restoring damaged ecosystems – is that environments with more variety support more diverse mixes of plants and animals.</p>
<p>In a 2023 paper, we outlined a concept that calls for an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02174-x">ecologically informed approach to solar development</a>. This approach, called ecovoltaics, requires giving equal priority to energy production and <a href="https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/ecosystem-services">ecosystem services</a>. </p>
<p>An ecovoltaic approach allows land managers to use solar to their advantage. Designing and managing solar arrays in ways that are rooted in fundamental ecological concepts can produce more synergies between ecosystems and solar energy.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580834/original/file-20240310-26-auaqrp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Diagram showing ways to space rows of solar panels, alter their angles or adjust height to achieve various ecological outcomes." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580834/original/file-20240310-26-auaqrp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580834/original/file-20240310-26-auaqrp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580834/original/file-20240310-26-auaqrp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580834/original/file-20240310-26-auaqrp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580834/original/file-20240310-26-auaqrp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=633&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580834/original/file-20240310-26-auaqrp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=633&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580834/original/file-20240310-26-auaqrp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=633&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ecovoltaic systems can be configured in different ways to achieve specific ecological goals, such as reducing water loss from soil or creating shady zones for grazing livestock.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Matthew Sturchio</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Land managers could use ecovoltaic approaches to improve degraded lands by designing solar arrays to enhance natural processes. For example, since the edges of solar panels redistribute and concentrate rainfall, making the soil beneath them wetter, they could aid in seedling establishment in those spots. </p>
<p>In arid regions, arrays could be designed to promote this effect and improve restoration. If water is scarce, arrays could be designed to reduce the amount of exposed ground, which in turn would reduce the amount of water lost to the atmosphere through evaporation. </p>
<h2>Doing solar differently</h2>
<p>Many factors influence land management decisions. The land’s history, access to water, soil types, vegetation and topography all play a role. Ecovoltaics adds another factor: balancing energy production per unit area with the ecological effects of a particular solar array. </p>
<p>An ecovoltaic approach to solar power requires fundamentally rethinking how solar development decisions are made. Today, access to electricity transmission lines limits where solar power can be deployed in many areas. If transmission lines and substations are too far away, or undersized, solar power is unlikely to be developed. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/10/30/fact-sheetbiden-harris-administration-announces-historic-investment-to-bolster-nations-electric-grid-infrastructure-cut-energy-costs-for-families-and-create-good-paying-jobs/">New transmission projects</a> that ease this geographic constraint could provide more options. With greater flexibility in choosing sites, developers could shift away from highly sensitive natural ecosystems and install solar arrays on abandoned, water-limited or otherwise degraded lands instead. Ecovoltaics could be a solution for stabilizing the economy of communities where productive land has been <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/a-top-colorado-farming-region-is-running-out-of-water-must-retire-land-to-avoid-well-shutdown/ar-BB1jgzFe">retired to conserve resources</a></p>
<p>Solar power is scaling up to levels that make it central to a clean energy transition. My colleagues and I believe that solar development should proceed in a way that reflects ecological thinking. In our view, an ecovoltaic approach to solar can produce positive ecological outcomes and make solar energy even more sustainable.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216423/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Sturchio receives funding from the US Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture.</span></em></p>
Solar development isn’t always good for the land, but pairing it with agriculture can produce multiple benefits.
Matthew Sturchio, PhD Student in Plant and Ecosystem Ecology, Colorado State University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/222107
2024-02-13T15:04:44Z
2024-02-13T15:04:44Z
17 million South Africans live on communal land – new study of a rural valley offers insights on how to manage it
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572398/original/file-20240131-19-f7h2o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tyhume Valley in Eastern Cape, South Africa.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wonga Masiza</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Tyhume River, flowing from the forested Amathole Mountains in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province, gives its name to a valley of 20 villages on communal land. Much of the land is being used to keep livestock, as crop production has declined over the years. This land is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0264837712001998?via%3Dihub">under the custodianship of traditional leaders</a>.</p>
<p>The valley is typical of South Africa’s communal land: affected by <a href="https://doi.org/10.2989/10220119.2022.2138973">soil erosion</a>, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00207233.2021.1886557">bush encroachment</a> and <a href="http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0301-603X2022000200005">water scarcity</a>. </p>
<p>About one third (over 17 million) of <a href="https://www.parliament.gov.za/storage/app/media/Pages/2017/october/High_Level_Panel/Commissioned_Report_land/Commisioned_Report_on_Tenure_Reform_LARC.pdf">South Africa’s population lives on communal land</a>, which makes up around <a href="https://sarpn.org/documents/d0002695/index.php">13%</a> of all land in the country. The <a href="https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201707/40965gen510.pdf">Communal Land Tenure Bill, 2017</a> defines communal land as “owned, occupied or used by members of a community subject to shared rules or norms and customs”. It can also be owned by the state.</p>
<p>This land can benefit rural communities by providing ecosystem goods and services, such as shelter, water, fuelwood, food and cultural amenities. But natural processes and human activity can transform the land. </p>
<p>Unmonitored and poorly managed land changes can trigger soil erosion, overgrazing, loss of biodiversity and water scarcity. In South Africa, communal land is considered to be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10260">more degraded than privately owned land</a>. This can negatively affect the livelihoods of people who derive ecosystem services from it.</p>
<p>Common indicators and causes of land degradation are generally understood. But less is known about how people living in communal lands interpret land changes and their impact. It’s unclear what they perceive as land degradation or which kinds of land changes matter most to them. This helps explain the lack of sound policies and practical strategies to rehabilitate land.</p>
<p>Our team of geoinformation scientists at South Africa’s Agricultural Research Council and the University of the Free State carried out <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcosc.2023.1205750/full">a study</a> which mapped land use and land cover change in the Tyhume Valley over 30 years. </p>
<p>To understand the extent, causes and impact of communal land change, we analysed a series of historical satellite images from 1989 to 2019 and conducted interviews with locals. Instead of interviewing experts and leaders, the study measured the most common perceptions among community members.</p>
<p>As far as we know, this study is one of the first in South Africa to combine satellite data and local perceptions. This offered a more complete view of communal land change, and valuable insights on its impacts. </p>
<p>We suggested some ways in which this land could be managed better to provide ecosystem services and livelihoods. </p>
<h2>Satellite imagery and community perceptions</h2>
<p>Our study set out to discover whether satellite-measured trends of land use and land cover corresponded with those perceived by the community. We also explored the causes, rate and impact of these trends.</p>
<p>Satellite imagery from 1989 to 2019 revealed increases of the sweet thorn tree (<em>Vachellia karroo</em>) by 25% and the residential area (2.5%). It showed declines of grazing land (18%), cropland (9.6%) and dams (1.1%). </p>
<p>Assisted by 102 long-standing residents, most above 50 years of age, we asked about the causes and impacts of the observed changes. </p>
<p>Most respondents (over 80%) noted the encroachment of the sweet thorn tree on grazing land and abandoned cropland. They said contributing factors were a decrease in fuelwood harvesting due to increased reliance on electricity, the abandonment of cropland (providing habitat for the sweet thorn) and seed dispersal caused by unrestricted movement of animals. Many saw the tree as beneficial because goats like to eat it and it makes good fuel. Others were concerned that this tree was invading productive agricultural land and causing a loss of biodiversity. They mentioned increased scarcity and disappearance of medicinal and culturally significant plants.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/smallholder-crop-farming-is-on-the-decline-in-south-africa-why-it-matters-119333">Smallholder crop farming is on the decline in South Africa. Why it matters</a>
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<p>Most respondents noted a decrease in grazing land, cropland and surface water. As reasons, they cited lack of access control (poor management, allowing bush encroachment), lack of farmer support and equipment, and poor rainfall.</p>
<p>New houses had been erected on grazing land. This was seen as a result of population increase and inward migration. Livestock farmers saw this as a problem because they had to buy fodder or trek their cattle long distances to graze. The population increase also put strain on water resources.</p>
<p>Every village in the area had at least one communal dam that had dried up. Despite 14 years of below-average rainfall and a negative rainfall trend between 1989 and 2019, the trend was not statistically significant. The community perceived that water resources had declined because of overuse and poor maintenance of dams. They said the government no longer desilted community dams, and that the community had abandoned traditional practices such as the maintenance of surface water channels and homestead ponds. </p>
<p>They gave water scarcity as one of the main reasons that croplands had been abandoned.</p>
<p>Most said the communal lands were healthier and offered more resources when areas were fenced off and people had to get permits to use land. Local residents had <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10745-006-9062-9">cut fences</a> to give their animals unlimited access to grazing and water.</p>
<p>Overall, the changes to the Tyhume Valley environment were not positive. The respondents said the decline in agricultural activity had resulted in increased unemployment and consumption of unhealthy food.</p>
<p>Similar changes have been reported on <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03057070.2014.943525">many other communal lands</a>.</p>
<h2>Better land management</h2>
<p>The land can be better managed through interventions by village committees, tribal authorities and extension services, and by following spatial planning and land use guidelines.</p>
<p>The sweet thorn can be controlled by stocking more browsing animals. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2989/10220119.2016.1178172">Studies</a> have demonstrated that this plant has a high nutritive value.</p>
<p>The community, with help from the government, needs to reinstate water harvesting practices and the regular desilting of dams. Other communal <a href="https://www.drdar.gov.za/restoreddamsreducelivestockmortality/">dam restoration projects</a> in the Eastern Cape have succeeded by dredging and augmentation of stock dams.</p>
<p>This study shows that the combination of <a href="https://theconversation.com/technique-developed-in-kenya-offers-a-refined-way-to-map-tree-cover-76709">satellite imagery</a> and local perceptions provides valuable insights about the extent, causes and impacts of land change in communal areas.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222107/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wonga Masiza receives funding from Agricultural Research Council.</span></em></p>
Satellite images and community perceptions combine to give a fuller picture of land use changes.
Wonga Masiza, Researcher, Agricultural Research Council
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/189857
2023-06-08T21:46:07Z
2023-06-08T21:46:07Z
The ‘good fire’: Prescribed burning can prevent catastrophic wildfires in the future
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/531026/original/file-20230608-19-tdh1r3.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=143%2C413%2C5847%2C3574&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Fire, in its proper place, is a renewing force — one that can reduce the probability of catastrophic fire.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Angie Li)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Roaring flames, burned-out houses and cars, hazy air and orange skies are all around us. Already this year, millions of hectares have been torched by more than <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9751667/canada-wildfires-outlook/">2,200 wildfires</a> in Canada. </p>
<p>In the midst of another unprecedented fire season, it is easy to see fire as a destructive force to be controlled at all costs. </p>
<p>Through more than <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/weve-been-fighting-forest-fires-wrong-for-100-years-2013-1">100 years of aggressive fire suppression</a>, we have been conditioned to fear and demonize fire. From an ecological point of view, however, fire is a normal and often beneficial process. </p>
<p>Today, small but active groups of ecologists and land managers on the Canadian Prairies are <a href="https://news.usask.ca/articles/colleges/2022/usask-research-protecting-endangered-species-and-habitats.php">using fire to renew and rejuvenate grassland ecosystems</a>, enhance biological diversity and even to prevent catastrophic wildfire. </p>
<h2>Good fires</h2>
<p>The blackened ground following a grass fire may look devastating, but looks can be deceiving. In a <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/2257990">healthy grassland, much of the plant tissue is below ground</a>, well-protected from the heat of the fire. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Prairie crocus flowers with singed petals" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530952/original/file-20230608-19-cd27ad.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530952/original/file-20230608-19-cd27ad.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530952/original/file-20230608-19-cd27ad.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530952/original/file-20230608-19-cd27ad.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530952/original/file-20230608-19-cd27ad.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530952/original/file-20230608-19-cd27ad.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530952/original/file-20230608-19-cd27ad.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Prairie crocus flowers with petals singed by a prescribed fire the day before.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Eric Lamb)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Plants quickly resprout from these underground stems, taking advantage of the newly opened space and nutrients from the ash. For some plant species, chemical signals in the smoke and ash can even be a trigger to germinate.</p>
<p>Grazers such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.12">cattle and bison will seek out burned areas</a> to take advantage of the high-quality forage that grows back. Plant diversity is often higher post-fire, and burned areas offer important habitat for many wildlife species. </p>
<p>Finally, fire removes litter, dead plant material from past seasons. Most grass fires spread through dry litter; removing this accumulated fuel can form a <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/firebreak">firebreak</a>, protecting the land against future catastrophic wildfire. </p>
<h2>Fire suppression is not always good</h2>
<p>Indigenous Peoples, ecologists and conservationists have long recognized the importance of fire within grassland ecosystems, but <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-15961-y">decades of active suppression have left most of Canada in a fire deficit</a>.</p>
<p>The reasons for fire suppression are complex and include concerns for public safety, protection of infrastructure and a view that it is a “waste” to burn grass that could otherwise be fed to cattle. </p>
<p>We must recognize that the history of fire suppression stems from real concerns. <a href="https://www.producer.com/news/several-hundred-head-of-livestock-killed-by-wildfires/">The consequences of uncontrolled wildfire can be devastating</a>, and ranchers who depend on rangelands — grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, wetlands and deserts that are grazed by domestic livestock or wild animals — to feed their livestock generally face a decline in productivity for one to three years post-fire.</p>
<p>But at the same time, we need to replace the fear of fire with respect for fire and the respectful use of fire as a tool. </p>
<h2>Renewing ecosystems with fire</h2>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-indigenous-burning-practices-can-help-curb-the-biodiversity-crisis-165422">Indigenous Peoples have long used cultural burning for a wide variety of purposes, including controlling their landscape and improving the abundance of preferred plant species</a>. From a western science perspective, we call this “prescribed fire,” or the carefully planned use of fire under controlled and safe conditions to achieve a particular ecosystem management goal. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jUQFUUXckWo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Indigenous Peoples have long used cultural burning for improving the abundance of local plant species.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The goals of prescribed fire can range from the simple ones like reducing wildfire risk through fuel reduction to complex goals that include the removal of an invasive species. In all cases the goal is a healthier ecosystem. </p>
<p>Prescribed fire is extensively used <a href="https://www.ksre.k-state.edu/news/stories/2021/03/patch-burning-offsets-carbon-emissions.html">in the United States, particularly in tallgrass prairie</a>. In Canada, outside of large government organizations such as Parks Canada, prescribed fire is more rarely used.</p>
<h2>Training and collaboration guide prescribed fires</h2>
<p>The barriers to more extensive use of prescribed fire in Canada include the lack of trained personnel and equipment, insurance and liability concerns and inter-organizational challenges such as differing training standards. </p>
<p>In 2018 and 2019, multiple organizations, including the Meewasin Valley Authority and University of Saskatchewan, came together to assist the Nature Conservancy of Canada to conduct <a href="https://www.natureconservancy.ca/en/blog/archive/burning-for-change.html">four small prescribed fires at their Old Man on His Back Prairie and Heritage Conservation Area in Saskatchewan.</a> </p>
<p>The fires were a part of a research project led by my <a href="https://research-groups.usask.ca/saskatchewan-plant-community-ecology-lab/">University of Saskatchewan research group</a> examining how plants, bison and cattle would respond to small burned patches in mixed-grass prairie.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1133583864549584896"}"></div></p>
<p>Despite the challenging logistics, we found that formalizing how our organizations worked together would help make collaborative fires easier, allowing new groups with less experience to begin using fire. The success of this project led to establishment of <a href="http://www.grasslandfire.ca/">the Canadian Prairies Prescribed Fire Exchange (CPPFE)</a>. </p>
<p>The CPPFE is an organization based on the American “<a href="https://www.conservationgateway.org/CONSERVATIONPRACTICES/FIRELANDSCAPES/HABITATPROTECTIONANDRESTORATION/TRAINING/TRAININGEXCHANGES/Pages/fire-training-exchanges.aspx">training exchange” model</a> where small organizations collaborate to improve training and practice. It aims to be a hub for grassland-prescribed fire knowledge in Western Canada. </p>
<h2>The future of fire</h2>
<p>It can be hard to maintain the perspective of “good fire” when our <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2223757891835">news is filled with images of devastation</a>. </p>
<p>In the aftermath of a bad wildfire season, prescribed fire practitioners often get pushback when proposing fires. This comes externally from the public and internally from risk-adverse management. </p>
<p>Building a culture where fire is respected rather than feared is essential to maintain resilient landscapes. We must remember that fire, in its proper place, is a renewing force — one that can reduce the probability of catastrophic fire.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189857/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eric Lamb receives funding from the National Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Mitacs, and the Nature Conservancy of Canada for research on this topic. He is affiliated with the Canadian Prairies Prescribed Fire Exchange. </span></em></p>
Building a culture where fire is respected rather than feared is essential to maintain resilient landscapes.
Eric Lamb, Professor, Department of Plant Science, University of Saskatchewan
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/201193
2023-04-12T13:40:04Z
2023-04-12T13:40:04Z
Livestock are threatened by predators – but old-fashioned shepherding may be an effective solution
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515726/original/file-20230316-24-fy5fg2.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=35%2C383%2C3916%2C2610&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Herder Katrina Schwartz with her goats.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: Conservation International</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Carnivores like leopards, lions and hyenas have been killing livestock for centuries, causing financial losses to farmers. In many parts of the world, farmers respond by killing these predators. This has greatly <a href="https://ace.mandela.ac.za/Historical-Incidence-of-the-Larger-Mammals/Books-with-detailed-information-for-parts-of-%E2%80%98Sout/Western-and-Northern-Cape-provinces">reduced the populations</a> of some top predators like leopards and lions. </p>
<p>Killing predators may decrease their numbers in the short term. But there is no evidence that it is an effective way to protect livestock in the long term. For example, in South Africa, populations of the medium-sized predators like caracals and jackals that also predate on livestock <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2664.12581">increased</a> or <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00442-018-4072-z">migrated into the area</a> in response to lethal control efforts.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518158/original/file-20230329-16-w2yguc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Head of feline animal" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518158/original/file-20230329-16-w2yguc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518158/original/file-20230329-16-w2yguc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=634&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518158/original/file-20230329-16-w2yguc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=634&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518158/original/file-20230329-16-w2yguc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=634&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518158/original/file-20230329-16-w2yguc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=797&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518158/original/file-20230329-16-w2yguc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=797&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518158/original/file-20230329-16-w2yguc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=797&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Caracal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Copyright Cape Leopard Trust</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For this reason, farmers in South Africa are looking at non-lethal methods of protecting livestock. One sustainable, wildlife-friendly method is the age-old practice of herding or shepherding.</p>
<p>Very little data exists on how shepherding compares with lethal methods <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/fee.1312">globally</a> or in <a href="https://predsa.mandela.ac.za/Scientific-Assessment-Publication">South Africa</a>. We conducted a study in South Africa to fill this information gap. We found that shepherding was very effective. Using shepherds, livestock losses were five times lower than losses under lethal methods.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2989/10220119.2022.2156610">Our results</a> suggest that shepherds not only reduce predation; they may also be able to give a clearer picture of what causes livestock deaths. For instance, shepherds can see when livestock deaths are caused by illness rather than predation. This is supported by <a href="http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s13280-019-01260-4">other research</a> that shows predators may be blamed for livestock deaths that were actually due to exposure, illness or some other cause. </p>
<p>The presence of shepherds could allow for more prompt responses to ill, injured or lost animals. A person who is with livestock all day can also identify where fences and water points are damaged, assess what grazing conditions are like and make decisions about herd movement.</p>
<h2>The challenge</h2>
<p>Shepherding involves herding and protecting small livestock while moving between grazing areas and water points. Shepherds are also often responsible for corralling animals in a pen at night.</p>
<p>This is not a new strategy. Shepherding has been practised since early pastoralism began about 9,000 years before present (or BP, referring to the 1950s, the date up until carbon dating can be practically used). </p>
<p>But its efficacy is understudied globally. That means there’s little empirical evidence to show whether it’s the best approach to keeping livestock safe, where it might be used along with other methods, or where it might not work at all. Existing data often relies on interviews, with their inherent <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13280-019-01260-4">biases</a>, rather than on observations in the field.</p>
<p>Our study sought to fill this gap. We are researchers in the fields of botany, zoology, agricultural economics and conservation. We set out to quantify livestock losses ascribed to predators in South Africa’s Northern Cape province. The province’s dry climate means that the main agricultural activity is livestock farming.</p>
<p>The Northern Cape has the highest recorded national livestock losses to predation – an average of <a href="https://scholar.ufs.ac.za/handle/11660/2000">13% of the herd</a>. </p>
<h2>Our study</h2>
<p>We hypothesised that shepherding would be more effective in reducing predation on small livestock (mostly sheep but also goats) relative to other methods. We had access to two databases: one relying on interviews with farmers who had used mostly lethal methods, and one using field observations by shepherds and mobile technology. We consolidated these two databases into one <a href="https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7351472">publicly available online database</a>.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, data on predator or prey populations (which can influence predation) were not available for our sites in the Northern Cape.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515491/original/file-20230315-20-ry6ind.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515491/original/file-20230315-20-ry6ind.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515491/original/file-20230315-20-ry6ind.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515491/original/file-20230315-20-ry6ind.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515491/original/file-20230315-20-ry6ind.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515491/original/file-20230315-20-ry6ind.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515491/original/file-20230315-20-ry6ind.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/515491/original/file-20230315-20-ry6ind.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=533&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A map of the study area.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We confirmed, however, that the livestock types, dominant predators and environmental conditions were similar across the two databases. Using statistical analyses, we tested how predator management (shepherd, no shepherd), land tenure (private, communal), flock characteristics (herd size, livestock type), and environmental factors like terrain and plant productivity drove losses of small livestock across the area.</p>
<p>As we expected, black-backed jackals and caracals were the dominant livestock predators in both management groups (shepherd, no shepherd). Also as predicted, the loss to predation was lower (five times) in shepherded herds than in the no-shepherd group. For lambs only, this was even more obvious with a seven-fold reduction in predation.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518156/original/file-20230329-22-gf1l5n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518156/original/file-20230329-22-gf1l5n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518156/original/file-20230329-22-gf1l5n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518156/original/file-20230329-22-gf1l5n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518156/original/file-20230329-22-gf1l5n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518156/original/file-20230329-22-gf1l5n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518156/original/file-20230329-22-gf1l5n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518156/original/file-20230329-22-gf1l5n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Black backed jackal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Copyright L Minnie</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Using herders’ direct observations rather than gathering information from questionnaires also allowed us to quantify livestock loss due to causes other than predation. In our study area, we found that livestock illness caused as many deaths as predation. This was in line with <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/cb3673en/cb3673en.pdf">global assessments by the Food and Agriculture Organization</a> that showed losses from disease (30% of a herd) and exposure (anywhere from 9% to 52%) were the main causes of livestock mortality and were several times higher than the global average for predation (5%). </p>
<p>This contrast merits further investigation locally and regionally in Africa so that farmers know where to place their management efforts in the future.</p>
<p>All farmers, whether they were managing land privately or communally, experienced similar predation issues and drivers of predation in our study. This means that shepherding could be scaled to work even for privately owned (and usually large commercial) farms as a means to protect livestock.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513651/original/file-20230306-20-biqbma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Man standing in front of flock of goats" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513651/original/file-20230306-20-biqbma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/513651/original/file-20230306-20-biqbma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513651/original/file-20230306-20-biqbma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513651/original/file-20230306-20-biqbma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513651/original/file-20230306-20-biqbma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513651/original/file-20230306-20-biqbma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/513651/original/file-20230306-20-biqbma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Herder Jacobus Cardinal.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Conservation International</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Several farmers in the study were keen to use or continue using herders. Others felt there were barriers to their use, such as financial costs and social issues.</p>
<p>The data proved useful to the herders, too. One, Brenda Snyman, said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Now we have the numbers. We really value the skills we’ve gained in herding and data collection during the study.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Historically, herding has been an unappreciated and poorly paid profession. But with <a href="https://www.peaceparks.org/h4h/">specialised programmes</a> to train herders in animal husbandry and farm management now gaining ground, the skills and profession of herding may soon receive more recognition, while generating rural employment.</p>
<h2>The solution</h2>
<p>We must interpret our findings with caution because we were unable to account for predator and prey abundances. It is also possible that the non-herder group inflated their predation estimates during interviews. But, given the scarcity of existing information, these are exciting results that can be applied and form a basis for further research. They could also prove useful for decision-making by land users, and in policy change.</p>
<p><em>Graham Kerley, Liaan Minnie, Dave Balfour, HO de Waal and Walter van Niekerk collaborated in this research. The authors thank Emma Cummings-Krueger (Conservation International) for her help on the text.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201193/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heidi Hawkins receives funding from The National Research Foundation. She is affiliated with Conservation International, Conservation South Africa, and the University of Cape Town. </span></em></p>
Shepherding livestock may be more effective protection than killing predators.
