THE UNGA DECLARATION ON PASTORALISTS
Pastoralists play a vital role in food security, and in maintaining biodiversity
Last week, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared 2026 the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP), following petitions from the government of Mongolia and other pressure groups around the world. Pastoralists are the herder communities and rangelands are their preferred grazing areas. As at the time of the UNGA declaration, 103 governments supported the resolution co-sponsored by 61 countries. Nigeria is not one of the participating countries listed in the document.
The objective of celebrating IYRP 2026 is twofold: Focus world attention on the role that pastoralists play in food security, poverty eradication, environmental services, and sustainable natural resource use—thereby increasing global understanding and action to support pastoralists and deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is also to enhance dialogue among different actors and, not least, to support pastoralists in collaborating with others and making themselves seen, heard, and included in policymaking, especially because of the role they play in food security. Their activities enrich the rangelands and reduce the impact of climate change through carbon sequestration.
Sustainable rangelands and pastoralism are sorely needed more so now in a world facing an unpredictable and changing climate, where already over 700 million people – almost one-tenth of the world population – are suffering hunger, and where one million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction. UNGA estimates that in the last 100 years, pastoralists have endured numerous injustices such as dispossession of their traditional grazing areas and blocking of their migration routes. Yet these communities continue to survive and apply knowledge and skills that make them strong allies in sustainable development in the face of increasing uncertainty. Pastoralists are stewards of the rangelands, so they play a vital role in maintaining and increasing biodiversity and providing ecosystem services.
Whereas industrial, confined, intensive livestock production has a big carbon and water footprint, the footprint of pastoral systems has been scientifically proven to be next to zero. Rangelands sustained by pastoralism form the largest carbon sink on the planet and managing them under sustainable grazing practices is essential for climate change mitigation. Pastoralism is a production system that requires little fossil-fuel energy. It relies primarily on self-generating natural pastures. It also helps to prevent wildfires, since grazing consumes much of the ground level vegetation that could provide the fuel to burn. Thus, pastoralism can be a nature-friendly livestock production system that optimises the dynamic balance between production and sustainability under highly variable and changing conditions.
The IYRP aims to raise awareness and fill knowledge gaps globally about the considerable benefits provided by healthy rangelands and sustainable pastoralism. It will also advocate for strengthening the capacity of the pastoral livestock sector and for increasing responsible investment in this sector. The goal is to make rangelands and pastoralists prominent in policy debates around everything from confronting climate crises to reducing poverty, managing threats to biodiversity, developing sustainable food systems, and helping to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Meanwhile, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) did not directly address the herder-farmer conflict in some countries, particularly Nigeria when asked to comment on the impact the IYRP 2026 would have on the country. In June 2021, the Institute proffered hay cultivation and preservation as solution to reduction in migration of livestock in search of food which has been linked to security threats in Nigeria and some parts of West Africa. The ILRI Nigeria country office said it has successfully tested, perfected and proven that the production of quality and nutritious hay is possible in Southwest Nigeria which can be preserved all year round to cater for livestock needs, emphasising its impact in reducing migration of herder communities/families, to avoid conflicts.
