This is a brief for Policy Makers titled "From Land Degradation to Land Health"

These guidelines introduce and promote the essential elements of participatory rangeland management (PRM). Based upon the successful experiences of participatory forest management, the guidelines provide a process following three stages of investigation, negotiation and implementation. The sequential steps of this process lead to the development of a rangeland management plan and a legally binding rangeland management agreement between a local rangeland management institution and the appropriate local government office.

Violent conflicts between nomadic herders from northern Nigeria and sedentary agrarian communities in the central and southern zones have escalated in recent years and are spreading southward, threatening the country’s security and stability. With an estimated death toll of approximately 2,500 people in 2016, these clashes are becoming as potentially dangerous as the Boko Haram insurgency in the north east. Yet to date, response to the crisis at both the federal and state levels has been poor.

This rangelands management framework is a product of a rapid pastoralist-led rangeland health assessment that was conducted in three sampled districts of Karamoja; Moroto, Napak and Kotido.

This topic guide for government agencies, service providers and other practitioners examines various dimensions of governance that are key to deliver appropriate benefit-sharing, ensure sustainable exploitation, minimise conflict over access and control, and maximise the contribution of resources to economies. This includes decentralised and collaborative governance, multi-level and adaptive governance, and the roles of institutions and politics.

Garba Tula district in Isiolo County of Northern Kenya, is a region covering approximately 10,000km and home to around 40,000 predominantly Boran Pastoralists. The region is characterised by arid and semi-arid conditions and is rich in biodiversity and wildlife resources. Despite being surrounded by protected areas such as Meru National Park and Bisan Adi Game Reserve the full potential for conservation is not being met, and instead communities are often threatened and restricted by wildlife populations.

Purpose of the guidelines The purpose of the present Guidelines is threefold: 1. to explain the basic principles of land use planning 2. indicate which land use planning activities could be carried out in Somaliland at different levels, and how 3. provide a number of tools and resources which could be of practical use by land use planners in Somaliland The guidelines are not a manual which has to be followed strictly. Such manuals could be developed at a later stage, particularly for land use planning at village level.

I n order to safeguard long-term equitable and sustainable environmental management and governance, a clear and transparent relationship to land – whether an individual’s, a community’s, a government’s or a private investor’s – is essential. To this end, UNEP has begun to engage on land issues in Sudan, and will continue to do so through the next four year phase of programming, as part of supporting the people and the government of Darfur in rebuilding and redefining the social contract on natural resources and land.

Namati’s Community Land Protection Facilitators Guide is a step-by-step, practical “how to” manual for grassroots advocates working to help communities protect their customary claims and rights to land and natural resources.

Download the complete Guide PDF from this page. Or access the Guide as an online Toolkit to download individual chapters.

Southern Ethiopia’s Lower Omo Valley is one of the most culturally and biologically diverse areas in the world, yet the Ethiopian government is transforming more than 375,000 hectares (1450 sq. miles) of the region into industrial-scale plantations for sugar and other monocrops.

Introduction: Water as a range management tool The pastoral system - the inter-relationship between livestock, natural resources and people / institutions - has evolved to function effectively and efficiently in areas of low and unpredictable rainfall, using mobility as one of the key adaptation strategies. Although having undergone changes over the years, the pastoralist system comprises fundamental elements which have allowed it to persist for millennia.

Tanzania and Mozambique — countries of vast mountain ranges and open stretches of plateaus — now face a growing land problem. As soil degradation, climate change and population growth place enormous strains on the natural resources that sustain millions of people, multinational companies are also gunning for large swaths of land across both countries. Caught between these pressures, many poor, rural communities get displaced or decide to sell their collectively held land.