Heidi Hawkins, Research fellow, honorary research associate, University of Cape Town
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/194590
2022-11-24T13:51:03Z
2022-11-24T13:51:03Z
Community wildlife conservation isn’t always a win-win solution: the case of Kenya’s Samburu
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496272/original/file-20221120-18-h0rj85.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A herder grazes cattle alongside wildlife in Samburu, Kenya.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Community-based wildlife conservation is often promoted as a <a href="https://www.conservation.org/places/africa">win-win solution</a>. The idea behind this approach is that the people who live close to wildlife can be involved in protecting it and have an interest in doing so. </p>
<p>This results in wildlife being protected (a win for global biodiversity) and local people benefiting from conservation through tourism revenues, jobs, or new infrastructure like schools, clinics and water supplies. </p>
<p>However, the reality of community-based wildlife conservation is sometimes less straightforward, as the experience of Kenya shows. </p>
<p>Kenya is home to spectacular wildlife, landscape and cultural resources that drive the safari tourism industry. This <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO4eVRLy24Q">brings in</a> millions of visitors – and billions of US dollars – to the country annually. Yet, Kenya’s tourist attractions face significant threats. These include <a href="https://theconversation.com/saving-east-africas-wildlife-from-recurring-drought-183844">climate change</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-us-kenya-cooperation-on-wildlife-and-drug-trafficking-matters-184070">illegal wildlife trade</a>, loss of habitat due to <a href="https://theconversation.com/kenya-has-been-trying-to-regulate-the-charcoal-sector-why-its-not-working-154383">deforestation</a> and <a href="https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/bd/data-hub/the-economic-pains-human-wildlife-conflict-3662002">human-wildlife conflict</a>. To address some of these risks, community conservancies have been established across the country. </p>
<p>Community conservancies are wildlife-protected areas established on community owned or occupied land. They make up a significant part of the wildlife protection landscape in Kenya, with implications for thousands of people. </p>
<p>There are currently <a href="https://kwcakenya.com/conservancies/status-of-wildlife-conservancies-in-kenya/">76 such spaces</a>, covering tens of thousands of square kilometres. They date back to the 1980s, but have accelerated in number and extent over the last 20 years. </p>
<p>In northern Kenya, which is characterised by a wide expanse of grasslands, most conservancies are supported by the <a href="https://www.nrt-kenya.org/">Northern Rangelands Trust</a>. This is a national NGO funded by global donors and international conservation agencies. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/kenyan-wildlife-policies-must-extend-beyond-protected-areas-127821">Kenyan wildlife policies must extend beyond protected areas</a>
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<p>It’s difficult to establish how much funding is directed to community conservancies. However, in 2020, the Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association, an umbrella body, reported that the country’s conservancies incur about <a href="https://kwcakenya.com/conservancies-receive-historic-support-from-government/">US$25 million</a> in annual operational costs. This is mostly funded through donors and, to a limited extent, the government. </p>
<p>Over 30 years of conducting anthropological fieldwork among Samburu communities in northern Kenya, I noticed that community conservation was gaining in popularity, yet there was little evidence about its operation or effects. I conducted a study to explore the issue in more detail. This research led to a <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781793650290/Conservation-and-Community-in-Kenya-Milking-the-Elephant">book</a>, which sets out the impact of conservancies on cooperation and conflict in communities. </p>
<p><a href="https://kws.go.ke/content/national-wildlife-census-2021-report">Wildlife numbers</a> in Kenya are declining, but more wild animals are found on conservancy land than in unprotected areas. While this is promising, my research found that conservancies increased human-wildlife conflict, with communities bearing the brunt of loss and injury caused by wildlife. Further, the economic benefits of community conservancies to members were minimal. </p>
<h2>The roots of community conservation</h2>
<p>Community-based conservation has its roots in the realisation that the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Natural-Connections-Perspectives-Community-Based-Conservation/dp/1559633468">“fortress” model</a> of conservation – which is the creation of parks and reserves that exclude all human use – is untenable. Wild animals require vast landscapes to thrive. They cannot be contained within the boundaries of parks. </p>
<p>Equally, when local people are excluded from parks, they are denied access to the resources they need for survival. Treating people as less important than wildlife makes them less inclined to protect wildlife. This is particularly true in a place like northern Kenya, where livestock-herding societies like the Samburu have lived in close proximity to wildlife for centuries. </p>
<p>Understanding that successful conservation depends on local populations having a stake in its success has led to efforts in Kenya to engage communities directly in conservation activities. In this approach, the community sets aside <a href="https://www.nrt-kenya.org/community-conservation-overview">part of its land</a> for conservation activities in exchange for anticipated benefits that will flow from conservation. </p>
<p>In the Samburu case, communities have set aside about 10% to 25% of their land for wildlife, and in some cases for tourism infrastructure. These conservancies are run by paid staff overseen by boards made up of community members and supported by conservation NGOs. </p>
<p>Livestock grazing is prohibited or severely restricted on this land. </p>
<p>Community conservation creates boundaries, which are policed by wildlife scouts who are often armed. Although their stated role is wildlife protection, these scouts are in fact tasked with protecting pasture from outsiders and livestock from theft. </p>
<h2>Heightened tensions</h2>
<p><a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781793650290/Conservation-and-Community-in-Kenya-Milking-the-Elephant">My research</a> involved spending a year in several Samburu conservancies. I observed how the conservancies operated and talked to members about how they felt about them. I conducted surveys to measure the costs and benefits incurred. </p>
<p>The study revealed a number of impacts of conservancies on local communities that mainly have to do with security and with funding.</p>
<p>I found that conservancies actually heightened tensions among Samburu communities. Creating zones of land use and restricting grazing makes it necessary to maintain boundaries and refuse access to non-members. This goes against Samburu norms of allowing livestock access to pasture, particularly during dry seasons and droughts. On the other hand, members of conservancies see the policing of grazing as a benefit.</p>
<p>Many times in the course of my research, I heard people refer to their Samburu neighbours outside conservancy boundaries as “outsiders” or “encroachers” who must be kept out. Conservancies resemble islands around which herders must navigate to find pasture. If and when they landed on these islands, conflicts often occurred.</p>
<p>Additionally, the amount of funding channelled to conservancies from donor organisations was relatively large compared to other sources of support. Conservancies that have tourism facilities also earn revenue from hotel contracts, bed-night charges and conservation fees. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/elephant-conservation-may-be-undermined-by-twitter-users-who-overlook-main-threats-191788">Elephant conservation may be undermined by Twitter users who overlook main threats</a>
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<p>Members perceived that there was a lot of money circulating in conservancies, controlled by the boards and staff. They reported minimal economic benefits for themselves, mostly in the form of school fees for students and sometimes an annual dividend. This fuelled suspicions among members that the money was being misused by conservancy boards and staff. </p>
<p>Suspicions of misuse of funds have resulted in bitter conflicts within the community over leadership, demands for greater public accountability and legal action.</p>
<p>These unintended consequences of community-based conservation call for more effective models. Conservation that places less emphasis on who may or may not use a piece of land, and that improves accountability, could result in better outcomes for people and for wildlife.</p>
<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p>The intentions behind community-based conservation are laudable. It aims to correct past failures, which include isolating wildlife in parks and excluding people from important survival resources. Yet, this approach brings its own set of challenges. There is a risk that if members don’t receive the kinds of benefits they have been promised, their support for conservation could decline, undermining the approach. </p>
<p>Greater engagement of members, and more accountability regarding funding and its uses would enhance confidence and ownership among members.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194590/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carolyn K. Lesorogol receives funding from the United States National Science Foundation that funded the research discussed here. </span></em></p>
Conservation that places less emphasis on who may or may not use a piece of land could result in better outcomes for people and wildlife.
Carolyn K. Lesorogol, Professor, Washington University in St. Louis
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/189117
2022-08-25T15:30:40Z
2022-08-25T15:30:40Z
Storing cattle feed can improve milk and meat yields: why African farmers aren’t doing it
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480337/original/file-20220822-53919-176vis.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A woman feeding Zebu cows in a village in Kenya.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Brittak / Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Africa’s cattle feed production is a boom-and-bust cycle. Most of the continent’s grazing lands are lush and green in the rainy season, only to wither into dry scrublands in the dry season. </p>
<p>For instance, while Burkina Faso produces an excess of <a href="https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/agj2.20955">six million tons</a> of forage a year, its Sahel livestock producing regions have a deficit of two million tons annually. </p>
<p>The quantity of food for cattle isn’t the only issue: another is its quality. Studies have shown that in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14735903.2018.1440474">Tanzania</a> the quality of forage from pasturelands declines by a fifth during the dry season. In <a href="https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/939/93924497008.pdf">Ethiopia</a> it declines by 28%. The result is a 40% decrease in milk yield. </p>
<p>Across many other countries in Africa, for example <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Awad-Abusuwar/publication/236002510_AGRICULTURE_AND_BIOLOGY_JOURNAL_OF_NORTH_AMERICA_Seasonal_variability_in_nutritive_value_of_ruminant_diets_under_open_grazing_system_in_the_semi-arid_rangeland_of_Sudan_South_Darfur_State/links/004635157d1194ed4e000000/AGRICULTURE-AND-BIOLOGY-JOURNAL-OF-NORTH-AMERICA-Seasonal-variability-in-nutritive-value-of-ruminant-diets-under-open-grazing-system-in-the-semi-arid-rangeland-of-Sudan-South-Darfur-State.pdf">Sudan</a>, <a href="https://www.lrrd.cipav.org.co/lrrd27/3/mayo27042.html">Algeria</a>, and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2989/10220119.2015.1029972">South Africa</a>, studies have shown that quality livestock feed swings from excess during rainy seasons to abrupt declines, with subsequent reduction in meat and milk and even mass death of cattle. </p>
<p>This cycle poses the question of why African herders are not preserving forage for dry season use. </p>
<p>To find an answer, <a href="https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/agj2.20954">we reviewed</a> studies and sought expert opinion about livestock feed preservation across sub-Saharan Africa. Fifteen experts representing all regions in sub-Saharan Africa participated and reviewed a total of 161 studies. </p>
<p>Our findings indicate that smallholder farmers rarely adopt forage preservation or practise it adequately. Most farmers <a href="https://agra.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/AASR-2021-A-Decade-of-Action-_Building-Sustainable-and-Resilient-Food-Systems-in-Africa.pdf#page=47">on the continent are</a> smallholder farmers.</p>
<p>Excess forage for cattle is often poorly stored, leading to waste. And forage production is lacking in the dry season.</p>
<p>There are a number of reasons for this. They include limited resources, knowledge, skills, labour, land and suitable forage. </p>
<p>Improving the diets of livestock would improve nutrition for people too. Using forage resources more efficiently could also help prevent problems like desertification and human conflict.</p>
<p>We make a number of recommendations. Firstly, that there should be major investments to increase awareness of the benefits of growing and conserving better forage, and how to do it. Secondly, that livestock production should shift from keeping large numbers of unproductive animals to smaller numbers of well-fed and highly productive animals. And lastly that better markets for feeds, animals and livestock products would create an environment for better livestock feeding practices.</p>
<h2>Hay, silage and crop residue</h2>
<p>Hay made from fresh grass is the most common type of preserved forage across Africa. Yet many technical and management problems result in low quality. Grass is often harvested after maturity instead of at the recommended time before the grass blooms. Harvesting too late greatly reduces the quality of hay. </p>
<p>Storing hay the wrong way causes the loss of nutrients and can also be physically wasteful. For example, a study in Ethiopia found that <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0140196308003601?via%3Dihub">up to 70% of the protein content of grass was lost</a> through poor outdoor storage. This can be improved using raised platforms, for example, and mixing grass with legumes. </p>
<p>Silage is a useful way to store cattle feed. It’s made by chopping grass or other plants and storing it in airtight containers to enable fermentation and preservation. Additives such as molasses enhance quality and fermentability. But this practice is rare among African farmers. The silage made tends to be low quality and prone to spoilage and moulding. </p>
<p>Most <a href="https://www.britannica.com/animal/ruminant">ruminant livestock</a> (cattle, sheep and goats) in Africa are <a href="https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/CA1718EN/">mainly fed crop residues</a> (stalks and leaves, for example), which are of very low quality. Various treatments – physical (chopping, densification, pelleting), chemical (urea treatment) and biological (micro-organism cultures) – can improve the quality and digestibility of crop residues. These techniques are critical in improving meat and milk output. Yet the additives are often expensive and techniques too complex for smallholders.</p>
<h2>Techniques to improve cattle feed</h2>
<p>African farmers rarely use the techniques that can improve their cattle feed. </p>
<p>Studies in Kenya indicate that even with concerted efforts by government and donor agencies, only <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Gideon-Munga/amp">0.5%</a> to <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Donald-Njarui/publication/291778832_Feeding_management_for_dairy_cattle_in_smallholder_farming_systems_of_semi-arid_tropical_Kenya/links/606dc1bba6fdcc5f778a9f08/Feeding-management-for-dairy-cattle-in-smallholder-farming-systems-of-semi-arid-tropical-Kenya.pdf">5.1%</a> of farmers have ever practised silage making. </p>
<p>We identified several reasons.</p>
<p>The first was a lack of awareness about how well-preserved forages could increase livestock productivity and profit. Smallholder farmers also lacked the knowledge and skills to grow the forages. </p>
<p>Studies from <a href="https://www.ijbcnet.com/2-7/IJBC-13-2309.pdf">Kenya</a>, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2989/10220119.2016.1234509">Zimbabwe</a> and <a href="https://academicjournals.org/journal/AJAR/article-full-text-pdf/688356F65258">Uganda</a> showed that farmers did not conserve forage because they did not know how to do it effectively. In turn, that was because of isolated and often ineffective livestock extension services across many African countries. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-grass-native-to-africa-could-transform-the-continents-dairy-yields-heres-how-168392">A grass native to Africa could transform the continent's dairy yields. Here's how</a>
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<p>Secondly, efforts to find solutions were hampered where farmers were not involved in research and development. For example, a forage chopper introduced in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0743016718304340?via%3Dihub">Tanzania</a> created more labour for women and the community rejected it until it was revised to account for their needs. Systemic limitations such as finances, lack of land tenure security and lack of markets hinder investment by smallholders in various technologies. </p>
<p>Thirdly, forage cultivation is uncommon. Most forage is sourced from vast areas of pasture and rangelands, with low to moderate quality, that are directly grazed by cattle. </p>
<h2>Improving farming practices</h2>
<p>To address these problems, there is a need to increase awareness, knowledge and skills of forage cultivation, processing and preservation, and of crop residue management. New smallholder-friendly inputs could include silage additives, chemical and biological crop residue treatments, affordable and effective silos, forage harvesters, choppers and compacters. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/subsidies-for-african-farmers-weve-designed-a-tool-to-guide-spending-decisions-186809">Subsidies for African farmers: we've designed a tool to guide spending decisions</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<p>A general shift in livestock production in Africa is warranted, from herding of too many poorly fed cattle towards smaller numbers of well-fed cattle. This approach is climate smart as livestock fed poorer quality diets emit relatively <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJCCSM-09-2019-0060/full/html">more greenhouse gases</a> than those fed higher quality diets. </p>
<p>With such improvements to their feed, livestock in Africa could play a greater role in reducing hunger across the continent. </p>
<p><em>This article was prepared in collaboration with Jim W. Harper, communications manager, University of Florida, and Adegbola Adesogan, director, Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems, University of Florida.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189117/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mulubrhan Gebremikael runs a project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in collaboration with USAID.</span></em></p>
Improving the diets of livestock in Africa provides a rapid pathway to increasing nutrition for people.
