Advancing Global Action for Rangeland Restoration

​​​​​​Key messages from the dialogue on rangeland restoration

• Rangelands have many economic, ecological, social, and cultural values, and a wealth of biodiversity that supports ecosystem health. Rangelands play a key role in the survival of many communities, especially those in semi-arid and arid areas, and need to be included in the restoration efforts, alongside forests and other ecosystems.
• In many countries, land degradation is a threat to rangelands, contributing to food insecurity, greenhouse gas emissions, and increased water runoff, and change in groundwater level among other threats.
• Anthropogenic pressures, such as cutting down of trees and overgrazing, and climate change contribute to land degradation in the rangelands. Underlying drivers of rangeland degradation include population growth, institutional weaknesses, knowledge and technology gaps, and underinvestment.

The solution

• There is widespread agreement over the need to scale up rangeland restoration, but countries face many challenges, including significant knowledge and capacity gaps and institutional deficiencies.

Priorities for investment include:

• • Develop and strengthen relevant legislation for the rangelands, including legal solutions for securing communal resource tenure, restoration approaches, and sustainable management
  • Promote multistakeholder engagement in land use planning, including rangelands in landscape approaches, and ensure gender-responsive participation and representation of stakeholders, including pastoralists
  • Establish monitoring systems to support sustainable rangeland management and restoration approaches that are adapted to rangeland ecology, dryland climates, and pastoral livelihoods
  • Build capacity and knwledge and promote technology transfer in relation to governance, land tenure, rangeland management good practices, and value chain development
  • Strengthen value chains and ther investments that promote the biodiversity of rangelands and reward the protection of ecosystem services
  • Develop a financial mechanism to support rangeland restoration and rehabilitation

The opportunity

• Rangelands are a priority for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and they are promoted through the International Year on Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) in 2026, endorsed by FAO’s Committee on Agriculture. International commitment to rangeland restoration will also support progress towards Land Degradation Neutrality. However, scientific evidence of effective solutions needs to be developed and communicated.
• This dialogue responded to the civil society request during the Désertif’actions summit in 2019. Civil Society Organisations recommend that civil society is involved in all discussions on rangeland restoration to ensure fair representation and participation of pastoralists and other stakeholders. Existing networks can facilitate this representation as well as the capturing of local knowledge for rangeland management.
• Stronger international commitment to rangeland restoration will help to present rangeland restoration as an obligation rather than just an opportunity. It will build momentum for developing tools and knowledge, establishing appropriate institutions, and promoting investments.
• The Global Grassland and Savannah Dialogue Platform will provide further opportunity to facilitate and strengthen the commitment to rangeland restoration, increase global knowledge, and scale up good practices of rangeland restoration.

Concluding remarks and next steps

Participants agreed on the importance of continuing the Dialogue on rangeland restoration to increase global understanding of their role in achieving sustainable development and thus strengthen international commitment and investments. The organizing partners will continue to cooperate to push the recognition of rangeland restoration in the political agenda.  In alignment with Land Degradation Neutrality Targets and the SDGs, IUCN and WWF will work with countries and other stakeholders to promote rangeland restoration in relevant fora and processes, including exploring options to be presented at UNCCD COP15 as well as the UN Food Systems Summit.