Rangelands report urges global investment in pastoral landscapes

A new global report titled ‘Rangelands Rising: Investing in Sustainable Management and Restoration’ has called on governments and investors to increase funding for the world’s rangelands. Launched at the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP17), the report highlights that these landscapes cover more than half of the planet’s land surface and contain approximately one-third of its key biodiversity areas.

The report estimates that rangelands generate annual economic and environmental benefits valued between US$21 trillion and US$47 trillion. Despite this value, the landscapes are often overlooked by financial and governing institutions. The research also challenges the long-standing assumption that mobile livestock herding causes land degradation, suggesting instead that well-managed pastoral systems can maintain biodiverse landscapes.

Published by a coalition including the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), GIZ, the Economics of Land Degradation Initiative, UNCCD, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the document emphasizes the importance of supporting the 500 million pastoralists who manage these areas. This support is increasingly critical as rangelands face threats from intensifying droughts, crop expansion, and urban encroachment.