Mulubrhan Gebremikael, Researcher, University of Florida
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/183692
2022-05-31T14:31:13Z
2022-05-31T14:31:13Z
How to make your lawn wildlife friendly all year round – tips from an ecologist
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466022/original/file-20220530-20-s2bxse.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4998%2C3401&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/beautiful-common-blue-butterfly-polyommatus-icarus-1984636076">Sandra Standbridge/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Alongside the worrying current fad <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/04/growth-in-artificial-lawns-poses-threat-to-british-wildlife-conservationists-warn">for plastic grass</a>, a growing number of people are choosing to let their <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/02/25/emerging-pattern-rewilding-gardens-set-boost-butterfly-numbers/">lawns grow wild</a> in order to encourage a more diverse range of plants and insects to live in them. </p>
<p>You may not be convinced of the beauty of a wild and unruly garden, but there is a sweet spot to be found between a rewilded jungle and a sterile green desert which not only looks good but provides a <a href="https://theconversation.com/four-steps-to-make-your-lawn-a-wildlife-haven-from-green-desert-to-miniature-rainforest-117482">haven for wildlife</a>. This is especially important in the UK, where 97% of semi-natural grassland has been <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0006320787901212">destroyed over the last 80 years</a>. </p>
<p>I’m an ecologist specialised in the study of this kind of habitat, and I want to help you get the most out of it. One simple compromise you can make is to put off when you first get the lawn mower out each year. A campaign by conservation charity <a href="https://www.plantlife.org.uk/wales">Plantlife</a> called <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nomowmay">#NoMowMay</a> asks people with lawns to hold off the first cut until June, which allows grasses and herbs time to flower and set seed.</p>
<p>But if you want to maintain a wildlife-friendly lawn throughout the year, without letting your garden become completely overgrown, here’s some advice for what else you can do.</p>
<p>To find a happy medium, some mowing may be necessary. This halts the ecological processes which would otherwise transform a grass lawn into a woodland over time. By varying the height at which you mow different areas of your lawn and how often you do it (simulating the effect of different herbivores grazing in the wild), you can create a mix of conditions which benefit a variety of species. </p>
<p>Areas cut short will favour daisies, which flower in profusion and offer a nectar buffet to bees and butterflies. Unkempt areas left uncut for a year suit a wider variety of flowers, tempting a diverse cast of bugs and other creatures into your garden.</p>
<p>In experiments on his own garden in Kent, Charles Darwin <a href="http://darwin-online.org.uk/Variorum/1869/1869-79-c-1860.html">recorded</a> that refraining from mowing turf for too long resulted in fewer species overall, because:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>the more vigorous plants gradually kill the less vigorous … thus out of 20 species growing on a little plot of turf (three feet by four) nine species perished from the other species being allowed to grow up freely.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another key thing to think about is the level of nutrients the lawn receives. Even if you have never succumbed to the lawn feed products heavily promoted in most garden centres, your lawn will get a sufficient dose of fertiliser from <a href="https://unece.org/reactive-nitrogen">reactive nitrogen</a> carried on the wind. </p>
<p>The purpose of mowing in a natural grassland should be to mimic grazing by animals. And to do that, you have to remove the clippings otherwise the nutrients they carry will soak back into the soil.</p>
<p>Fungi and bacteria decompose dead plant material and return those nutrients to plants in a lawn through networks of mycorrhizal fungi in the soil. Regular mows which dump the cuttings and overload the soil with nutrients drive a stick through the spokes of this cycle by devaluing the currency of the nitrogen and phosphorus fungi deliver. Clumps of cut grass can also <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2403767?seq=1">smother small seedlings</a>.</p>
<p>At unnaturally high soil nutrient levels (common in lawns mown and topped with the clippings regularly), the vegetation is dominated by a small number of fast-growing, weedy species. As Darwin found, this prevents a rich community of wildflowers from taking shape. Soil with low nutrient levels favours not only more species, but also <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S143917912100030X">healthy soil food webs</a>.</p>
<p>At the <a href="http://www.era.rothamsted.ac.uk/Park">Rothamsted Park Grass</a> experiment in Hertfordshire, scientists have studied the effects of annual haycutting since 1860, making it the oldest field experiment in the world. When fertiliser was evenly applied to some plots, it reduced the number of plant species <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365-2745.2006.01145.x">from 40 to fewer than five</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A blue rake on a wooden stick collects grass cuttings in a pile." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466020/original/file-20220530-22-njuz7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466020/original/file-20220530-22-njuz7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466020/original/file-20220530-22-njuz7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466020/original/file-20220530-22-njuz7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466020/original/file-20220530-22-njuz7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466020/original/file-20220530-22-njuz7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466020/original/file-20220530-22-njuz7u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Grass cuttings inundate soils with more nutrients than a diverse community of plants needs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/blue-rake-on-wooden-stick-collecting-391503748">Ekaterina Pankina/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Autumn fruiting</h2>
<p>You also want to consider the time of year. Mow sparingly and leave grass long in summer to create diverse plant and insect communities in the warmest months. A lawn left uncut until late July, as in a traditional hay meadow, will favour the greatest variety of flowers. But cut it short in autumn to foster conditions for mushrooms fruiting as the year winds down.</p>
<p>Soil organisms and their hidden lives are badly neglected in nature conservation. Among the most overlooked are grassland macrofungi, so named because they are large enough to be visible to the naked eye. My favourites are the brightly coloured waxcaps. These <a href="http://www.aber.ac.uk/waxcap/downloads/griffith-waxcapbritishwildlife04.pdf">film stars of the fungal world</a> are restricted to undisturbed grasslands where <a href="https://sfamjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1462-2920.14327">soil nutrient concentrations are low</a>.</p>
<p>The British Isles is a global hotspot for these fungi, but they are threatened by habitat loss. 11 species found in the UK were assessed by <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/search?query=waxcap&searchType=species">international experts</a> as vulnerable – the same extinction risk faced by the panda and snow leopard.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Three pink mushrooms with split edges in grass." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466017/original/file-20220530-16-4stk64.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466017/original/file-20220530-16-4stk64.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466017/original/file-20220530-16-4stk64.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466017/original/file-20220530-16-4stk64.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466017/original/file-20220530-16-4stk64.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466017/original/file-20220530-16-4stk64.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466017/original/file-20220530-16-4stk64.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Pink ballerina mushrooms in an Aberystwyth garden. This species is considered globally vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Gareth Griffith</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320711004241">study by my research group</a> showed that waxcaps need the turf to be short (8cm tall at most) in the autumn, but that their most prolific fruiting occurred when the grass was left uncut until mid-July. Waxcaps grow slowly and are long-lived, but with late cuts and the removal of clippings to lower soil nutrient levels, it is likely that <a href="https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/hygrocybe-conica.php">the first waxcaps</a> will return within a decade.</p>
<p>To sum up, delay mowing until midsummer, keep your lawn free of clippings and leave patches more unkempt for longer to please butterflies and bees. But give it regular trims from August onwards to encourage globally rare mushrooms. You’ll then see that grasslands are diverse and dynamic habitats just waiting to be unleashed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183692/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gareth Griffith has received funding from the charities Woodland Trust and Plantlife.</span></em></p>
Plus, why you should always remove grass cuttings from your lawn.
Gareth Griffith, Professor of Fungal Ecology, Aberystwyth University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/170726
2021-10-28T15:26:54Z
2021-10-28T15:26:54Z
Climate change is already hitting Africa’s livestock - here’s how to address the risks
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428789/original/file-20211027-25-z30sli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A herd of cows returning from a drinking hole in Amboseli, Kenya.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> Buena Vista Images/GettyImages</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s a common scene across many African countries’ rural areas: cows grazing peacefully. But, by 2050, heat stress induced by climate change may drastically alter this familiar picture.</p>
<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gcb.15825">Findings</a> from the International Livestock Research Institute show that, unless massive adaptation measures are put in place, the number of extreme heat events driven by climate change – especially in the continent’s tropics – will increase. Poultry and pigs <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gcb.15825">already face</a> major heat stress challenges in many regions of the tropics where they are currently raised. The same is true for all five major domesticated species in large swathes of West Africa, where heat stress is likely to make it nearly impossible for livestock to be kept outdoors. </p>
<p>Heat stress is likely to be only the beginning of the problems. Not enough is known about likely future impacts of increased climate variability on feed and forages, grazing area and water, or about shifts in climate-sensitive diseases and disease vectors and their impacts on livestock.</p>
<p>Even <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.15825">under</a> relatively mild but realistic climate scenarios, it will be necessary to reconfigure and relocate agricultural systems. This will have profound consequences for people’s nutrition and well-being. Livelihoods will be threatened. The livestock sector <a href="https://www.giz.de/en/downloads/Future%20scenarios%20for%20livestock%20systems%20in%20Africa_CCAFS_2020.pdf">contributes</a> about 30-50% of agricultural GDP and supports the food security and livelihoods of about one-third of Africa’s population, or about 350 million people.</p>
<p>Livestock tends to be viewed merely as part of the climate change problem. Research focuses on mitigating the harms livestock causes. Some of these harms are very real: livestock emissions, particularly from cattle, <a href="https://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/197623/icode/">are responsible for</a> a significant fraction of the gases that contribute to global warming worldwide. But sub-Saharan Africa <a href="https://www.fao.org/gleam/results/en/">accounts</a> for only a small part of those emissions.</p>
<p>In the developing world, these harms are more than balanced by the good they do. Livestock provides livelihoods, nutrition and cultural capital. How, then, do we adapt to the challenges the sector faces and capitalise on the opportunities it presents? </p>
<h2>Threats to livestock</h2>
<p>Projections <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/10568/111738">show</a> that, in the coming years, heat stress in animals will occur more frequently and for longer periods. This will affect milk and meat productivity for cattle, small ruminants (like goats and sheep), pigs and poultry across East Africa. This will make much of the region unsuitable for exotic pig, poultry and cattle production – animals whose productivity is easily compromised by heat stress.</p>
<p>Rising heat and humidity are already <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/10568/106482">causing a drop</a> in Tanzanian dairy cattle’s milk yields, hitting the income of smallholder dairy farmers.</p>
<p>In Uganda, <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/10568/110342">heat stress levels</a> are high and increasing. By the end of the century over 90% of Ugandan districts will experience severe heat stress, putting the livelihoods of pig producers and sustainability of the pig sector as a whole at risk. The pig sector <a href="https://cgspace.cgiar.org/handle/10568/115255">provides</a> a source of income to more than 2 million households in Uganda, and the country has the highest per capita consumption of pork in east Africa.</p>
<h2>Addressing the risks</h2>
<p>The International Livestock Research Institute has started to address these risks in various ways. </p>
<ul>
<li><p>The <a href="https://cgspace.cgiar.org/handle/10568/105755">Index Based Livestock Insurance programme</a> protects livestock keepers in drought-prone arid and semi-arid lands in Kenya and Ethiopia from climate-related losses. Unlike traditional insurance programmes, which pay out on the loss of the animal, it is tied to climatic conditions – such as the amount of rainfall and distribution of pasture availability – over a season. By tying the payouts to objective criteria, the programme avoids the moral hazards of traditional insurance programmes while giving herders the resources to help their animals survive periods of sustained crisis.</p></li>
<li><p>Rangeland ecology in East and West Africa rationalises land use and protect livelihoods. Community land management programmes help resolve conflicts between land users. </p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-021-00226-8">Recent modelling</a> of heat stress impacts is one of our efforts to understand the impacts of climate change.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Farmers we’re working with are also making the necessary local adaptations.</p>
<p>In Ethiopia’s arid pastoral Afar region, pastoralists are experiencing increased flooding and drought and an overall shift in seasonal weather patterns. In response, they are shifting from large to small ruminants, and changing their grazing and feed management systems. </p>
<p>In Kenya’s central rift valley, farmers who practise mixed crop and dairy farming have begun to experiment with different feed production and preservation strategies to overcome feed shortages in the prolonged dry seasons.</p>
<p>But this is a fraction of what is needed. More must be done to work with governments and help livestock keepers across the continent meet the challenge of adaptation. </p>
<h2>Moving forward</h2>
<p>Building climate-resilient livestock systems to cope with these challenges requires concerted, coordinated action from investors and policymakers at the national and global levels. This will need to be informed by a solid research base that scientists have only started to assemble with the minimal funds allocated so far.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, because of donor priorities, most research attention to date has focused on mitigating the contributions of livestock production to climate change rather than <a href="https://cgspace.cgiar.org/bitstream/handle/10568/101605/climateChangeBrief1.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y">adapting to its consequences</a> – even though the priority in African countries is adaptation. Where there has been adaptation research, it has focused <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/10568/101605">primarily on</a> climate-induced impacts on cropping systems rather than on livestock.</p>
<p>Researchers need to develop a toolbox of effective adaptation practices, technologies and policies that are robust across different scales, priorities and climate futures. They must also work with funders and governments to prioritise investments in the livestock sector. It’s not just technical inputs that are needed, but institutional change in the way that livestock are viewed by funders and governments. This will require a considerable evidence base.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, we are very far from these goals and not nearly enough resources are being devoted to achieving them. Consider that between 2012 and 2017, US$185.8 billion was dedicated to climate-related development projects worldwide, <a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/35495">with only</a> 0.57% (about US$1 billion) devoted to the livestock sector. </p>
<p>The cost of livestock mitigation and adaptation actions for the next five years is estimated in the billions of dollars, much of that to be supported by partners in the form of finance, technology development and transfer and capacity building.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170726/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Polly Ericksen receives funding from USAID, BMZ, FCDO, the World Bank, and the CGIAR System Council through the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and the CGIAR Research Program on Livestock AgriFood Systems.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura Cramer receives funding from BMZ and the CGIAR System Council through the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). </span></em></p>
African livestock keepers need help: without proactive interventions, increasing temperatures will reduce meat and milk production.
Polly Ericksen, Program Leader, Sustainable Livestock Systems, International Livestock Research Institute
Laura Cramer, Graduate Fellow, International Livestock Research Institute
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/166999
2021-09-26T08:33:42Z
2021-09-26T08:33:42Z
Mali’s elephants show how people and nature can share space in a complex world
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/421950/original/file-20210918-27-14cfalo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A herd of elephants in Mali.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Carlton Ward Jr</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The challenge of conserving wildlife while meeting the many needs of humans is a complex one. Some policymakers don’t see how economies can grow while still making space for wildlife. Others understand that conservation must make space for people, but it’s difficult to do in practice. </p>
<p>The issues involved in the coexistence of humans and wildlife are interconnected and can’t be broken down into small, predictable, manageable parts.</p>
<p>Recognising the uncertainty that arises from multiple relationships could help to make conservation more effective.</p>
<p>An example is provided by the “desert-adapted” elephants of Mali. These 250 to 300 animals are among the last of an elephant population that once stretched across the Sahel. They’re now reduced to tiny refuges due to the intrusion of human activities. </p>
<p>The Mali elephants have been excluded, since the 1970s, from the rich resources of the <a href="https://www.ramsar.org/sites/default/files/documents/library/wwd2004_rpt_mali_press_e.pdf">inner delta</a> by increasing human pressure. And their numbers have almost been halved by the poaching that accompanied the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Mali/2012-coup-and-warfare-in-the-north">lawlessness</a> of the 2012 coup. These animals have adapted by migrating annually over a vast, arid area to follow the availability of water and food, and to avoid human activity.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00139157.2021.1871292">Our work</a> as the Mali Elephant Project began with three years (2003-2006) of studying the elephants and their migration to understand the threats. We did this using GPS collar data provided by Save the Elephants. But it was difficult to see how a small organisation with no resources could intervene over such a large area (about 32,000km2) which was inhabited by people. </p>
<p>A better understanding of local attitudes and livelihoods helped us see the problem as part of a complex social-ecological system. In turn, that suggested ways to promote sustainable change. The results have continued to surprise. And the insights gleaned may be of use in delivering the <a href="https://www.cbd.int/conferences/post2020">Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework</a> and supporting the achievement of the <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">Sustainable Development Goals</a>. </p>
<h2>Developing the intervention model</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00139157.2021.1871292">Our work</a> understood the threat to elephants to be as a result of a system of relationships between people and their living and non-living environments. </p>
<p>We looked for points in the complex system of relationships where a small action might make a big impact. The idea was to identify “assets” – aspects of the system that favoured the elephants – and link these to reinforce each other. Assets ranged from individuals, organisations, and features of the environment to laws and traditions. At the same time we wanted to diminish aspects that were a threat.</p>
<p>This broader view provided more “pathways”, more scope for discovering solutions and compromises.</p>
<p>The human environment was complex. Multiple ethnicities and livelihoods coexisted. Nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoralists shared space and water with settled farmers.<br>
Clearing land for agriculture removed elephant habitat and obstructed access to water. This made crops vulnerable to trampling and hungry elephants. Ever-increasing numbers of cattle put pressure on water sources, soils and vegetation.</p>
<p>We found that local people valued Mali’s elephants for multiple reasons – most strikingly because “if elephants disappear it means the environment is no longer good for us”. </p>
<p>People also understood that human activity needed to respect environmental limits. Yet despite this, the environment was clearly degraded and over-exploited.</p>
<p>Further in-depth studies found that 96% of the cattle in the study area belonged to distant wealthy urbanites. They invested in cattle and sent them into more remote areas to find pasture and water. Many other natural resources (such as firewood, charcoal, game and wild foods) were also harvested by urban commercial interests. </p>
<p>And although each ethnic group sharing the area had its own systems to manage natural resources sustainably, they were reluctant to respect the enforcement systems of other groups. The result was shared resources such as pasture and forest being depleted by individual users for their immediate benefit. </p>
<h2>Searching for solutions</h2>
<p>In 2010 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4DuL6Zj2cc">the project</a> brought together the local communities to discuss these findings. Once unified around a shared understanding of the problems, they proposed a solution that also respected the needs of elephants. Their solution was modelled on traditional governance systems. A committee of elders set the rules of resource use and teams of young “ecoguards” would patrol to ensure the rules were respected. The ecoguards also conducted activities such as building firebreaks and planting trees.</p>
<p>The protection of an area of pasture with firebreaks meant, for example, that abundant pasture was available close by. People could sell fodder and grazing or water access rights. Their own animals were healthier and more productive and valuable. The protection of forest from exploitation by outsiders meant wood, forage, wild foods, medicines and other forest products could generate income from schemes managed by women’s associations. This approach was possible because Mali’s <a href="https://dgct.gouv.ml/la-region-de-tombouctou-a/">decentralisation legislation</a> puts natural resource management in the hands of local communities.</p>
<p>The conflict and lawlessness that have afflicted the area since 2012 presented huge challenges. The combination of a resurgence of Tuareg separatism, a military coup and a jihadist insurgency caused government to retreat from the north and centre of Mali. </p>
<p>Despite these challenges, applying a complexity perspective to a problem of elephant conservation helped address several problems simultaneously. </p>
<p>Elephants avoided areas where they were poached and where armed groups were present. This pushed them into more populated areas where we could use the model to mitigate conflict. </p>
<h2>Results</h2>
<p>The approach helps elephants and humans to live together peaceably. It has also improved local livelihoods through more abundant natural resources. The collective nature of the solutions improved social cohesion because people had to work together to realise the benefits. </p>
<p>As one community ecoguard observed during a recent survey, “when you sit around the fire talking, having worked together all day, you realise that we all have the same problems”. It has also countered youth unemployment by providing socially respected occupations in the restoration of ecosystems and biodiversity. </p>
<p>The resilience of the project in the face of insecurity seems to have been achieved because it was rooted in local and inclusive systems to solve local problems. </p>
<p>The approach has relevance for the <a href="https://www.cbd.int/conferences/post2020">Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework</a> to be agreed at the next Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2022, and its aim for a shared vision of living in harmony with nature by 2050.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/166999/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Canney receives funding from the European Union, the Global Environment Facility, the Canadian and UK governments through the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), the International Conservation Fund of Canada, Tusk Trust. She is a member of the IUCN African Elephant Specialist Group, a Trustee of Tusk Trust, a member of the Tusk conservation awards judging panel, and a member of the Sahara Conservation Fund's science committee.</span></em></p>
Elephants avoided areas where others were poached.
