The role of governance in sustainable rangeland management

Abstract

The management and rehabilitation of degraded rangelands are inherently complex in south Mediterranean where state and tribal owned pastures are grazed commonly by the agro-pastoralists. The prospect for increased degradation primarily caused by overgrazing and recurrent droughts is currently at alarming levels. Reversing the negative trends primarily requires insightful management practices, institutional and policy support, and ultimately sound governance. Historically, the emphasis on rangeland management and improvement has been placed on the agronomic and ecological techniques but the efforts to restore the health and biodiversity of rangelands have achieved little impact. Low adoption of the technical and agronomic packages indicates that the imperative role of the governance and well-established sustainable communal land management cannot be ignored. Governance practices that are in conformity with socio-organizational arrangements are essential for sustainable management in particular for common rangeland grazing regimes. These practices should be set up in a participatory manner, involving the agro- pastoralists and building social networking to achieve environmental, social and economic sustainability in agropastoral production systems. This brief paper aims to highlight the role of governance of rangelands in sustainable pastoralism in the south Mediterranean region.