Susan Canney, Research Associate & Director Mali Elephant Project (WILD Foundation/ICFC), University of Oxford
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/137948
2020-06-02T14:00:55Z
2020-06-02T14:00:55Z
Rewilding: rare birds return when livestock grazing has stopped
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338915/original/file-20200601-95009-ofa7la.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/black-grouse-flying-sunrise-101638390">Erik Mandre/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>After a particularly long week of computer based work on my PhD, all I wanted was to hike somewhere exciting with a rich wildlife. A friend commiserated with me – I was based at Newcastle University at the time, and this particular friend wasn’t keen on the UK’s wilderness, its moorlands and bare uplands, compared to the large tracts of woodland and tropical forests that can be found more readily abroad.</p>
<p>Luckily, I count myself among many who are charmed by the rolling heather moorlands and sheep grazed uplands, whose colours change beautifully with the seasons. But my friend had a point – there is something very different about many of the UK’s national parks compared to those found in much of the rest of the world: the British uplands are hardly the <a href="https://theconversation.com/pristine-landscapes-havent-existed-for-thousands-of-years-says-new-study-60583">natural wilderness</a> that many perceive. </p>
<p>These upland habitats are in fact far from what they would have been had they remained unaffected by human activity. In particular, grazing by livestock has been carried out for centuries. In the long run, this stops new trees from establishing, and in turn reduces the depth of soil layers, making the conditions for new vegetation to establish even more difficult. Instead of the woodlands that would <a href="https://content.sciendo.com/view/journals/jlecol/7/2/article-p5.xml?product=sciendo">once have covered</a> large areas of the uplands, Britain is largely characterised by rolling hills of open grass and moorlands.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pristine-landscapes-havent-existed-for-thousands-of-years-says-new-study-60583">'Pristine' landscapes haven't existed for thousands of years, says new study</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Government policy has long been to keep these rolling hills looking largely as they do now. But the future of the British uplands is uncertain. Regulations and government policy strongly influences land management, and the biodiversity associated with it. In fact, the management required to maintain British upland landscapes as they are now – management that largely involves grazing by sheep – is only possible through large subsidies. And due to Brexit, this may change. A new agricultural policy will soon replace the <a href="https://www.debatingeurope.eu/focus/arguments-for-and-against-the-common-agricultural-policy/#.XsJ1AWgzbIU">often-criticised</a> Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338827/original/file-20200601-95042-1ijxn4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338827/original/file-20200601-95042-1ijxn4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338827/original/file-20200601-95042-1ijxn4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338827/original/file-20200601-95042-1ijxn4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338827/original/file-20200601-95042-1ijxn4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338827/original/file-20200601-95042-1ijxn4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338827/original/file-20200601-95042-1ijxn4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Forest of Bowland, Lancashire.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/narrow-country-lane-winds-through-deep-1615614211">Joe Dunckley/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>What this will look like remains unclear. There are a range of competing interests in the uplands. Some wish to rewild vast swathes of the land, while others want to intensify farming, forestry and other commercial interests. The rewilders tap into the increased interest in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/21/rewild-quarter-uk-fight-climate-crisis-campaigners-urge">restoring natural woodland</a> due to its potential in carbon uptake, increased biodiversity and reintroduction of extinct species such as wolves and lynxes, while some farmers argue that this will be <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-49186349">bad for the economy</a>. The UK stands at a crossroads, and interests are rapidly diverging.</p>
<p>Whatever path is taken will obviously have an impact on the unique assemblages of upland plants and animals, many of which are internationally important. But upland birds and biodiversity have for a long time been on the decline. Whether rewilding is the answer to this or not has long been debated: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/25/the-end-of-farming-rewilding-intensive-agriculture-food-safety">some claim</a> that we need to stop grazing animals to allow the natural habitat to reassert itself, while <a href="https://www.farminguk.com/news/green-groups-must-take-share-of-blame-for-curlew-decline_51878.html">others claim</a> that some species, such as curlews, rely on such grazing practises for their survival.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288776/original/file-20190820-170910-8bv1s7.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption"></span>
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<p><strong><em>This article is part of Conversation Insights</em></strong>
<br><em>The Insights team generates <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/insights-series-71218">long-form journalism</a> derived from interdisciplinary research. The team is working with academics from different backgrounds who have been engaged in projects aimed at tackling societal and scientific challenges.</em> </p>
<hr>
<p>But our new research, published in the British Ecological Society’s Journal of Applied Ecology, provides the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13647">first experimental evidence</a> to our knowledge, that stopping livestock grazing can increase the number of breeding upland bird species in the long term, including birds of high conservation importance, such as <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/black-grouse/">black grouse</a> and <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/cuckoo/">cuckoo</a>. This is interesting, as it is often argued that land abandonment can result in <a href="https://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/blog/bbc-breakfast-debate">lower biodiversity</a> and that livestock grazing is essential for maintaining it. </p>
<p>Our research shows that, depending on how the uplands are managed, there will be bird “winners” and “losers”, but overall when sheep have gone the number of bird species returning increases.</p>
<h2>A subsidised landscape</h2>
<p>Before going into the research itself, it’s important to consider the history of British upland land management. Truly “natural” habitats in the UK are few and relatively small. Deciduous woodland, and to a lesser extent coniferous forests, used to cover most of the British uplands below the treeline. For example, only about <a href="https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/research/management-of-upland-native-woodlands/upland-native-woodland-types-and-area-covered-by-management-of-upland-native-woodlands-research/">1% of the native pine forests</a> that once covered 1.5 million hectares (15,000km²) of the Scottish Highlands remain today.</p>
<p>These woodlands provided homes for charismatic species such as pine marten, red squirrel and osprey, together with now extinct species such as lynx and bears. But centuries of farming has shaped most of the upland landscape to what it is today: a predominantly bare landscape dominated by moorlands, rough grasslands, peatlands and other low vegetation.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338828/original/file-20200601-95054-yxumjf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338828/original/file-20200601-95054-yxumjf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338828/original/file-20200601-95054-yxumjf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338828/original/file-20200601-95054-yxumjf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338828/original/file-20200601-95054-yxumjf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338828/original/file-20200601-95054-yxumjf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338828/original/file-20200601-95054-yxumjf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bothy ruins above Haweswater, the Lake District, England.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bothy-ruins-above-haweswater-lake-district-434561275">Michael Conrad/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These marginal areas tend to have low financial profitability for those who farm the land. And so a range of other activities, such as grouse shooting and commercial forestry, exist to boost rural community incomes.</p>
<p>Despite their low profitability, however, many grazed areas are considered to represent “high nature value” farming. This seems paradoxical, but basically means they are considered important as habitats to protected species benefiting from open upland landscapes. One such species is <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/curlew/">the iconic curlew</a>.</p>
<p>Because farming is tough in the uplands and it’s a struggle to make a profit, landowners receive, and often rely on, subsidies to maintain their farms. The form of these subsidies has changed over time, in line with the current perception of appropriate land management for food production. At the moment, the scale of these subsidies are based on the size of the farm, but they also require that the farmer maintains the land in a <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/key-policies/common-agricultural-policy/income-support/income-support-explained_en">good agricultural state</a>. This leaves little room for shrubs or trees, except along field edges, especially in England where there is no financial support for <a href="https://www.adas.uk/News/the-potential-of-agroforestry-in-uk-agriculture">agroforestry</a> (where trees are integrated in agricultural land).</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-massive-effort-needs-to-be-put-into-growing-trees-on-farms-106729">Why massive effort needs to be put into growing trees on farms</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But these subsidies will soon no longer be allocated through the EU – and so it’s time to reconsider what kind of land management should be supported. It seems sensible to consider introducing financial support for other land management types, such as reforestation, natural regeneration or wildflower meadows. Such habitats have other public and nature conservation benefits.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338829/original/file-20200601-95042-1o0p2sw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338829/original/file-20200601-95042-1o0p2sw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338829/original/file-20200601-95042-1o0p2sw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338829/original/file-20200601-95042-1o0p2sw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338829/original/file-20200601-95042-1o0p2sw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338829/original/file-20200601-95042-1o0p2sw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338829/original/file-20200601-95042-1o0p2sw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The curlew.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/curlew-scientific-name-numenius-arquata-adult-1407728732">Coatesy/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s not just farming and aesthetics that are at stake here. Challenges such as climate change and air pollution should also inform how financial support for appropriate land management is managed. For example, floods are <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/how-much-flooding-is-in-the-uks-future-a-look-at-the-ipcc-report">predicted</a> to become more common as the climate gets warmer. Reforestation can help to diminish <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35777927">floods</a>, the roots channelling water <a href="https://www.charteredforesters.org/2017/06/trees-can-reduce-floods/">down through the soil</a> instead of letting it run off the land. Re-establishment of woodlands can also <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200504-which-trees-reduce-air-pollution-best">improve air quality</a>: the leaves absorb harmful gases such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide.</p>
<p>But rewilding, or any form of restructuring land management, can be costly. It therefore needs to be based on the best scientific evidence, preferably from <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/25097498?seq=1">well-designed experimental research studies</a>. In controlled experimental studies, the cause for any effects found can more easily be determined, as opposed to observational studies, which risk being biased by other, confounding, factors. But due to the cost and complexity of maintaining them, long-term, experimentally manipulated land use studies are rare, and with it the necessary evidence base for long-term management decisions.</p>
<h2>Experimental grazing</h2>
<p>I’ve been lucky to be involved in one such long-term experiment. The <a href="https://www.hutton.ac.uk/research/groups/ecological%20sciences/research%20facilities/glen-finglas-grazing">Glen Finglas experiment</a>, managed by the James Hutton Institute, was set up in 2002 in Scotland’s Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. The experiment examines the long-term ecological impacts of different livestock grazing intensity levels on plants, arthropods (insects and spiders), birds and mammals. These grazing levels reflect the conventional stocking rate in the region at the start of the experiment (about three ewes per ha), low intensity grazing at a third of the conventional stocking rate (with sheep only or both sheep and cattle), or no grazing at all. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338820/original/file-20200601-95065-pibvcy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338820/original/file-20200601-95065-pibvcy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338820/original/file-20200601-95065-pibvcy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338820/original/file-20200601-95065-pibvcy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338820/original/file-20200601-95065-pibvcy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338820/original/file-20200601-95065-pibvcy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338820/original/file-20200601-95065-pibvcy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Glen FInglas Estate.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">© Lisa Malm</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The experiment has six replicates of four grazing treatments and covers around 0.75km² of land, with 12km of fencing. This may not seem large, but in experimental terms, it is. According to Robin Pakeman, a researcher at the James Hutton Institute who manages the project, the experiment constitutes “an unrivalled resource to understand how grazing impacts on a whole range of organisms”.</p>
<p>Since the start, the Glen Finglas experiment has shown that grazing intensity affects plants and <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2007.01378.x">the amount of insects and spiders</a>. The highest amount of plants, insects and spiders were found in the ungrazed areas. This was not too surprising as grazing livestock removes vegetation, which results in reduced habitat conditions for insects and spiders overall (although some species benefit from grazing).</p>
<p>There have also been studies on <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10021-013-9731-7">carbon storage</a>, <a href="https://esj-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1007/s10144-013-0398-x">vole abundances</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1146609X13000337?via%3Dihub">fox activity</a> within the experiment. These have shown higher carbon storage and higher fox activity in the ungrazed areas. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, the research on birds within this experiment has, from the start, focused on <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/meadow-pipit/">meadow pipits</a>. These small, brown birds are the “house sparrows of the uplands”, yet often go unnoticed. But they are the most common upland bird and an important part of upland food webs, forming key prey for birds of prey such as hen harriers and a common host for cuckoos. The experiment has provided unique insights into the ecology of this fascinating little bird, and a much clearer understanding of how it is affected by grazing.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338813/original/file-20200601-95013-13a527n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338813/original/file-20200601-95013-13a527n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338813/original/file-20200601-95013-13a527n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338813/original/file-20200601-95013-13a527n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338813/original/file-20200601-95013-13a527n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338813/original/file-20200601-95013-13a527n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338813/original/file-20200601-95013-13a527n.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Meadow pipit at Glen Finglas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">© Matthieu Paquet</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In just the first two to three years, it became clear that meadow pipits could be affected by grazing intensity. My PhD supervisor, Darren Evans, found that the <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2006.0543">breeding density</a> and <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2005.0335">egg size</a> were both positively affected by low intensity mixed cattle and sheep grazing. But there were no differences in how many meadow pipit chicks were produced and fledged between the grazing treatments, at least not in the very early phase of the experiment. </p>
<p>I wanted to test whether these results changed in the longer term. Together with colleagues from Newcastle University, the British Trust for Ornithology, The James Hutton Institute and The University of Aberdeen, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13647">we looked at</a> whether 12 years of continuous experimental grazing management had affected the breeding success of meadow pipits.</p>
<p>We assumed that low intensity grazing, compared to high intensity or no grazing, was most beneficial for pipit breeding productivity. We found the low intensity grazed areas did indeed seem to be better for meadow pipits, but the effects were not clear enough to be statistically significant. And there seemed to be potentially more important factors, such as predation, affecting their breeding outcome. </p>
<p>But although we did not initially set out to test it, we found other, more significant, effects on the wider bird community.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338817/original/file-20200601-95049-1ngsg4c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338817/original/file-20200601-95049-1ngsg4c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338817/original/file-20200601-95049-1ngsg4c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338817/original/file-20200601-95049-1ngsg4c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338817/original/file-20200601-95049-1ngsg4c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338817/original/file-20200601-95049-1ngsg4c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338817/original/file-20200601-95049-1ngsg4c.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Willow warbler in an ungrazed area.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">© Lisa Malm</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Unexpected findings</h2>
<p>When the experiment started, there were almost no bird species other than meadow pipits in and around the treatment areas, hence the focus on them. But in 2015, while looking for meadow pipit nests, we came across a few other beautiful nests in the low intensity grazed areas. These nests had colourful blue eggs or eggs that appeared to have been painted with dark brown watercolour paint. These turned out to be <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/stonechat/">stonechat</a> and <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/reed-bunting/">reed bunting</a> eggs, two bird species that had not previously been seen in the experiment.</p>
<p>Later on, we saw that they had fledged successfully: the parents would call them to warn about human intruders. If we didn’t get too close, the newly fledged young would curiously nudge their heads up through the vegetation. By this stage of the experiment – 12 years in – the vegetation had actually become quite dense and high in the ungrazed and some of the low intensity grazed areas. </p>
<p>We also detected several <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/black-grouse/">black grouse</a> nests, mainly in the ungrazed areas. Most of them were already hatched, but one had a female who bravely stayed put on her eggs every time we visited this area until they hatched. </p>
<p>Another great discovery was when we found a meadow pipit nest with one egg that seemed oddly big in comparison to the rest of the clutch. We were really excited to realise that it had been visited by a <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/cuckoo/">cuckoo</a> that had laid an egg there, which hadn’t happened during the early years of nest monitoring in the experiment. This egg had a brown spotted pattern which was fascinatingly similar to the meadow pipit eggs. (As exciting as this all may seem, nest searching should only be carried out under permit. I also had a <a href="https://www.bto.org/our-science/projects/ringing">bird ringing permit</a> covering my research activities).</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338814/original/file-20200601-95054-13v9nya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338814/original/file-20200601-95054-13v9nya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338814/original/file-20200601-95054-13v9nya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338814/original/file-20200601-95054-13v9nya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338814/original/file-20200601-95054-13v9nya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338814/original/file-20200601-95054-13v9nya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338814/original/file-20200601-95054-13v9nya.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cuckoo at Glen Finglas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">© Lisa Malm</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Thanks to all these encounters, we decided to test how the different grazing treatments affected the species richness of breeding birds. Over the first two years, we found that there was basically no difference. But another decade on and there were <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13647">clearly more bird species</a> found in the ungrazed areas compared to the other experimental plots.</p>
<h2>A fractious debate</h2>
<p>It was not only bird species richness that needed time to respond to the change in grazing management. Although plant structure responded early, it was not until 2017 – 14 years since the experiment began – that an <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1365-2664.13420">effect on plant species richness</a> could be detected. In this case, the variety of species was greater in the intensively grazed areas, probably because the livestock holds back <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-47635-1">fast-growing plants from dominating</a>. Whether this would remain the same in another decade is far from clear.</p>
<p>The ungrazed areas in our study, meanwhile, showed more shrub and tall-growing plants after a bit more than a decade. There were also patches of deciduous tree species, which were not there when the experiment commenced.</p>
<p>Rewilding is such a fractious debate because of the difficulty in obtaining solid scientific evidence on which to base decisions. It takes a very long time – far longer than our political cycles, most research studies, perhaps even a lifetime – to determine what the ultimate effects of large scale land management on the environment are. In our experiment, changes have been very slow. Pakeman explained to me that this is partly expected in cold and infertile habitats but another reason for slow responses is that plant communities exist in a sort of “mosaic”, with each community having a different preference for the grazers. He continued:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The long history of grazing has meant that the most highly preferred communities show little response to grazing removal as they have lost species capable of responding to this change.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There is no one management practice which creates the perfect environment. Some bird species (skylark and snipe) were only found in grazed areas. Other species were more abundant in the ungrazed areas. There is no one size fits all.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338818/original/file-20200601-95024-16psine.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338818/original/file-20200601-95024-16psine.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338818/original/file-20200601-95024-16psine.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338818/original/file-20200601-95024-16psine.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338818/original/file-20200601-95024-16psine.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338818/original/file-20200601-95024-16psine.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338818/original/file-20200601-95024-16psine.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sheep grazing at the Glen Finglas experiment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">© Lisa Malm</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But much more consideration and effort needs to be given to unattended land and <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.13527">its potential for boosting biodiversity</a>. There is no single answer to what is the best alternative, but our experiment indicates that a mosaic of different grazing types and shrub or woodland would be more suitable if the aim is to increase biodiversity, carbon uptake and habitats for endangered species. </p>
<p>The experiment also showed that changing the management had no effects on plant diversity and bird species richness in the first years. But this may only be the beginning of the transformation. Another decade of no grazing may result in even higher, or lower, species richness. This shows how important it is to be patient in receiving the effects of land management on plants and wildlife.</p>
<h2>Using existing evidence</h2>
<p>Our results bring some experimental evidence to the debate around sheep farming versus rewilding. Hopefully, decisions around new policies and subsidy systems will be based on such evidence. As new policies are formed, there will inevitably always be winners and losers, among both humans and wildlife, according to which habitat types receive more support. </p>
<p>Biodiversity is incredibly important. It creates a more resilient ecosystem that can withstand external stresses caused by both humans and nature. It also keeps populations of pollinators strong. At the moment, perhaps the most current and urgent reason is that it could be instrumental in <a href="https://ecobnb.com/blog/2020/04/pandemic-biodiversity/">protecting us</a> from future pandemics. A wider range of species prevents unnatural expansions of single species, which can spill over their diseases to humans. </p>
<p>But preserving biodiversity is just one element of long-term environmental aims. Other processes, such as increased flood protection and carbon storage, which both can be achieved through more vegetation, may soon become more prevalent. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338819/original/file-20200601-95065-8n53s0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338819/original/file-20200601-95065-8n53s0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338819/original/file-20200601-95065-8n53s0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338819/original/file-20200601-95065-8n53s0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338819/original/file-20200601-95065-8n53s0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338819/original/file-20200601-95065-8n53s0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338819/original/file-20200601-95065-8n53s0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Meadow pipit in front of ungrazed area.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">© Lisa Malm</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are therefore several biological processes pointing towards public gain from increasing the area of unmanaged land. Across Europe, land is being abandoned due to low profitability in farming it. There are predictions that the amount of abandoned land in Europe <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/publication/eur-scientific-and-technical-research-reports/agricultural-land-abandonment-eu-within-2015-2030">will increase by 11%</a> (equivalent to 200,000km² or 20 million ha) by 2030. This is often reported negatively, but it <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-12039-3_1#Sec6">does not have to be</a>. The problem most people see with land abandonment or rewilding is the decrease in food productivity, which will have to increase in order to feed a growing human population.</p>
<p>But as Richard Bunting at the charity Rewilding Britain explained to me, a decline in food production could be avoided, while increasing the areas subject to rewilding to 10,000km² (a million hectares) by the end of the century: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>We’re working for the rewilding of a relatively small proportion of Britain’s more marginal land. One million hectares may sound like a lot, but there are 1.8 million hectares [18,000km²] of deer stalking estates and 1.3 million hectares [13,000km²] of grouse moors in Britain. In England alone, there are 270,000 hectares [2,700km²] of golf courses.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-crisis-how-to-make-space-for-2-billion-trees-on-a-crowded-island-like-the-uk-128098">Climate crisis: how to make space for 2 billion trees on a crowded island like the UK</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>As farmers and other upland land owners may be opposed to the idea of rewilding, I also asked him how this would work in practice. He told me that he believes farming and rewilding could work well together, but he had some caveats:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We do need conversations around fresh approaches to the way farming is carried out and how land is used. A key point here is that for farmers, engaging with rewilding should always be about choice, as we seek a balance between people and the rest of nature where each can thrive.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There are many ways to rewild. The Woodland Trust have been successful in restoring ancient woodlands and planting new trees by protecting them from large herbivores such as deer and livestock. Another method is to let “nature have its way” without intervening at all. This has been successful in restoring natural habitats, including woodland, such as the Knepp estate in West Sussex, which Isabella Tree has made famous in her book <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jun/28/wilding-isabella-tree-review-farm-return-nature">Wilding</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2DnLOzdFsEY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>After 19 years of no conventional management, The Knepp estate now hosts a vast range of wildlife, including all five native owl species, the rare purple emperor butterfly and turtle doves. Large herbivores, including both livestock and deer, graze the area on a free-roaming level. These animals are replacing the large natural herbivores such as aurochs, wisent and wild boar which would have grazed the area thousands of years ago. </p>
<p>So there is room for discussion on what environmental and financial benefits there may be of different rewilding, or woodland restoration projects, and where they are most suitable.</p>
<p>The first thing to do, I think, is to diversify the types of land management championed by the government through subsidy. Natural habitats could be increased through more financial benefits to landowners for leaving land unattended, while improving public interest in visiting woodlands and thereby the support for preserving wild habitats. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, long-term research of land-use change would give us a better evidence base for future decisions. But this must go hand in hand with much needed serious evaluations of rural communities’ long-term income opportunities under alternative management scenarios, which will always be a cornerstone in land use politics.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=112&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313478/original/file-20200204-41481-1n8vco4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>For you: more from our <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/insights-series-71218?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK">Insights series</a>:</em></p>
<ul>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/living-with-bunker-builders-doomsday-prepping-in-the-age-of-coronavirus-136635?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK">Living with bunker builders: doomsday prepping in the age of coronavirus
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<p><em>To hear about new Insights articles, join the hundreds of thousands of people who value The Conversation’s evidence-based news. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/the-daily-newsletter-2?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=InsightsUK"><strong>Subscribe to our newsletter</strong></a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/137948/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Malm did her PhD at Newcastle University and the James Hutton Institute. She received funding from The Macaulay Development Trust, Newcastle University, University of Hull and The British Trust for Ornithology. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Darren Evans receives funding from the Royal Society, Natural Environment Research Council, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, EU Horizon 2020, The Woodland Trust and British Trust for Ornithology. He is a member of the Labour Party and affiliated with A Rocha International, where he is a member of the Conservation Science Advisory Committee. He is a Senior Editor of the British Ecological Society's Journal of Animal Ecology.</span></em></p>
A decade of no grazing has demonstrated positive effects on the richness of bird species.
Lisa Malm, Postdoctoral Fellow, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Umeå University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/130909
2020-02-06T11:15:46Z
2020-02-06T11:15:46Z
Climate crisis is turning Chile’s livestock ranchers against wild herbivores
<p>When you think of the effects of climate change on wildlife, what’s the first image that pops into your mind? Perhaps it’s a lonely, starving <a href="https://theconversation.com/polar-bear-invasion-how-climate-change-is-making-human-wildlife-conflicts-worse-111654">polar bear</a> desperately searching for food on a melting ice sheet, or a burnt koala struggling across the Australian bush as fires devastate its habitat. What you’re probably not picturing is a herd of wild camel relatives atop Chile’s warming mountain ranges. </p>
<p>Chile is home to two wild camelid species: the smaller vicuña, found in the Andean plains, and its larger cousin, the guanaco, found in deserts, shrublands and steppes across the country. Guanacos aren’t well known to many people outside Latin America, but you may know their woolly domesticated relatives, the llama and the alpaca. Guanacos of central Chile can be found in the mountainous Valparaíso Region on the border with Argentina, where they eke out a harsh existence in dry grassland. But, as these areas become drier due to climate change, guanacos are increasingly getting on the wrong side of their human neighbours.</p>
<p>So how could a fluffy, non-threatening, llama-like herbivore cause problems with local communities? There have been increasing complaints from local Chilean livestock ranchers that guanaco population numbers have been expanding and are now competing with their livestock for grass. These complaints have risen in recent years as the effects of climate change have become more pronounced in the mountainous areas. As the climate warms, the usual habitat of dry, mountainous grassland that the guanacos inhabit <a href="https://phys.org/news/2013-06-thirds-chile-desertification.html">is turning to desert</a>, which means there’s less grass for guanacos to eat, so they’re having to travel down slopes to graze the pasture of livestock.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313931/original/file-20200206-43119-1c2wil5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313931/original/file-20200206-43119-1c2wil5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313931/original/file-20200206-43119-1c2wil5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313931/original/file-20200206-43119-1c2wil5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313931/original/file-20200206-43119-1c2wil5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313931/original/file-20200206-43119-1c2wil5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313931/original/file-20200206-43119-1c2wil5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Gauchos herd cattle on a vast plain.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cattle-herd-cowboys-gauchos-chile-619154741">Michael Schroeder/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We wanted to understand what was really happening here, so we interviewed the ranchers to understand what they thought was driving the conflict between people and guanacos. What <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/oryx/article/climate-change-contributing-to-conflicts-between-livestock-farming-and-guanaco-conservation-in-central-chile-a-subjective-theories-approach/2A368E6460E1F964CB92A5F3341F6595">we found</a> is a troubling reminder that no corner of the world is likely to escape the strife that climate change will bring.</p>
<h2>Inflaming human-wildlife conflict</h2>
<p>Since the late 1970s, there has been a <a href="https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/democraciaabierta/emergencia-clim%C3%A1tica-y-glaciares-en-chile-pron%C3%B3stico-grave-en/">3cm decline</a> each decade in the amount of snow falling onto the mountains of Chile. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605319000838">In our study</a>, the ranchers we spoke to felt that heavy snow used to regulate guanaco numbers in the winter but, as snowfall has declined, more are surviving each winter. With less snow on the mountains, ranchers said that guanacos were able to travel more easily between the mountain ranges, coming into contact with livestock who share their appetite for grass.</p>
<p>In such a desolate place, good grazing is hard to come by. Ranchers who graze their livestock in <em>vegas</em>, the high-altitude wetland areas, felt that the guanacos had the upper hand over their cattle. Guanacos, they reasoned, could rely on a more varied diet and were able to move down the mountain to find better grazing in the vegas as their traditional grasslands dried up. But the vegas are changing too as the climate warms. One rancher explained:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The guanaco survives because it eats very little grass, but they are also able to eat bushes, whereas cattle do not, they graze only grass. In conditions of scarcity guanaco will eat shrubs. Now the grass is almost at ground level, and the recent years with low precipitation have not helped either. The vegas are drying up, many have turned yellow and the cattle only graze the vegas. The vegas have shrunk and some have dried up, and that’s because of the drought and the lack of rain.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313491/original/file-20200204-41516-1n75vlz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/313491/original/file-20200204-41516-1n75vlz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313491/original/file-20200204-41516-1n75vlz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313491/original/file-20200204-41516-1n75vlz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313491/original/file-20200204-41516-1n75vlz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313491/original/file-20200204-41516-1n75vlz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/313491/original/file-20200204-41516-1n75vlz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The researchers travel across the dry mountain range to conduct interviews with ranchers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Solange Vargas</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Guanacos have long been hunted for their fibre and meat. The legs and feet of this species are also valued as <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271203561_Medicinal_use_of_wild_fauna_by_mestizo_communities_living_near_San_Guillermo_Biosphere_Reserve_San_Juan_Argentina">traditional remedies</a> for ailments such as facial paralysis, lung diseases and muscular-skeletal disorders. But hunting this species was banned in the 1990s.</p>
<p>The ranchers explained that hunting of guanacos was common until the mid-1990s, particularly during the <a href="https://theconversation.com/world-politics-explainer-pinochets-chile-100659">military occupation</a> of the country from 1973 to 1990, when troops hunted guanacos for food. Many of the ranchers said they had eaten guanaco meat in the past and valued it for its taste and low cholesterol. The ranchers we spoke to felt that they had been abandoned by the local government, who they believed had favoured conservation of guanacos over the livelihoods of ranchers.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-rewilding-isnt-mad-guanacos-can-transform-the-espinal-of-chile-24248">When rewilding isn't mad: guanacos can transform the espinal of Chile</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Some of the ranchers wanted to reinstate hunting to control the number of guanacos, but the species is listed as “<a href="https://www.nathab.com/know-before-you-go/south-america-travel-tips/patagonia/wildlife-guide/guanaco/">vulnerable</a>” in Chile by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), due to the desertification of its habitat from climate change, over-hunting for its pelt and, now, competition for grazing habitat with livestock. It’s not clear how a sustainable hunting quota could be managed given these pressures. Ranchers also suggested that they should receive compensation for the grazing they were losing as guanacos ate more of the grass.</p>
<p>As climate change alters environments such as the mountaintops of Chile there will be increased competition for resources between people and wildlife. The bush fires in Australia, widely claimed to have <a href="https://time.com/5759964/australian-bushfires-climate-change/">increased in severity in recent years</a> due to climate change, have resulted in humans and wild animals competing for scarce water. These human-wildlife conflicts are likely to worsen as global temperatures rise, which is why it is so important that action is taken now to limit greenhouse gas emissions – to benefit people and wildlife.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/imagine-newsletter-researchers-think-of-a-world-with-climate-action-113443?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=Imagineheader1130909">Click here to subscribe to our climate action newsletter. Climate change is inevitable. Our response to it isn’t.</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/130909/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Niki Rust receives funding from the EU Horizon 2020 project and is a member of the IUCN Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Group.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Solange Vargas receives funding from Rufford Small Grant (2015-2016). </span></em></p>
As Chile’s central mountain region warms, guanacos are wandering into trouble.
Niki Rust, Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University
Solange Vargas, PhD Researcher in Applied Ecology, Universidad de La Serena
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/124866
2020-01-28T13:10:29Z
2020-01-28T13:10:29Z
Young California ranchers are finding new ways to raise livestock and improve the land
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/311216/original/file-20200121-117917-akr5te.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=40%2C0%2C3856%2C2805&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sonoma County, California hired this herd of sheep from Sweetgrass Grazing to reduce invasive plants and flammable fuels and make room for native plants on protected land. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.sonomaopenspace.org/news-and-features/2018/08/keeping-the-land-in-sheep-shape/">Sonoma Open Space</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As California contends with drought, wildfires and other impacts of climate change, a small yet passionate group of residents are attempting to lessen these effects and reduce the state’s carbon emissions. They are ranchers – but not the kind that most people picture when they hear that term.</p>
<p>These first-generation ranchers are young, often female and ethnically diverse. Rather than raising beef cattle destined for feedlots, many are managing small grazing animals like <a href="https://ucanr.edu/sites/placernevadasmallfarms/Livestock/SheepGoats/">sheep and goats</a>. And they are experimenting with grazing practices that can <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/01/05/792458505/california-cities-turn-to-hired-hooves-to-help-prevent-massive-wildfires">reduce fire risk on hard-to-reach landscapes</a>, restore biodiversity and make it possible to make a living from the land in one of the most expensive states in the country. </p>
<p>Our research focuses on <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=VizEaQEAAAAJ&hl=en">food systems</a>, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=6ZHn7YMAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">rangelands</a> and livestock production. In our recent work, we found new ranchers in California using innovative strategies that they believe can mitigate fire risk to communities and improve soil through grazing. </p>
<p>We see an opportunity for the public and government agricultural agencies to support these producers, who are reframing livestock production systems in ways that could benefit the environment. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2HUwK62CVKs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Ariel Greenwood describes what it’s like to be a young female rancher.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A hard industry to enter</h2>
<p>Ranching is a family operation in California, with the vast majority raising beef cattle. The primary ranchers on traditional operations are mostly male, mostly white and generally in their late 50s to early 60s. They typically work together with their children, which lets younger generations draw on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2015.07.006">decades of knowledge</a> and experience, as well as <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3733/ca.v065n04p184">long-term connections to the land</a> and to rural communities.</p>
<p>Because land in California is expensive, there are few independent first-generation beef cattle ranchers. Several first-generation ranchers whom we interviewed relayed stories of friends leaving the state to find places with cheaper land and fewer regulations. One explained that expanding urban edges and more profitable land uses are rapidly transforming rural landscapes and making it difficult, if not impossible, to “make a go of it” as a new rancher.</p>
<h2>New ways to ranch</h2>
<p>Climate change is challenging farmers and ranchers across the U.S. in many ways. On western rangelands, climate variability has increased the <a href="https://journals.uair.arizona.edu/index.php/rangelands/article/view/23353">magnitude and number of extreme wildfires</a> that occur each year. Wet years cause vegetation to thrive, while subsequent severe droughts turn it into deadly fuel. </p>
<p>Our research team wanted to understand how first-generation ranchers were adapting to California’s changing climate. Our preliminary research indicated they were <a href="https://doi.org/10.1071/RJ18023">less prepared for future droughts</a> than more established ranchers, and they were less likely to use drought adaptation strategies, such as raising fewer animals than their land can support in good years. This approach hedges against the risk of bringing animals to market during dry years, when prices are less favorable.</p>
<p>But we soon discovered a new generation of ranchers who are creating different and often entirely new types of production systems in response to California’s climate extremes and high costs. Because they are starting from scratch, many of them do not view their practices as adapting, we learned. Rather, they see these techniques as central elements of a new kind of ranching.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/311211/original/file-20200121-117962-1ohozu9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/311211/original/file-20200121-117962-1ohozu9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/311211/original/file-20200121-117962-1ohozu9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311211/original/file-20200121-117962-1ohozu9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311211/original/file-20200121-117962-1ohozu9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311211/original/file-20200121-117962-1ohozu9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=606&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311211/original/file-20200121-117962-1ohozu9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=606&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311211/original/file-20200121-117962-1ohozu9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=606&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A herd of dairy goats grazing in Southern California.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kate Munden-Dixon</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For example, we interviewed one young first-generation cattle rancher who is experimenting with “<a href="https://www.beefmagazine.com/pasture-range/ranchers-sing-praises-mob-grazing-cattle">mob grazing</a>” – putting animals on small areas of land in dense groups for periods as short as a few hours, then moving them to new plots. Moving his herd as a close-knit unit across pastures mimics the natural movements of historical <a href="https://www.nps.gov/pore/learn/nature/tule_elk.htm#:%7E:targetText=The%20tule%20elk%20Cervus%20canadensis,Bakersfield%20in%20the%20mid%2D1870s">elk herds</a> that use to roam coastal California. </p>
<p>His goals are to increase soil carbon storage and native vegetation by using hoof trampling to break up and incorporate residual plant matter into the soil after grazing. Then the pasture receives a long rest, which allows the soil and grass to recover. </p>
<h2>An emerging model</h2>
<p>New ranchers are spread throughout the length of California, from grassy foothill regions of the Sierra Nevada along the state’s eastern edge to the Pacific coast ranges. Many established California ranching families have large land holdings in multiple locations, but new ranchers tend to have smaller and fewer parcels of land. </p>
<p>Diversification is a key economic and ecological strategy. The average new rancher raises two types of livestock, and one-third of them also produce crops. The majority of these new ranchers (53%) are managing sheep, while less than half (47%) are raising beef cattle. </p>
<p>Many of these new ranchers view improving the environment with grazing animals as a way to positively affect the world. <a href="https://www.hbs.edu/managing-the-future-of-work/research/Pages/future-positive.aspx">Like millennials in general</a>, they want their work to be purpose-driven and are seeking work-life balance. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"862439320174510081"}"></div></p>
<p>Although many are struggling to survive economically, these emerging ranchers believe they are providing a public service to communities. Some of them suggested to us that California should reconceptualize ranchers as ecosystem stewards who use grazing animals to restore watersheds and habitats, creating more resilient communities. </p>
<p>These services are valuable <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-06143-190108">in California</a>, where active management of landscapes can foster and enhance the state’s incredible biodiversity. It also reduces grasses and other forages that are potential fuel for devastating fires. </p>
<h2>Beyond beef</h2>
<p>So far, however, new forms of ranching have received little public buy-in or assistance. While this type of ranching has been gaining popularity, many policymakers and agricultural agencies still tend to equate livestock production with California’s US$3.19 billion beef cattle industry. </p>
<p>We see a critical opportunity for the public and government agencies to actively support ranchers who are working to mitigate the climate crisis. Several new and expanding funding streams could provide public support to new producers, including California’s <a href="https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/healthysoils/#:%7E:targetText=The%20Healthy%20Soils%20Program%20stems,and%20the%20HSP%20Demonstration%20Projects">Healthy Soils Program</a> and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s <a href="https://nifa.usda.gov/funding-opportunity/beginning-farmer-and-rancher-development-program-bfrdp">Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program</a>. </p>
<p>Consider the staggering impact of wildfires, which generated <a href="https://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2019/release041-19.cfm">$13 billion in insurance claims in California in 2018</a>. Expanding incentive programs for new and beginning ranchers who are interested in fire mitigation and climate adaptation could support <a href="https://www.fire.ca.gov/programs/resource-management/resource-protection-improvement/vegetation-management-program/">California’s land management goals</a>. </p>
<p>However, without an increase in outreach and support, the future of these new ranchers is uncertain. Help from university researchers and agricultural and natural resource extension advisers is crucial to increase the number of new ranchers who begin and stay in ranching. And partnerships among universities, government agencies and nonprofits can help the next generation pursue innovative solutions to offset carbon emissions and reduce wildfire risks. </p>
<p>
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<div>
<header></header>
<p><a href="http://www.aag.org">Kate Munden-Dixon is a member of the American Association of Geographers</a></p>
<footer>The association is a funding partner of The Conversation US.</footer>
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</section>
</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/124866/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Munden-Dixon receives funding from USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE). She is a member of the American Association of Geographers. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leslie Roche receives funding from USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE).</span></em></p>
A new generation of ranchers is exploring sustainable ways to raise cattle, sheep and goats in California. Some are grazing herds on fire-prone lands, reducing wildfire risks and improving soils.
Kate Munden-Dixon, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Sustainable Food Systems, Indiana University
Leslie Roche, Associate Cooperative Extension Specialist, University of California, Davis
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/128853
2019-12-20T11:12:29Z
2019-12-20T11:12:29Z
Three ways farms of the future can feed the planet and heal it too
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308086/original/file-20191220-11891-1cd7ggs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6016%2C4007&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nature and technology can combine to help farms of the future nourish the earth and its inhabitants.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/happy-farmers-using-digital-tablet-cultivation-548038507">SimplyDay/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Intensive agriculture may be nourishing most of the Earth’s inhabitants, but it’s doing the opposite to earth itself. Its dependence on singular crops, heavy ploughing machinery, fossil-fuel based fertilisers and pesticides is <a href="https://theconversation.com/soil-is-our-best-ally-in-the-fight-against-climate-change-but-were-fast-running-out-of-it-128166">degrading our soils</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/bees-how-important-are-they-and-what-would-happen-if-they-went-extinct-121272">wildlife</a> and nutrient cycles, and contributing <a href="https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-environ-020411-130608">a quarter of the planet’s unwanted extra heat</a>.</p>
<p>But we’re not powerless to change the future of food. Nature and technological innovation are tackling these problems head on – and if the solutions they’re offering are incorporated on a large scale and used together, a new agricultural revolution could be on its way. Here are three of the most exciting developments that can help farms not just feed the planet, but heal it too.</p>
<h2>Crops, trees and livestock in harmony</h2>
<p><a href="http://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/7862">Several UN reports</a> have <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/i9037en/I9037EN.pdf">highlighted agroecology</a> – farming that mimics the interactions and cycles of plants, animals and nutrients in the natural world – as a path to sustainable food.</p>
<p>The approach uses <a href="https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0169-5347%2818%2930273-8">a wide variety of practices</a>. For example, instead of artificial fertilisers, it improves soil quality by planting nutrient-fixing “cover crops” in between harvest crops, rotating crops across fields each season and composting organic waste. It supports wildlife, stores carbon, and conserves water through the planting of trees and wildflower banks.</p>
<p>It also <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/2041-7136-1-26">integrates livestock with crops</a>. This may seem counter-intuitive given their <a href="https://theconversation.com/eating-less-meat-is-a-climate-priority-whatever-the-sceptics-say-105884">inefficient land use and high emissions</a>. But having a small number of animals grazing land doesn’t have to accelerate global heating.</p>
<p>Grassland captures carbon dioxide. Animals eat the grass, and then return that carbon to the soil as excrement. The nutrients in the excrement and the continuous grazing of grass both help new grass roots to grow, increasing the capacity of the land to capture carbon.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308087/original/file-20191220-11904-3sboy4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308087/original/file-20191220-11904-3sboy4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308087/original/file-20191220-11904-3sboy4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308087/original/file-20191220-11904-3sboy4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308087/original/file-20191220-11904-3sboy4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308087/original/file-20191220-11904-3sboy4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308087/original/file-20191220-11904-3sboy4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Carefully managed grazing can help the environment, not harm it.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/qvVgDIE05PI">Millie Olsen/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Keep too many grazing animals in one place for too long and they eat too much grass and produce too much excrement for the soil to take on, meaning carbon is lost to the atmosphere. But if small numbers are constantly rotated into different fields, the soil can <a href="https://www.fcrn.org.uk/sites/default/files/project-files/fcrn_gnc_report.pdf">store enough extra carbon</a> to counterbalance the extra methane emitted by livestock’s digestive rumblings.</p>
<p>While this doesn’t make them a carbon sink, livestock bring other benefits to the land. They keep soil naturally fertilised, and can <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-livestock-grazing-benefit-biodiversity-10789">also improve biodiversity</a> by eating more aggressive plants, allowing others to grow. And if local breeds are adopted, they generally don’t require expensive feed and veterinary care, as they’re adapted to local conditions. </p>
<h2>Pesticides no more</h2>
<p>Pests, diseases and weeds cause almost 40% of <a href="http://www.fao.org/tempref/docrep/fao/010/i0142e/i0142e06.pdf">crop losses globally</a> – and without care, the figure could rise dramatically. Climate change is <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate1990">shifting where pests and diseases</a> thrive, making it harder for farmers to stay resilient.</p>
<p>Many commonly used <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/04/germany-ban-glyphosate-weedkiller-by-2023">herbicides</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/yet-another-widely-used-insecticide-found-to-harm-bees-regulators-need-to-change-their-approach-126000">pesticides</a> and fungicides are now also under pressure to be banned because of their negative effects on the health of humans and wildlife. Even if they’re not, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-018-0470-1">growing resistance to their action</a> is making controlling weeds, pests and diseases increasingly challenging.</p>
<p>Nature is again providing answers here. Farmers are starting to use <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1470160X18302917">pesticides derived from plants</a>, which tend to be much less toxic to the surrounding environment.</p>
<p>They’re also using natural enemies to keep threats at bay. Some may act as repellents, <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-99768-1_10#Sec2">“pushing” pests away</a>. For example, peppermint disgusts the flea beetle, a scourge to oilseed rape farmers. Others are “pulls”, attracting pests away from valuable crops. Plants that are attractive for egg-laying but that don’t support the survival of insect larvae are <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-99768-1_10#Sec2">commonly used for this purpose</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308088/original/file-20191220-11946-qx4hma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/308088/original/file-20191220-11946-qx4hma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308088/original/file-20191220-11946-qx4hma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308088/original/file-20191220-11946-qx4hma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308088/original/file-20191220-11946-qx4hma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308088/original/file-20191220-11946-qx4hma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/308088/original/file-20191220-11946-qx4hma.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nasturtiums are pest magnets – and they’re edible too.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bright-nasturtium-flowers-green-colorful-leaves-1025596633">Shutova Elena/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Technology is also offering solutions on this front. Some farmers are already using apps to monitor, warn and predict when pest and diseases will attack crops. Driverless tractors and intelligent sprayers that can <a href="https://www.fwi.co.uk/arable/crop-management/weed-management/video-worlds-first-robotic-weed-mapping-service-launched">target specific weeds or nutritional needs</a> have recently entered the market. Agritech companies are now also developing robots that can scan fields, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-38343-3">identify specific plants</a>, and decide whether to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168169918316612">use pesticide</a> or to remove a plant mechanically.</p>
<p>In combination, these methods can dramatically reduce agriculture’s reliance on herbicides and pesticides without lowering crop yields. This is important, since the world’s population is set to <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/world-population-prospects-2017.html">rise by a quarter in the next three decades</a>.</p>
<h2>Small tech, big difference</h2>
<p>Soon, technology at an almost impossibly small scale could make a big difference to the way we grow our food. <a href="http://www.urthagriculture.com/nano-ag-fertilizer">Companies have designed nanoparticles</a> 100,000 times smaller then the width of a human hair that release fertiliser and pesticides slowly but steadily, to minimise their use and maximise crop yields.</p>
<p>New gene-editing techniques will also increasingly use <a href="https://www.cell.com/trends/biotechnology/comments/S0167-7799(18)30093-3">nanomaterials to transfer DNA to plants</a>. These techniques can be used to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0882401018300901#fig1">detect the presence of pests and nutrient</a> deficiencies, or simply improve their resistance to extreme weather and pests. Given that <a href="https://issuu.com/easaceurope/docs/easac_statement_extreme_weather_eve">increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather</a> events due to global heating are putting the very functioning of the global food system <a href="https://theconversation.com/our-climate-is-like-reckless-banking-before-the-crash-its-time-to-talk-about-near-term-collapse-128374">at risk</a>, these advancements could be vital for preventing agricultural collapse.</p>
<p>Nanotechnologies aren’t cheap yet and researchers have yet <a href="https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press/news/180704">to conduct rigorous tests</a> of how toxic nanomaterials are to humans and plants, and how durable they are. But should they pass these tests, agriculture will surely <a href="https://www.azonano.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=1657">follow the path of other industries</a> in adopting the technology on a large scale.</p>
<p>Save for nanotechnology and advanced robots, the above solutions are already in use in many small-scale and commercial farms – just not in combination. Imagine them working in synchrony and suddenly a vision of sustainable agriculture doesn’t seem so far away anymore.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/imagine-newsletter-researchers-think-of-a-world-with-climate-action-113443?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=Imagineheader1128853">Click here to subscribe to our climate action newsletter. Climate change is inevitable. Our response to it isn’t.</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/128853/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karen Rial-Lovera does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
We’re not powerless to change the future of food. Nature and technology can combine to nourish both the earth and its inhabitants.
Karen Rial-Lovera, Senior Lecturer in Agriculture, Nottingham Trent University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/122953
2019-10-08T18:56:28Z
2019-10-08T18:56:28Z
Kangaroos (and other herbivores) are eating away at national parks across Australia
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295934/original/file-20191008-128644-12u9r9e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Grazing from kangaroos affects vulnerable native species.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tom Hunt</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Protected land, including national parks, are a cornerstone of conservation. Once an area is legally protected, it is tempting to assume that it is shielded from further degradation.</p>
<p>However, our research, published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989419302720">Global Ecology and Conservation</a>, has found Australia’s national parks are under serious threat of overgrazing. Significantly, native kangaroos are major contributors to the problem.</p>
<p>In some places we looked at, the effect of overgrazing in protected areas was just as pronounced as on private land with no legal protection at all.</p>
<p>In the public debate over culling and otherwise managing kangaroo populations, attention is typically divided between their economic impact on people versus welfare concerns. But there’s a third unwilling participant in this dilemma: the thousands of other native species affected when native grazer populations grow out of control. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295940/original/file-20191008-128681-1ena0g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295940/original/file-20191008-128681-1ena0g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295940/original/file-20191008-128681-1ena0g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295940/original/file-20191008-128681-1ena0g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295940/original/file-20191008-128681-1ena0g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295940/original/file-20191008-128681-1ena0g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295940/original/file-20191008-128681-1ena0g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295940/original/file-20191008-128681-1ena0g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Native birds like the diamond firetail are threatened when abundant grazing animals eat the plants the birds depend on.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tom Hunt</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Protected from what?</h2>
<p>National parks and other protected areas can be safeguarded in a variety of legal ways. Activities such as grazing of domestic stock, building, cropping and some recreational activities (hunting, fishing, dogs) are usually restricted in protected areas. However, previous research has found protected areas continue to face <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6390/788">intense pressure</a> from agriculture, urbanisation, mining, road construction, and climate change.</p>
<p>Less conspicuously, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/thinking-big-gives-top-predators-the-competitive-edge-78106">loss of predators</a> from many Australian ecosystems has let herbivore populations grow wildly. <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-evidence-culling-kangaroos-could-help-the-environment-30795">Overgrazing</a>, or grazing that leads to changes in habitat, is now a key threat to biodiversity. </p>
<p>Overgrazing by herbivores affects native species such as the diamond firetail, which is declining in southeastern Australia due to loss of habitat and the replacement of native grasses with exotic species after overgrazing and fire. Overgrazing has also been shown to reduce the abundance and diversity of <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0105966">ground-dwelling reptiles</a>.</p>
<p>In the face of a <a href="https://theconversation.com/revolutionary-change-needed-to-stop-unprecedented-global-extinction-crisis-116166">global extinction crisis</a>, we need good evidence that national parks and reserves are serving their purpose.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-alpine-grazing-debate-was-never-about-science-40219">The alpine grazing debate was never about science</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>To determine whether protected areas are being overgrazed, we assessed grazing impact on native vegetation at 1,192 sites across the entire agricultural region of South Australia. We looked at more than 600 plant species in woodlands, forests, shrublands, and grasslands. </p>
<p>The data were collected by monitoring programs, some of which included citizen scientists, aimed at tracking change in the condition of native vegetation.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295939/original/file-20191008-128677-snod5o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295939/original/file-20191008-128677-snod5o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/295939/original/file-20191008-128677-snod5o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295939/original/file-20191008-128677-snod5o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295939/original/file-20191008-128677-snod5o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295939/original/file-20191008-128677-snod5o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295939/original/file-20191008-128677-snod5o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/295939/original/file-20191008-128677-snod5o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Researchers looked at hundreds of sites across Southern Australia to check how grazing animals were affecting the environment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tom Hunt</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989419302720">found</a> that grazing pressure was already high on unprotected land when we began monitoring around 2005, and grazing impact has grown since then. On protected land, three things are happening as a consequence of inadequate management of grazing by native and introduced animals:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>grazing impact in protected areas has substantially increased, </p></li>
<li><p>protected areas in some regions now show equally severe effects from grazing as seen on private land without any conservation protections, and</p></li>
<li><p>the character of our landscapes, including national parks, is set to change as the next generation of edible seedlings is lost from protected and unprotected ecosystems.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The increased severity of grazing in protected areas paints a dire picture. This threat adds to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/our-national-parks-must-be-more-than-playgrounds-or-paddocks-14389">rising pressure</a> on protected areas for recreational access (and other uses).</p>
<h2>The grass is not greener</h2>
<p>It’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-alpine-grazing-debate-was-never-about-science-40219">well accepted</a> that introduced species such as deer, goats, horses, camels and rabbits badly affect Australia’s native vegetation. There are a variety of control measures to keep their populations in check, including culls and strong incentives for control on farmland. Control of feral animals is normally less contentious than control of endemic species like kangaroos, because we feel a custodial responsibility for native species.</p>
<p>But the numbers of native kangaroos and wallabies has also increased dramatically <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/29f13111-376b-4211-9d0c-63714deca3fe/files/sa-kangaroo.pdf">since 2011</a> as populations across Australia responded to an increase in feed at the end of the Millennium drought and reduced culling in settled areas due to changes in regulation and growing opposition to culls on animal welfare grounds. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/plants-are-going-extinct-up-to-350-times-faster-than-the-historical-norm-122255">Plants are going extinct up to 350 times faster than the historical norm</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Managing kangaroo populations, on the other hand, is a polarising issue. Arguments about culling kangaroos can be <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17524032.2016.1220966">bitter and personal</a>, and create perceptions of an urban-rural divide.</p>
<p>However, a few species – even if they are native – should not be allowed to compromise the existence of other native plants and animals, especially not where we have dedicated the land to holistic protection of biodiversity.</p>
<p>Extinction rates in Australia are extremely high, <a href="https://theconversation.com/plants-are-going-extinct-up-to-350-times-faster-than-the-historical-norm-122255">especially among plants</a>. Research has also found conservation funding is disproportionately aimed at individual species rather than <a href="https://theconversation.com/fixing-australias-extinction-crisis-means-thinking-bigger-than-individual-species-115559">crucial ecosystems</a>. We must address our reluctance to manage threats to biodiversity at the scale on which they operate.</p>
<p>Protected areas must be managed to meet clear biodiversity targets and control overgrazing, including from native species. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fixing-australias-extinction-crisis-means-thinking-bigger-than-individual-species-115559">Fixing Australia’s extinction crisis means thinking bigger than individual species</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Welfare concerns for conspicuous native species need to be weighed against the concern for the many other less obvious native plant and animal species. If our national parks and reserves are not managed properly, they will fail to meet the conservation need for which they were established.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122953/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Patrick O'Connor receives funding from the South Australian government.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thomas Prowse receives funding from the ARC and the NHMRC, and is a board member of The Wilderness Society South Australia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stuart Collard does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Public opposition to kangaroo culls shouldn’t overrule the needs of thousands of other native species in national parks.
Patrick O'Connor, Associate Professor, University of Adelaide
Stuart Collard, Research Fellow, The Centre for Global Food and Resources, University of Adelaide
Thomas Prowse, Postdoctoral research fellow, School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Adelaide
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/100438
2018-10-25T10:47:47Z
2018-10-25T10:47:47Z
Collaboration, not fighting, is what the rural West is really about
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241547/original/file-20181021-105767-1wnv6i4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Harney County, Ore., sign.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kenlund/2580127305/">Wikimedia/Ken Lund</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Dick Jenkins is a fourth-generation rancher living in Oregon’s most remote county. I wanted to know why he continues living in a rural community, even though life elsewhere might be easier.</p>
<p>“Taking care of [the land] is worth more than all the money in the world,” he told me. “Taking care of the animals, taking care of the environment, it all goes together and we’re very proud of it.”</p>
<p>While Dick’s answer was more evocative than I could’ve hoped for, I can’t say I was surprised by it. </p>
<p><a href="https://history.uoregon.edu/profile/sbeda/">I’m a historian who studies the rural Northwest</a>, and I’ve spent a fair amount of time talking with loggers, miners, fisherman and ranchers like Dick. </p>
<p>Each one of them, in their own way, articulates a similar sentiment: Whatever hardships contemporary rural life may pose – and <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/rural-america-is-the-new-inner-city-1495817008">there are many</a> – it’s their love of the land and desire to protect it that keeps them put.</p>
<p>This is not a description of rural life you typically hear.</p>
<p>Many stories about rural America, particularly during election cycles like we’re in now, portray rural communities as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/18/magazine/fear-of-the-federal-government-in-the-ranchlands-of-oregon.html">political monoliths</a> made up of nothing more than <a href="https://www.vox.com/2016/1/5/10718128/federal-land-west-oregon-militia">angry ranchers</a> frustrated with the Bureau of Land Management, what’s commonly called “the BLM.” Or you see camouflage-clad <a href="https://www.hcn.org/articles/politics-anti-government-groups-in-the-west-right-now">militia members</a> hoping to overthrow the government.</p>
<p>These people do exist in rural communities. The <a href="https://www.politicalresearch.org/2016/10/03/oregon-three-percenters/">Three Percenters</a>, a heavily-armed militia whose members advocate the violent overthrow of the U.S. government, has a sizable presence in Harney County, the same county Dick lives in. </p>
<p>And the <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/08/sheriff_glenn_palmer_makes_his.html">sheriff of Grant County</a>, just to the north, is a self-described “constitutional sheriff” who believes his power supersedes the federal government’s.</p>
<p>But for every AR-15 wielding militia member or rancher angrily shaking his fist at the BLM, there’s likely a dozen like Dick who want to find peaceful ways to protect their interests and the environment. </p>
<h2>Rebellion vs. collaboration</h2>
<p>The tone in recent news coverage of rural issues was largely set in the late 1970s, when ranchers started protesting new BLM limits on grazing in what became known as the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1979/11/11/the-sagebrush-revolution/7ebf91e7-cbed-4bae-80c9-9a0cce5fe5d7/?utm_term=.c9c6ed3f7927">“Sagebrush Rebellion.”</a> These protests were sometimes <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/hcn-media/archive-pdf/1988_09_12_Wheeler.pdf">dramatic</a>, like when ranchers bulldozed road barriers that had been erected to limit access to wilderness areas. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/242122/original/file-20181024-71032-fmx12l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/242122/original/file-20181024-71032-fmx12l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/242122/original/file-20181024-71032-fmx12l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/242122/original/file-20181024-71032-fmx12l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/242122/original/file-20181024-71032-fmx12l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/242122/original/file-20181024-71032-fmx12l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/242122/original/file-20181024-71032-fmx12l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/242122/original/file-20181024-71032-fmx12l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Sagebrush Rebellion made the cover of Newsweek in 1979.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://uni.edu/carrchl/wp/cv/the-sagebrush-rebellion/">Newsweek</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While the origins of many present-day rural extremist movements can be traced back to frustrations with BLM policy in the 1970s, the Sagebrush Rebellion spawned another less talked-about movement: collaborative land management.</p>
<p>Many people recognized that fighting over wilderness, grazing rights, timber harvests and endangered species protections was getting them nowhere. </p>
<p>So in the 1990s, rural workers sat down with environmentalists, government agents and tribal representatives, and together they worked out agreements that would protect the land, preserve tribal resource rights and allow for continued grazing, mining and logging. </p>
<p>Rarely were these conversations easy. </p>
<p>One early collaborative effort, Northern California’s <a href="http://www.qlg.org/">Quincy Library Group</a>, was so named because members met in a setting that would force them to keep their voices – and tempers – in check.</p>
<p>But these difficult conversations bore results. </p>
<p>To name just two examples, <a href="https://www.blm.gov/get-involved/partnerships/featured-partners/idaho">ranchers and environmentalists in Idaho</a> have collectively used conservation funds to preserve agriculture and critical habitat along the Snake River. And in Dick Jenkins’ Harney County, ranchers, BLM agents, environmentalists and members of the Burns Paiute Tribe work together through the <a href="http://highdesertpartnership.org/">High Desert Partnership</a> to collectively manage the land.</p>
<p>As several scholars have <a href="http://osupress.oregonstate.edu/book/sagebrush-collaboration">documented</a>, these collaborative partnerships are a source of local pride in many rural communities.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241549/original/file-20181021-105773-11b7h52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241549/original/file-20181021-105773-11b7h52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241549/original/file-20181021-105773-11b7h52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241549/original/file-20181021-105773-11b7h52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241549/original/file-20181021-105773-11b7h52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241549/original/file-20181021-105773-11b7h52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241549/original/file-20181021-105773-11b7h52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241549/original/file-20181021-105773-11b7h52.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Forester Ed Murphy, a member of the Quincy Library Group, tells a House subcommittee about the group’s plan for balancing logging and environmental interests in Northern California forests.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Associated-Press-Domestic-News-California-Unite-/1ea3a6e587e6da11af9f0014c2589dfb/2/0">AP/Rich Pedroncelli</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Competing images</h2>
<p>So if many rural people are proud of their ability to collaborate, why are we seeing more anger and more high-profile protests directed at environmentalists and the federal government throughout the rural West, what some have called a <a href="https://www.hcn.org/articles/a-new-and-more-dangerous-sagebrush-rebellion">“second Sagebrush Rebellion”</a>? </p>
<p>The answer is that in recent years it’s mostly been newcomers or outsiders who’ve attempted to mobilize imagined rural anger in order to advance their own narrow political goals. </p>
<p>This was certainly the case during the highly publicized <a href="https://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/">takeover of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge</a> in 2016. </p>
<p>Led by a group calling itself the Citizens for Constitutional Freedom, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2016/01/04/us/oregon-wildlife-refuge-what-bundy-wants/index.html">the occupiers argued that</a> the Constitution did not give the federal government the right to own land. They hoped to turn BLM land over to local control and turn <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqL9NGRTGss">Harney County into the first “Constitutional county.”</a> </p>
<p>Of the roughly dozen occupiers who said they were fighting for the rights of Oregon ranchers, only one, <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/01/robert_lavoy_finicum_killed_in.html">Robert “LaVoy” Finicum</a>, was actually a rancher – from Arizona. The group’s leader, <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2016/01/oregon_militant_profiles_list.html">Ammon Bundy</a>, is the son of an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/24/us/politics/rancher-proudly-breaks-the-law-becoming-a-hero-in-the-west.html">infamous Nevada rancher</a>, but he worked as a car fleet manager prior to leading the standoff. And only one, Walter “Butch” Eaton, was from Oregon, and he stayed with the occupiers for just a half hour before deciding to <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/09/burns_man_who_rode_in_first_ca.html">walk home</a>. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241858/original/file-20181023-169825-qxcjsb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241858/original/file-20181023-169825-qxcjsb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241858/original/file-20181023-169825-qxcjsb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241858/original/file-20181023-169825-qxcjsb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241858/original/file-20181023-169825-qxcjsb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241858/original/file-20181023-169825-qxcjsb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241858/original/file-20181023-169825-qxcjsb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/241858/original/file-20181023-169825-qxcjsb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Harney County billboard erected during the occupation of a local wildlife refuge by militia members.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Peter Walker</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Their ‘own voice’</h2>
<p>These outsiders have been challenged by people in rural communities. </p>
<p>At least in Oregon, the <a href="http://www.rop.org/">Rural Organizing Project</a> has been at the forefront of efforts to help rural communities fight outside extremist groups.</p>
<p>Founded in the early 1990s to help people in rural communities organize against local anti-gay ordinances, the project has since grown into a <a href="http://www.rop.org/about-the-rural-organizing-project/our-history/">network of rural activists</a> who, according to the group’s website, “facilitate local organizing, communication and political analysis.” </p>
<p>When the paramilitary group <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/oath-keepers">the Oath Keepers</a> occupied the <a href="https://www.hcn.org/issues/48.2/showdown-at-sugar-pine-mine">Sugar Pine Mine</a> in Oregon’s Josephine County in April 2015, project activists and local community members quickly mobilized to communicate to both politicians and the media that the militia members did not have the support of the community. </p>
<p>According to a <a href="http://www.rop.org/up-in-arms/up-in-arms-section-iii/stories-from-the-field/">statement</a> released by the coalition, the Oath Keepers were “individuals from outside our community” there to “advance their own agenda.”</p>
<p>A year later, during the Malheur occupation, the project organized a day of action, coordinating rallies, meetings and press conferences in rural communities across Oregon to again clearly communicate to the media and decision-makers that a handful of armed protesters did not speak for most rural people.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://btimesherald.com/2016/02/10/new-harney-county-billboards-donated/">billboard</a> that Harney County residents put up during the 2016 occupation speaks volumes about the way many rural people feel about these outsiders. It read: “We Are HARNEY COUNTY. We Have OUR OWN VOICE.”</p>
<h2>A less divisive future</h2>
<p>To be perfectly clear, many ranchers, loggers and miners have problems with federal bureaucracies and environmental organizations. </p>
<p>Underfunded and overburdened by arcane rules, the BLM has a massive <a href="https://www.opb.org/news/article/backlog-grows-for-rangelands/">backlog of grazing permit applications</a>. Federal timber sales are <a href="http://www.capitalpress.com/Timber/20180523/environmental-groups-challenge-oregon-timber-sale-over-voles">routinely tied up in litigation</a>. </p>
<p>Many rural people are likewise troubled by the federal government’s <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/titles/11239.html">waning investment in rural economies</a> and rapidly <a href="https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2017/01/18/how-education-is-failing-rural-america.html">declining funding for rural education and social services</a>.</p>
<p>The journalists who report on the radical fringes of rural America are doing important work. Their stories shine light on dangerous political trends that, if allowed to grow in the shadows, might become something even more dangerous than they already are.</p>
<p>But ranchers like Dick Jenkins, groups like the Rural Organizing Project and other rural people committed to collaboration need to have their stories heard, too. </p>
<p>Paying as much attention to them as so-called Sagebrush Rebels just might show that while there are indeed many problems in rural America, most rural people are committed to bringing about a more amicable future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100438/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steven C. Beda does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Rural Westerners have been stereotyped as angry ranchers who hate government. But for every gun-wielding militia member, there are many others who work collaboratively to protect what they value.
Steven C. Beda, Assistant Professor, University of Oregon
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/98568
2018-07-05T20:54:41Z
2018-07-05T20:54:41Z
How to fight desertification and drought at home and away
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/226380/original/file-20180705-122268-1yziwnv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A farmer plows a dry and dusty cotton field near Phoenix, Ariz., while a drought affects the Southwest.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A growing human population and runaway consumption are putting <a href="https://wad.jrc.ec.europa.eu/">unsustainable pressures</a> on the natural resources we depend on for survival. Our misuse and abuse of land and water is changing fertile land into deserts. </p>
<p>The word “desertification” conjures up images of the spread of existing deserts, with tall dunes spilling into villages and farmer’s fields. But it is actually <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/310750021_Mapping_desertification_constraints_and_challenges?enrichId=rgreq-67d9a2b9463fb272a95a5b0cbde927df-XXX&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzMxMDc1MDAyMTtBUzo1MjYwODIyMzY1MjI0OTZAMTUwMjQzOTE4NzE2Mg%3D%3D&el=1_x_3&_esc=publicationCoverPdf">a term that describes the way land can be transformed</a> by climate variation and human activities, including deforestation, overgrazing (which causes erosion), the cultivation of unsuitable land and other poor land-use management decisions. </p>
<p>We see this now in southern Africa, which has already lost at least <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229571074_An_overview_of_environmental_issues_in_Southern_Africa?_esc=publicationCoverPdf&el=1_x_2&enrichId=rgreq-f66703e9002784161a8ae55da3316e2b-XXX&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzIyOTU3MTA3NDtBUzoxMDIyMDQyNTgxMjc4ODNAMTQwMTM3ODgwMjc3Ng%3D%3D">25 per cent</a> of its soil fertility. </p>
<p>But not only developing countries are at risk. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1462901115300654">Almost 1 billion tonnes of soil</a> is lost every year because of erosion resulting from poor land management in Europe alone. </p>
<p>Desertification is one of the biggest environmental problems facing humanity, and has already affected <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/26/land-degradation-is-undermining-human-wellbeing-un-report-warns">over 40 per cent</a> of the world’s population — 3.2 billion people. </p>
<p>Given that climate change could cause <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/climate-change-could-cause-more-severe-droughts-98-per-cent-european-cities">more frequent droughts</a> and that population growth puts more pressure on natural resources, land degradation is an increasing global threat to food security, a contributor to poverty and a <a href="https://wad.jrc.ec.europa.eu/">barrier to achieving the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals</a>. </p>
<p>It is clear that desertification is a problem of global proportions, requiring a unified strategy among all countries. If action is not taken now, desertification will accelerate, resulting in further migration and conflict.</p>
<h2>Seeing the threat</h2>
<p>Not all areas are equally at risk of desertification. Drylands, like those in the Karoo of South Africa and the prairies of Canada, are regions where evapotranspiration (the transfer of water from land and plants to the atmosphere) far exceeds precipitation. </p>
<p>Under natural conditions, drylands are characterised by slow cycles of changing climate and vegetation, moving from one stable state to another. More frequent and severe droughts and human disturbances, such as agriculture, grazing and fire, cause more <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-04341-0">abrupt shifts</a> that can be irreversible.</p>
<p>The threat of land degradation is so widely recognized that the UN established the <a href="https://www.unccd.int/">Convention to Combat Desertification</a> (UNCCD) nearly 25 years ago, in 1994. It is a legally binding agreement between the partner nations to work together to achieve sustainable land management.</p>
<p>All member countries of the UNCCD recently agreed to <a href="https://www.cpj.ca/canada-re-joins-un-convention-combat-desertification">fight desertification</a> and <a href="https://www.unccd.int/actions/achieving-land-degradation-neutrality">restore degraded land</a> by 2030. On June 17, Ecuador hosted the World Day to Combat Desertification, under the slogan “<a href="https://www.unccd.int/news-events/2018-world-day-combat-desertification-2018wdcd">Land has true value – Invest in it</a>,” and used the occasion to showcase the use of sustainable land management in developing the country’s bio-economy.</p>
<h2>A tentative pledge</h2>
<p>Despite its initial commitment to combat desertification, <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/03/28/canada_saw_bureaucracy_and_inefficiency_in_un_convention_on_deserts.html">Canada withdrew from the UNCCD in 2013</a>. The reasons were unclear, but it may have been because membership was seen as too costly, without obvious benefits for the environment. The departure left Canada as the only country not party to the agreement. </p>
<p>However, <a href="https://www.siskinds.com/envirolaw/canada-rejoins-united-nations-convention-combat-desertification/">Canada rejoined last year</a>, acknowledging the link between desertification and many of Canada’s development priorities. The factors driving land degradation are interconnected and include population growth and migration, climate change and biodiversity loss. </p>
<p>Current rates of global land degradation are in the order of <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/world/high-price-desertification-23-hectares-land-minute">12 million hectares per year</a>. And yet <a href="http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/wsfs/docs/Issues_papers/HLEF2050_Global_Agriculture.pdf">food production must increase by up to 70 per cent by 2050 to feed the projected global population of 9.1 billion people</a>. Current land-management practices are clearly unsustainable. </p>
<p>The threatened area is so large that halting land degradation and <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5694c48bd82d5e9597570999/t/5996c27ef7e0aba0564ee740/1503052415896/Scaling+Up+SLM_R_Thomas+et+al.pdf">scaling up solutions</a> — from farms and villages to watersheds and continents — requires globally coordinated solutions. By rejoining the UNCCD, Canada can take its rightful place within a coordinated global effort to combat desertification — and strengthen its own efforts nationally. </p>
<h2>Why Canada should care</h2>
<p>Canada has already cooperated on a regional level with other countries to combat drought and minimize the impacts of reduced agricultural productivity, wildfires and water shortages. </p>
<p>In 2016, for example, when droughts hounded North America, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/3138183/fort-mcmurray-wildfire-named-canadas-news-story-of-2016/">burning</a> Fort McMurray, Alta. and adding to <a href="http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-famiglietti-chronic-water-scarcity-20160417-story.html">California’s long-running water shortage</a>, Canada cooperated with the <a href="https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publication/?seqNo115=336751">United States and Mexico</a> to minimize their impacts. The resulting North American Climate Services Partnership (NACSP) facilitated an early drought forecasting system and drought impact assessments.</p>
<p>In addition, Canada faces its own land degradation challenges. Most people associate dryland regions with a hot and dry climate. However, large parts of the Canadian Prairie provinces — Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba — <a href="https://www.cpj.ca/canada-re-joins-un-convention-combat-desertification">can be classified as drylands</a>. They are also enormously important agricultural areas, accounting for 60 per cent of the cropland and 80 per cent of the rangeland in Canada. </p>
<p>The Prairies expect to see <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10113-016-1078-0">longer and more intense periods of drought interspersed with major flooding</a> with future climate change. And although North America is one of five regions identified by the UN as <a href="http://www.pbl.nl/en/publications/exploring-future-changes-in-land-use">facing relatively fewer challenges related to land</a> compared to the countries most at risk, the region does face significant water stress challenges.</p>
<h2>Way forward</h2>
<p>The Paris Agreement recognized “<a href="https://www.cpj.ca/canada-re-joins-un-convention-combat-desertification">safeguarding food security</a>” as an important priority for climate change adaptation, which goes hand-in-hand with combating desertification. </p>
<p>The agricultural sector will play an important role in mitigating the impacts of climate change — and fighting land degradation. It can protect against drought, flooding, landslides and erosion, while maintaining natural vegetation, which helps store carbon in the soil. </p>
<p>But agricultural production will also <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5694c48bd82d5e9597570999/t/5996c27ef7e0aba0564ee740/1503052415896/Scaling+Up+SLM_R_Thomas+et+al.pdf">have to become more efficient</a>. It will need to adapt to periods of lower water availability and take measures to preserve fertile soil. </p>
<p>We must also look to how we manage our water resources to help agriculture adapt to climate change and stop desertification. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://gwf.usask.ca/impc/index.php">University of Saskatchewan is currently developing tools</a> that can be used by government and in research to predict and manage the water flow and water quality of Canada’s large river basins. This will allow water to be managed at the scale of entire river basins and help determine how industry, agriculture and mining can fairly share this limited resource.</p>
<p>Canada has, for now, recognized the link between desertification and many of its development priorities, including agriculture, security, water and renewable energy. But we need to ensure the Canadian government remains committed to combating drought and desertification here — and in the rest of the world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98568/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Slaughter is supported by the Global Water Futures (GWF) programme in his capacity as a Visiting Professor within the Global Institute for Water Security, University of Saskatchewan. Dr Slaughter has previously received funding from the Water Research Commission, Pretoria, South Africa.</span></em></p>
Desertification is a problem of global proportions. If action isn’t taken now, it will accelerate and fuel further migration and conflict.
Andrew Slaughter, Visiting professor, University of Saskatchewan
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/84049
2017-09-21T00:54:55Z
2017-09-21T00:54:55Z
Review of historic stock routes may put rare stretches of native plants and animals at risk
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186705/original/file-20170920-20014-1wts1nv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The travelling stock routes are a precious national resource. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Since the 19th century, Australian drovers have moved their livestock along networks of stock routes. Often following traditional Indigenous pathways, these corridors and stepping-stones of remnant vegetation cross the heavily cleared wheat and sheep belt in central New South Wales. </p>
<p>The publicly owned <a href="https://www.nature.org.au/media/172026/6-the-tsr-network-heritage-habitat-and-livelihood-2011.pdf">Travelling Stock Reserve</a> network of New South Wales is now <a href="https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/ehq-production-australia/a86c93a1a5c5ad72f5d4e64c255beb2fe8d757f6/documents/attachments/000/054/281/original/NSW_TSR_Review_-_public_consultation_paper.pdf?1493168851">under government review</a>, which could see the ownership of much of this crown land move into private hands.</p>
<p>But in a study <a href="http://www.publish.csiro.au/BT/BT17114">published today in the Australian Journal of Botany</a> we suggest that privatising stock routes may endanger vital woodlands and put vulnerable species at risk. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-ancient-aboriginal-star-maps-have-shaped-australias-highway-network-55952">How ancient Aboriginal star maps have shaped Australia's highway network</a>
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</em>
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<p>The review will establish how individual reserves are currently being used. Although originally established for graziers, the patches of bush in the network are now <a href="http://www.crownland.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/652492/Crown_lands_Management_Review_accessible.pdf">more likely to be used</a> for recreation, cultural tourism, biodiversity conservation, apiary and drought-relief grazing.</p>
<p>This shift away from simply moving livestock has put pressure on the government to seek “value” in the network. The review will consider proposals from individuals and organisations to buy or acquire long-term leases for particular reserves. </p>
<p>It is likely that most proposals to purchase travelling stock reserves would come from existing agricultural operations.</p>
<h2>A precious national resource</h2>
<p>Travelling stock reserves across New South Wales represent some of the most intact examples of <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicshowcommunity.pl?id=86&status=Endangered">now-endangered temperate grassy woodland ecosystems</a>.</p>
<p>Our research found that changing the status or use of these reserves could seriously impact these endangered woodlands. They criss-cross highly developed agricultural landscapes, which contain very limited amounts of remnant vegetation (areas where the bush is relatively untouched). Travelling stock reserves are therefore <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1442-8903.2010.00509.x/abstract">crucially important patches of habitat and resources for native plants and animals</a>.</p>
<p>This <a href="https://cdn.wilderness.org.au/archive/files/long-paddock-scientists-statement.pdf">isn’t the first time</a> a change in ownership of travelling stock reserves has been flagged. Over the last century, as modern transport meant the reserves were used less and less for traditional droving, pressure to release these areas for conventional agriculture has increased. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186739/original/file-20170920-910-1hyie1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186739/original/file-20170920-910-1hyie1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186739/original/file-20170920-910-1hyie1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186739/original/file-20170920-910-1hyie1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186739/original/file-20170920-910-1hyie1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186739/original/file-20170920-910-1hyie1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186739/original/file-20170920-910-1hyie1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186739/original/file-20170920-910-1hyie1r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Historic stock routes are still used for grazing cattle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel Florance</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To understand what a change in land tenure might mean to the conservation values of these woodlands, we spent five years monitoring vegetation in stock reserves in comparison to remnant woodlands on private farmland.</p>
<p>We found that travelling stock reserves contained a higher number of native plant species, more native shrubs, and less exotic plants than woodland remnants on private land. </p>
<p>The higher vegetation quality in travelling stock reserves was maintained over the five years, which included both the peak of Australia’s record-breaking <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/millennium-drought-22237">Millennium Drought</a> and the heavy rainfall that followed, referred to as the “<a href="https://theconversation.com/global/topics/floods-348">Big Wet</a>”.</p>
<p>The take-home message was that remnant woodland on public land was typically in better nick than in private hands.</p>
<p>Importantly, <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320712001449?via%3Dihub">other studies</a> have found that this high-quality vegetation is critical for many threatened and vulnerable native animals. For example, eastern yellow robins and black-chinned honeyeaters <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320709003140">occur more frequently</a> in places with more shrubs growing below the canopy.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186738/original/file-20170920-961-1hr5im9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186738/original/file-20170920-961-1hr5im9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/186738/original/file-20170920-961-1hr5im9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186738/original/file-20170920-961-1hr5im9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186738/original/file-20170920-961-1hr5im9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186738/original/file-20170920-961-1hr5im9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186738/original/file-20170920-961-1hr5im9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/186738/original/file-20170920-961-1hr5im9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The vulnerable superb parrot also uses travelling stock reserves for habitat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Damian Michael</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The contrast we saw between woodlands in travelling stock reserves and private land reflects the different ways they’re typically managed. Travelling stock reserves have a history of periodic low-intensity grazing, mostly by cattle, with long rest periods. Woodland on active farms tend to be more intensively grazed, by sheep and cattle, often without any strategic rest periods.</p>
<h2>The stock reserves’ future</h2>
<p>The uncertain future of travelling stock reserves casts doubt on the state of biodiversity across New South Wales.</p>
<p>The current review of travelling stock reserves is considering each reserve in isolation. It flies in the face of the belief of <a href="https://cdn.wilderness.org.au/archive/files/long-paddock-scientists-statement.pdf">many managers, practitioners and researchers</a> that the true value of these reserves is in the integrity of the entire network – that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.</p>
<p>Travelling stock reserves protect threatened species, allow the movement of wildlife, are seed sources for habitat restoration efforts, and support the ecosystem of adjacent agricultural land. These benefits depend on the quality of the remnant vegetation, which is determined by the <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-livestock-grazing-benefit-biodiversity-10789">grazing regime</a> imposed by who owns and manages the land.</p>
<p>Of course, not all travelling stock reserves are in good condition. Some are subject to high-intensity livestock grazing (for example, under longer-term grazing leases) coupled with a lack of funding to manage and enhance natural values.</p>
<p>Changing the land tenure status of travelling stock reserves risks increasing grazing pressure, which our study suggests would reduce ecosystem quality and decrease their conservation value.</p>
<p>The travelling stock routes are important parts of our ecosystem, our national heritage, and our landscape. They can best be preserved by remaining as public land, so the entire network can be managed sustainably. </p>
<p>This requires adequate funding for the <a href="http://www.lls.nsw.gov.au/">Local Land Services</a>, so they can appropriately manage pest animals, weeds, erosion and illegal firewood harvesting and rubbish dumping.</p>
<p>Travelling stock reserves are more than just The Long Paddock – they are important public land, whose ecological value has been maintained under public control. They should continue to be managed for the public good.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84049/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luke S. O'Loughlin has received funding from the Hermon Slade Foundation and the Holsworth Wildlife Endowment Fund</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Damian Michael receives funding from the Australian Government (National Environmental Science Program) and the Murray Local Land Services</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Lindenmayer receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Australian Government (National Environmental Science Program), the Ian Potter Foundation, the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation, the Murray Local Land Services and the Riverina Local land Services</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thea O'Loughlin received funding from the Murray Local Land Services.</span></em></p>
Australia’s iconic stock routes are now public land, used for everything from conservation to recreation. A government review may change that.
Luke S. O'Loughlin, Research fellow, Australian National University
Damian R. Michael, Ecologist, Australian National University
David Lindenmayer, Professor, The Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University
Thea O'Loughlin, Ecologist, Adjunct Researcher, Charles Sturt University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/73032
2017-02-21T01:47:15Z
2017-02-21T01:47:15Z
In latest skirmish of western land wars, Congress supports mining and ranching
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157398/original/image-20170218-10200-mocvun.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sheep move through public lands near Shoshone, Idaho</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mypubliclands/30736733466/in/album-72157674657349752/">BLM/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Republicans in Congress are enthusiastically using the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/30/us/politics/congressional-review-act-obama-regulations.html">Congressional Review Act</a> to overturn regulations finalized during the last weeks of the Obama administration. One measure on their list is the Bureau of Land Management’s new <a href="https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/planning2">Planning 2.0 rule</a>, which is designed to improve BLM’s process for making decisions about ranching, energy development and other uses of public lands. The House has already <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-joint-resolution/44">voted to repeal the rule</a>, and the Senate is likely to follow.</p>
<p>As an environmental historian, I see this as the latest skirmish in a long-running battle over use of the quarter-billion acres of public lands managed by BLM. </p>
<p>Historically, BLM has been dominated by commodity interests, especially ranchers and mining companies. But in the 1970s Congress passed several laws that increased public involvement in land management decisions. It also directed BLM to balance extractive uses such as mining, grazing and logging with other activities, such as wildlife conservation, recreation and preservation of wilderness areas. These laws shifted the agency into what has been called a “<a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/american-environmental-policy">green drift</a>” toward greater environmental protection, even in the face of subsequent congressional gridlock.</p>
<p>This is not a simple Washington-versus-local struggle. Many westerners, including some Republican officials, support the idea of opening up the planning process and doing it across larger areas. Overturning Planning 2.0 exposes BLM to charges of ignoring science, collaboration and the public – criticisms that it has worked for decades to overcome. And it will probably lead to more of the lawsuits that inspired the rule in the first place. </p>
<h2>The Bureau of Livestock and Mining</h2>
<p>BLM’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-twisted-roots-of-u-s-land-policy-in-the-west-52740">history</a> makes it vulnerable to charges of not listening to a wide public. An agency of the Interior Department, it was created in 1946 through a merger of the General Land Office and the U.S. Grazing Service. Government experts had found that 95 percent of rangelands in the public domain had declined since the turn of the century due to “<a href="https://archive.org/stream/westernrangelett00unitrich#page/n9/mode/2up">excessive stocking</a>,” or overgrazing. </p>
<p>However, BLM was so attentive to its main constituencies – ranchers and mineral companies – that it quickly became known as the Bureau of Livestock and Mining. In its early years, power rested almost entirely with grazing advisory boards, made up of local ranchers who assigned grazing permits on government rangelands. At one point these boards even helped pay BLM employee salaries. </p>
<p>Through the 1970s western land management was a classic example of what political scientists call an “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_triangle_(US_politics)">iron triangle</a>,” in which tightly connected congressional committees, bureaucracies and interest groups enact policy. Such relationships typically favor the narrow self-interest of commodity groups. </p>
<p>According to early studies of BLM, such as Philip Foss’ 1960 book “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Politics-Grass-Administration-Grazing-Public/dp/0837121361">Politics and Grass</a>,” the agency was “captured” by livestock interests. Political scientist Grant McConnell <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Private-power-American-democracy-McConnell/dp/B0006BMZFG">observed</a> in 1966 that BLM’s decentralized structure was designed to allow “home rule on the range” – just what ranchers wanted.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157399/original/image-20170218-10195-19w4pxz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157399/original/image-20170218-10195-19w4pxz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157399/original/image-20170218-10195-19w4pxz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157399/original/image-20170218-10195-19w4pxz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157399/original/image-20170218-10195-19w4pxz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157399/original/image-20170218-10195-19w4pxz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157399/original/image-20170218-10195-19w4pxz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=467&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lazy B Ranch near Duncan, Arizona in 1945. The ranch was the childhood home of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and is on an active grazing allotment managed by BLM.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mypubliclands/30181142305/in/album-72157671460858983/">BLM/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Gradual opening</h2>
<p>In the 1970s BLM started to become more independent and manage land in a more <a href="http://www.oupress.com/ECommerce/Book/Detail/2046/the%20size%20of%20the%20risk">adaptive and balanced</a> way. This was partly due to the 1969 <a href="https://www.epw.senate.gov/nepa69.pdf">National Environmental Policy Act</a>, which gave the public a new role in federal policy. Agencies proposing major projects were required to produce environmental impact statements that were subject to public review. This opened up federal agencies to greater scrutiny and allowed new voices to influence agency decisions. It also increased litigation and <a href="https://kansaspress.ku.edu/978-0-7006-1895-8.html">slowed down the planning process</a> as more constituencies became involved. </p>
<p>The 1976 <a href="https://www.blm.gov/or/regulations/files/FLPMA.pdf">Federal Land Policy and Management Act</a> increased BLM’s power to regulate grazing and mining, and made wilderness a new priority in its multiple-use portfolio. Ranching and mining interests now had to compete and cooperate with wildlife advocates and other nonextractive users. </p>
<p>These new policies improved BLM decisions by enabling the agency to consider science, such as rangeland ecology and habitat protection for endangered species, and the noneconomic values of wilderness and wildlife. They also disrupted power balances. Many western stakeholders felt that national priorities were displacing local needs and traditions. </p>
<p>Their dissatisfaction spawned the Sagebrush Rebellion of the late 1970s and early 1980s and its <a href="https://theconversation.com/history-points-to-more-dangerous-malheur-style-standoffs-68134">descendants</a>. Ever since then, commodity interests have bristled at having to incorporate broadly environmental values in western land use decisions, instead of basing them strictly on economics that favored ranchers with <a href="http://www.opb.org/news/series/burns-oregon-standoff-bundy-militia-news-updates/federal-grazing-fees/">below-market grazing fees</a> and miners with <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/mining-firm-profits-from-public-lands-remain-a-mystery-new-gao-study-shows/2012/12/11/c3416110-43c1-11e2-8061-253bccfc7532_story.html?utm_term=.5e38a7338a8a">favorable leasing and royalty arrangements</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157397/original/image-20170218-10206-1di3h48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/157397/original/image-20170218-10206-1di3h48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157397/original/image-20170218-10206-1di3h48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157397/original/image-20170218-10206-1di3h48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157397/original/image-20170218-10206-1di3h48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157397/original/image-20170218-10206-1di3h48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/157397/original/image-20170218-10206-1di3h48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Humbug Spires, on BLM land south of Butte, Montana, is an 11,175-acre zone under study for possible designations as a wilderness area.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mypubliclands/9469796516/in/album-72157673516560212/">Bob Wick, BLM California</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Planning 2.0 in the crosshairs</h2>
<p>The final <a href="https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/documents/files/PlanningandNepa_Planning_FinalPlanningRuleSigned.pdf">Planning 2.0 rule</a>, published on Dec. 16, 2016, is designed to fix some key flaws in western land use planning. Notably, BLM lands are intermingled with private lands and public lands managed by other federal agencies. Many issues, such as wildfire management and invasive species control, cross these boundaries. </p>
<p>Instead of planning at the local or site-specific scale, which does not address the environment’s interconnected nature, the rule directs BLM to plan at the landscape scale – that is, over large areas with “<a href="https://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/more/Landscape_Approach.html">similar environmental characteristics</a>,” such as the <a href="https://geomaps.wr.usgs.gov/parks/province/coloplat.html">Colorado Plateau</a>. Landscape-scale planning necessarily involves federal, state, local and tribal governments.</p>
<p>The rule also requires BLM to seek public input before developing plans. This approach contrasts with NEPA, which requires agencies only to consult with the public <a href="http://www.lynnscarlett.com/uploads/2/7/9/5/2795360/nepa_policy_commentary--.pdf">after they have identified a few options for action</a>. Environmentalists have repeatedly stalled BLM land use planning through lawsuits when they disagreed with agencies’ proposed alternatives. Planning 2.0 seeks to involve them earlier to help develop alternatives in hope of reducing litigation later. </p>
<p>Many westerners who opposed the rule raised classic federal-versus-state arguments against it. Tom Jankovsky, a Republican commissioner in Garfield County, Colorado, <a href="http://www.postindependent.com/news/local/u-s-house-votes-to-kill-blms-planning-2-0/">called it</a> “the first step to a totalitarian government, having bureaucrat planners making legislation through administrative process.” The <a href="https://cdn.westernenergyalliance.org/sites/default/files/Western%20Energy%20Alliance%20Letter%20in%20Support%20of%20Planning%202.0%20CRA%20Resolution%201.26.17.pdf">Western Energy Alliance</a> complained that it was an “overreach of federal authority” beyond what FLPMA allowed and prioritized conservation over multiple use.</p>
<p>But other western stakeholders found merit in Planning 2.0. <a href="http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2017-02-13/public-lands-wilderness/sportsmen-stand-up-to-defend-blm-2-0/a56346-1">Hunters and anglers</a>, along with other <a href="http://www.mensjournal.com/adventure/articles/how-fishermen-hunters-bikers-and-hikers-are-about-to-lose-their-say-on-public-land-use-w466008">hikers and outdoor enthusiasts</a>, want seats at the table in land use decisions. Some wildlife advocates see the new rules as a great improvement and <a href="http://www.wyomingnews.com/opinion/andersen-congress-needs-to-pass-blm-planning-to-give-power/article_6440c5ee-f4dd-11e6-8671-dbe5095e6796.html">have called for Congress</a> to ratify Planning 2.0 rather than repeal it. Park County, Colorado’s three Republican commissioners <a href="https://wilderness.org/sites/default/files/Planning%202.0%20County%20letters%20of%20support.pdf">praised the rule</a> for allowing the public to influence plans rather than just react to them. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ifQpcrCzT0Y?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">BLM work to help protect threatened western snowy plovers in Oregon.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>One step forward, two steps back</h2>
<p>In my view, many critics who have urged Congress to strike down Planning 2.0 want to return to the era when mining companies and ranchers wrote the rules and did so for a narrow range of interests. This strategy is consistent with the Republican Party’s general <a href="https://prod-cdn-static.gop.com/media/documents/DRAFT_12_FINAL%5B1%5D-ben_1468872234.pdf">commitment to deregulation</a> to facilitate business. But repealing the rule is unlikely to have that effect. </p>
<p>Laws like NEPA and FLPMA have brought other interests to the planning table, and Planning 2.0 would get them there earlier to help prevent costly delays that frustrate everyone involved. By excluding their voices, Congress will guarantee the status quo: lengthy court battles after planning decisions are issued. And once a rule is vacated under the Congressional Review Act, agencies <a href="https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43992.pdf">cannot issue a new rule that is “substantially the same</a>” unless Congress passes a law authorizing them to do so. The result will be more gridlock and unsound multiple-use management of western public lands. </p>
<p><em>Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct the number of acres of public lands managed by BLM.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/73032/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adam M. Sowards does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Republicans in Congress are working to kill an Obama administration rule that broadens public input into federal land use planning. Hunters, fishermen, hikers and environmental groups are opposed.
Adam M. Sowards, Professor of History, University of Idaho
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/56997
2016-04-29T03:21:13Z
2016-04-29T03:21:13Z
EcoCheck: Australia’s Alps are cool, but the heat is on
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120643/original/image-20160429-28053-1jl2iz2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Alpine meadows are a pretty rare sight in Australia.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Colin Totterdell</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Our <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/ecocheck">EcoCheck</a> series takes the pulse of some of Australia’s most important ecosystems to find out if they’re in good health or on the wane.</em></p>
<p>Think of an Australian landscape and you’re unlikely to picture snow-capped mountains or alpine meadows. But that’s what you’ll find atop the peaks of the country’s southeastern corner.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120642/original/image-20160429-28040-tgemc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120642/original/image-20160429-28040-tgemc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120642/original/image-20160429-28040-tgemc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120642/original/image-20160429-28040-tgemc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120642/original/image-20160429-28040-tgemc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120642/original/image-20160429-28040-tgemc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120642/original/image-20160429-28040-tgemc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120642/original/image-20160429-28040-tgemc9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The distribution of alpine and subalpine landscapes in Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although relatively small – covering about 11,000 square kilometres or 0.15% of the continent – these alpine and subalpine ecosystems have outstanding natural value and provide billions of dollars’ worth of benefits to the nation each year. </p>
<p>They are in comparatively good health but are facing numerous threats. However, their health in decades and centuries to come will depend largely on how we deal with these threats now.</p>
<p>Australia’s main alpine and subalpine areas are the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales, the Bogong High Plains in Victoria, and central and southwestern Tasmania. They occur above about 1,400-1,500m on the mainland, and 700-1,000m in Tasmania.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120472/original/image-20160428-30973-1brp5dw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120472/original/image-20160428-30973-1brp5dw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120472/original/image-20160428-30973-1brp5dw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120472/original/image-20160428-30973-1brp5dw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120472/original/image-20160428-30973-1brp5dw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120472/original/image-20160428-30973-1brp5dw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=546&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120472/original/image-20160428-30973-1brp5dw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=546&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120472/original/image-20160428-30973-1brp5dw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=546&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Main Range, Kosciuszko National Park, NSW.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Colin Totterdell</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although Australia’s mountains are relatively low by global standards (Mt Kosciuszko, the continent’s highest peak, rises only 2,228m above sea level), there is true treeless, alpine vegetation above the climatic treeline. </p>
<p>Treeless patches may also occur in the high subalpine zone, just below the treeline, typically on rolling high plains where accumulations of cold air or water prevent trees from establishing and growing.</p>
<p>The alpine climate is cold, wet, snowy and windy, with a short growing season. The soils are highly organic and can hold tremendous amounts of water. Alpine plants are short: mostly tussock-forming snow grasses, rosette-forming herbs such as snow daisies, and ground-hugging shrubs. </p>
<p>The dominant plant communities are grasslands, herbfields, heathlands and wetland complexes rich in peat moss (<em>Sphagnum</em>). The animals are mostly invertebrates such as moths, grasshoppers and ants.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120461/original/image-20160428-30976-1qw35xv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120461/original/image-20160428-30976-1qw35xv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120461/original/image-20160428-30976-1qw35xv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120461/original/image-20160428-30976-1qw35xv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120461/original/image-20160428-30976-1qw35xv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120461/original/image-20160428-30976-1qw35xv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120461/original/image-20160428-30976-1qw35xv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120461/original/image-20160428-30976-1qw35xv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Alpine wetland, rich in Sphagnum and other peat-forming plants, Bogong High Plains, Alpine National Park, Victoria.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">James Camac</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Australian Alps are hugely important for conservation, water production and recreation. Most alpine areas are within national parks and are home to many unique plants and animals. </p>
<p>There are about 700 native alpine plant <a href="https://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/RoyalBotanicGarden/media/RBG/Science/Cunninghamia/Volume%2010%20-%202007/Cun101001McD.pdf">species</a> on the mainland, while some animal species are extremely rare – there are only about <a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-endangered-species-mountain-pygmy-possum-13149">2,000 mountain pygmy possums in the wild</a>.</p>
<p>Major rivers – such as the Murray, the Murrumbidgee and the Snowy – begin in the Alps. Water from alpine catchments is worth <a href="http://aciucn.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/18-Worboys.pdf">A$9.6 billion a year</a> to the Australian economy. </p>
<p>Millions of people visit every year to camp, walk, ski, ride and take in the scenery. The Alps are one of Tourism Australia’s “<a href="http://www.tourism.australia.com/documents/corporate/AustralianAlps-ANLPositioningGuidebook.pdf">National Landscapes</a>” and the local tourism industry is worth <a href="http://www.nerplandscapes.edu.au/system/files/LaP%20-%20Aust%20Alps%20Socio-Economic%20Profile.pdf">hundreds of millions of dollars annually</a>.</p>
<h2>Highly studied</h2>
<p>The alps also have a rich history of scientific study, dating back to celebrated botanist <a href="http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/mueller-sir-ferdinand-jakob-heinrich-von-4266">Sir Ferdinand von Mueller</a> in the 1850s. Pioneers of Australian alpine ecology, <a href="https://www.science.org.au/learning/general-audience/history/interviews-australian-scientists/dr-alec-costin-alpine-ecologist">Alec Costin</a> and <a href="https://www.anbg.gov.au/biography/carr-maisie.html">Maisie Carr</a>, established some of the earliest study sites. Research continues to this day and now includes international climate science projects such as the <a href="http://ibis.geog.ubc.ca/itex/">International Tundra Experiment</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Observation_Research_Initiative_in_Alpine_Environments">Global Research Initiative in Alpine Environments</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120457/original/image-20160428-30960-1gz39a6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120457/original/image-20160428-30960-1gz39a6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120457/original/image-20160428-30960-1gz39a6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=203&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120457/original/image-20160428-30960-1gz39a6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=203&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120457/original/image-20160428-30960-1gz39a6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=203&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120457/original/image-20160428-30960-1gz39a6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120457/original/image-20160428-30960-1gz39a6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120457/original/image-20160428-30960-1gz39a6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=255&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Experimental plots established by Maisie Carr and John Turner in 1947 (photos taken in 1999). Aerial and close-up images both show the striking difference in the vegetation of the ungrazed plot compared with the grazed plot. Grazing ceased on the Bogong High Plains in 2003, and in Kosciuszko National Park in 1967.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Henrik Wahren</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=XXjAAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA167&dq=info:YhXkVyDxAb8J:scholar.google.com&ots=-Gbt-0NRfP&sig=ukwmlungkhD0j-LiO77l9Qxo2Dw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false">scientific discoveries</a> about alpine flora and fauna, and the factors that affect them, have directly informed land management practices. </p>
<p>We now know that <a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?id=IOLKBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA221&lpg=PA221&dq=costin+1959+csiro+technical&source=bl&ots=lWZX08IPA8&sig=oCo3_t1s1P4R-49cSOQHd0jF4dY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwixgrvV4bLMAhVmhYMKHbYXBoAQ6AEILjAD#v=onepage&q=costin%201959%20csiro%20technical&f=false">high levels of vegetation cover</a> are needed to protect alpine catchments; that livestock grazing damages <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/3673932?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">alpine ecosystems</a>; how to better implement <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01323.x/full">cost-effective weed control</a>; how to better manage <a href="https://theconversation.com/genetics-to-the-rescue-hybrid-mountain-pygmy-possums-born-on-mt-buller-6134">small Mountain Pygmy Possum populations</a>; and <a href="http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/WF07154.htm">that large, infrequent fires do not necessarily cause “ecological disaster”</a>.</p>
<h2>Existing and emerging threats</h2>
<p>Alas, the alps face multiple threats, including global warming, invasive species, disturbances such as fire, increasing pressure from human recreation, and unsound ideas about how to manage the high country. </p>
<p>The climate has already changed. Since 1979, average temperatures during the growing season on the Bogong High Plains have <a href="http://www.publish.csiro.au/view/journals/dsp_journal_fulltext.cfm?nid=65&f=BT12234">risen by 0.4°C</a>, while precipitation has <a href="http://www.publish.csiro.au/view/journals/dsp_journal_fulltext.cfm?nid=65&f=BT12234">decreased by 6%</a>. Since 1954, the depth and duration of the snowpack in the Kosciuszko region have <a href="http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1657/1938-4246-45.1.107">declined</a>. </p>
<p>Rising temperatures are a serious problem because the Australian Alps are relatively low mountains and the alpine species, already at their distributional limits, have nowhere else to go. Woody vegetation may increase – the treeline may rise and shrubs are likely to expand into grasslands and herb fields, which may make the landscape more <a href="http://biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2016/03/16/043919.full.pdf">prone to fire</a>. </p>
<p>Mainland alpine ecosystems can <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/James_Camac/publication/255978288_Post-fire_regeneration_in_alpine_heathland_Does_fire_severity_matter/links/0c960521339fd2f406000000.pdf">regenerate</a> after large fires. But Tasmania’s alpine vegetation is <a href="http://www.publish.csiro.au/?act=view_file&file_id=BT10138.pdf">extremely fire-sensitive</a>, and more frequent fire is likely to be detrimental to all alpine ecosystems.</p>
<p>The threat of livestock grazing to alpine ecosystems has <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-alpine-grazing-debate-was-never-about-science-40219">all but ceased</a>. However, feral animals and plants are a clear threat and will become more difficult to manage in the future without concerted action now. </p>
<p>Horse and deer numbers are <a href="http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/574146/Background-Paper-1-Wild-horse-ecology-and-environmental-impacts.pdf">increasing with alarming speed</a>. These animals are occupying habitats well above the treeline. Many alien plant species have <a href="http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-11-00082.1">invaded</a> the alps over the past half-century, a trend likely to be exacerbated by climate warming.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120329/original/image-20160427-30960-lab1xq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120329/original/image-20160427-30960-lab1xq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120329/original/image-20160427-30960-lab1xq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120329/original/image-20160427-30960-lab1xq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120329/original/image-20160427-30960-lab1xq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120329/original/image-20160427-30960-lab1xq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120329/original/image-20160427-30960-lab1xq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120329/original/image-20160427-30960-lab1xq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Feral horses in Pretty Valley, Bogong High Plains.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">James Camac</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We also need to be wary of maladaptive ideas and practices, particularly those concerning the putative benefits to the alps of large non-native grazing animals. We have variously been told that “alpine grazing reduces blazing” (<a href="http://www.ecolsoc.org.au/hot-topics/alpine-grazing-does-it-reduce-blazing">it doesn’t</a>); that grazing combined with burning has “<a href="http://www.connorcourt.com/catalog1/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7&products_id=343">actually prevented soil erosion</a>” (<a href="https://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=XXjAAgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA167&dq=info:YhXkVyDxAb8J:scholar.google.com&ots=-Gbt-0NRfP&sig=ukwmlungkhD0j-LiO77l9Qxo2Dw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false">it didn’t</a>); and that a “sustainable, viable” feral horse population can “<a href="http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/609075/Submissions_61-70.pdf">co-exist</a>” with the alpine environment (surely an oxymoron). There may be strong cultural imperatives behind these propositions, but they have no basis in science.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120260/original/image-20160427-1341-112c824.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120260/original/image-20160427-1341-112c824.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120260/original/image-20160427-1341-112c824.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120260/original/image-20160427-1341-112c824.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120260/original/image-20160427-1341-112c824.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120260/original/image-20160427-1341-112c824.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120260/original/image-20160427-1341-112c824.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/120260/original/image-20160427-1341-112c824.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cattle grazing on the Bogong High Plains, days after the extensive 2003 fires. Australian alpine vegetation did not evolve with large, hard-hooved animals such as sheep and cattle. The combination of burning and grazing is known to damage alpine soils and vegetation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Henrik Wahren</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There is cause for hope, however. The Australian Alps are on the <a href="http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/alpineresorts/refpd/appendixenationalheritagelistassessment.pdf">National Heritage List</a>, which is protected by federal law. </p>
<p>There is also still time. The world is <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-paris-climate-agreement-at-a-glance-50465">acting on climate change</a>. Some species may adapt <a href="http://www.bioone.org/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1558-5646.2007.00248.x">genetically</a>, while some likely changes to vegetation may happen <a href="http://www.publish.csiro.au/?paper/BT12234">slowly</a>. Scientists and land managers are working together to anticipate and manage change in the alps. </p>
<p>Change is <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/917bb661-b626-44bb-bd52-325645ae7c49/files/nrs-report.pdf">inevitable</a>, but with enough research, imagination and action, our high country will provide Australians with high-value environmental benefits for generations to come.</p>
<p><em>Are you a researcher who studies an iconic Australian ecosystem and would like to give it an EcoCheck? <a href="mailto:michael.hopkin@theconversation.edu.au">Get in touch</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/56997/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dick Williams has received funding from the Australian Research Council, The National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, and the Terrestrial Ecosystems Research Network</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Camac has received funding from the Australian Research Council, The Terrestrial Ecosystems Research Network, Parks Victoria, The National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility and the Holsworth Wildlife Endowment fund.</span></em></p>
The alpine landscapes of Australia’s southeast and Tasmania are home to hundreds of rare plants and animals. They’re healthy for now, but need careful looking after.
Dick Williams, Adjunct Professorial Fellow, Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University
James Camac, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Macquarie University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/56994
2016-04-07T20:11:12Z
2016-04-07T20:11:12Z
Cape York’s ecosystems are worth billions of dollars: time to share the wealth
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/117795/original/image-20160407-10004-5c99y0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mining is the biggest activity on Cape York - but is it the best way to use the land? </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Weipa image from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia’s Cape York is one of the <a href="https://portals.iucn.org/library/efiles/edocs/1982-004.pdf">world’s most outstanding natural areas</a>, a status recognised by the United Nations since the 1980s. Since then, there have been <a href="https://theconversation.com/cape-york-for-world-heritage-listing-is-it-ready-11590">regular political tussles to recognise these values</a>. </p>
<p>In the 19th century, Indigenous people were <a href="http://www.fes-globalization.org/geneva/documents/6%20UNRISD%20Paper%20WinerMurphyLudwick.pdf">forcibly removed from the land</a>. Aboriginal people have since regained ownership or control of about 40% of the peninsula. </p>
<p>Today, the area is dominated by mining and grazing, often in ways that don’t benefit local communities. Is this the best use of the land?</p>
<p>One way to answer this question is to look at the economic benefits of conserving the area. In a recently published paper, we estimated <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221204161630064X">the value of Cape York’s ecosystems at between A$130 billion and A$512 billion per year</a>. This is comparable to Queensland’s entire economy at <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/3218.02013-14?OpenDocument">A$295 billion per year</a>.</p>
<h2>Ecosystem services</h2>
<p>Large, complex and intact ecosystems such as those on Cape York provide many benefits for people. These include regulating the climate, providing habitat for thousands of species, genetic resources (such as <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-11/wild-rice-australia-linked-to-main-varities-developed-in-asia/6764924">wild rice</a>), fresh water, waste treatment and preventing erosion.</p>
<p>We can think of these benefits as ecosystem “services” in an economic sense, and calculate the value they provide. We used estimates from around the world to come up with our figure. For instance, we used the price of carbon fetched at the first <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-how-does-todays-direct-action-reverse-auction-work-40152">Emissions Reduction Fund auction</a> (A$14 per tonne of greenhouse gas). </p>
<p>Indigenous people have managed the land over millennia in a way that has created high ecosystem service values. Without their stewardship, land degradation rapidly followed: clearing, feral animals, weeds, inappropriate fire management and overgrazing are now extensive threats to ecosystems. </p>
<p>There are few economic analyses of the cost of land degradation. Those few that do exist suggest that at least <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221204161630064X">A$2.7 billion per year is spent on controlling feral animals and weeds</a>. Cape York, like northern Australia generally, is also suffering a loss of species, most notably a massive decline in its mammal populations.</p>
<h2>Mining is winning…</h2>
<p>In 1957, the Queensland government revoked Indigenous reserves at the Weipa mission, on the western side of Cape York, to accommodate bauxite mining. The mine began production in 1964. Today, the mine north of Weipa is one of the world’s largest, producing <a href="http://www.riotintoalcan.com/ENG/ourproducts/1818_environmental_impact_statement.asp">26 million tonnes of bauxite</a>.</p>
<p>While the mine has produced great benefits to the national economy, local Indigenous communities remain the nation’s most disadvantaged. The Wik community of Aurukun, 100 km south of Weipa, is one of the <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/2033.0.55.001%7E2011%7EMain%20Features%7ESEIFA%20Measures%7E10016">most socially disadvantaged communities in Australia</a>. </p>
<p>Recently, Rio Tinto has proposed an expansion onto Wik land, increasing production eventually to 50 million tonnes, with an estimated local economic impact of <a href="http://www.riotintoalcan.com/documents/Operations_SoE_2011_EIS-V3-S17-Economics_EN.pdf">between A$717 million and A$2.4 billion per year for 40 years</a>. This is comparable to the value of local ecosystems (between A$300 million and A$1.1 billion per year) but, of course, there is no time limit on ecosystem values. </p>
<p>We can also figure that the amount of carbon stored in the forests to be cleared for the mine extension is worth A$122 million in carbon credits. Invested in Australian shares, this would provide an annual return of <a href="http://www.asx.com.au/documents/resources/ASX_Report_2013.pdf">around A$10 million</a>. </p>
<p>The value of the mine to Aurukun in employment and government-funded land management may be in the order of A$400,000. This is a tiny fraction of the value of the region’s ecosystems, and 4% of the value of the annual carbon credits of the forests to be cleared. This shows a significant mismatch in compensation and an appalling underestimate of the potential of Indigenous land management services.</p>
<h2>… farming is not</h2>
<p>While mining is the largest industry in monetary terms, farming – largely grazing – is the most widespread. We value the ecosystem services of the grazing lands at up to A$6,100 per hectare. Beef productivity is worth less than A$20 per hectare. </p>
<p>Like northern Australian generally, the beef industry is in poor health with declining terms of trade of about <a href="http://industry.gov.au/ONA/Reports-and-publications/Documents/mosaic_irrigation_technical_report.pdf">2% per year</a>. </p>
<p>The uses of pastoral leases are, however, restricted to grazing by law. The law stipulates that graziers must manage the land (for example controlling weeds and pests) as part of their duty of care. But these duty of care provisions mean that graziers can’t access any further value from ecosystem services, or receive further funding to increase the value of their land. </p>
<p>Cape York graziers do see themselves as stewards. Over a dozen properties on Cape York have voluntarily offered part or all of their land as part of Queensland’s Nature Refuges program, while being allowed to continue low-impact grazing.</p>
<p>We don’t know what impact grazing is having on Cape York’s ecosystems. Even so, graziers have limited financial incentives to manage the land better, putting the health of ecosystem services at risk. </p>
<h2>Making money from ecosystems</h2>
<p>It is the Indigenous owners who have developed innovative models of enterprise focused on ecosystem services. The Olkola people, for instance, are demonstrating that an ecosystem services economy could generate greater returns than pastoralism and deliver multiple benefits. </p>
<p>Through the first Emissions Reduction Fund auction, Olkola Aboriginal Corporation and clan group in southern central Cape York were contracted to <a href="http://www.cleanenergyregulator.gov.au/ERF/Published-information/auction-results/auction-results-april-2015/Carbon-Abatement-Contracts-table">reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 455,000 tonnes over seven years</a> by changing the way savanna ecosystems are burned.</p>
<p>Our preliminary estimate suggests that Olkola will possibly earn millions of dollars over seven years for approximately 870,000 ha of land. This income, together with a conservative grazing regime, some funds to manage the national parks, philanthropic funds and <a href="http://www.intrepidtravel.com/au/olkola">tourism opportunities</a>, could provide more economically and environmentally sustainable livelihoods than cattle grazing alone.</p>
<p>Getting the most value out of our ecosystems means we’ll have to embrace new models of enterprise, and not remain stuck in the past.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/56994/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Luke Preece works for Cape York Natural Resource Management Limited, which receives funding from the Australian Government's Stream 1 Regional NRM Planning for Climate Change Fund. Luke is also a management committee member on the Cairns and Far North Environment Centre (CAFNEC). This work was done in my role as an adjunct at James Cook University and does not reflect the views of Cape York Natural Resource Management, the Australian Government or CAFNEC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Penny van Oosterzee received funding from Cape York Natural Resources Management Ltd. to help develop an ecosystem services framework for Cape York. This work does not reflect the views of Cape York Natural Resources Management Ltd.</span></em></p>
Cape York’s ecosystems are worth as much as the Queensland economy.
Luke Preece, Adjunct Researcher, James Cook University
Penny van Oosterzee, Principal Research Adjunct James Cook University and University Fellow Charles Darwin University, James Cook University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.