"Green civilization"

Nomadic herders and sustainable pastoralism discussed at UNEA-2

By GRID-Arendal

June 2^nd, 2016

There are a lot of misconceptions about pastoralism, so many that its environmental benefits and economic contribution tend to be ignored.

I went to UNEA-2 along with Director Anders Oskal and Professor Svein Mathiesen from the International Centre for Reindeer Husbandry (ICR) to work with other like-minded people to help increase understanding of the importance of pastoralism.

We’re working together on a project called “Nomadic Herders” that will enhance the resilience of reindeer herders’ ecosystems and livelihoods in Eastern Russia and Northern Mongolia. In Nairobi, we were part of the consortium that organized a side-event on sustainable pastoralism, and we discussed our project with partners.

The event included a panel of ministers of environment, pastoralist organisations, environmental NGOs and UN staff to debate international cooperation for sustainable pastoralism.

The discussion was opened by the President of UNEA, Ms. Oyun Sanjaasuren from Mongolia, who described pastoralists as a “green civilization.” She explained that though the Mongolian population is three million people and the country is the size of Alaska or Western Europe, its pastures are fragile ecosystems. However, “the pastoralists have lived on the land for hundreds and thousands of years and learned how to maintain an intimate relationship with water, landscape and pastures.”

Ibrahim Thiaw, UNEP’s Deputy Executive Director, argued that sustainable pastoralism is an example of a “green economy.” He said intensive agriculture is much more environmentally harmful way to produce food than nomadism. Moving animals to different pastures is an ancient technique that helps restore grazing lands.

According to Anders Oskal, agricultural models are used to understand reindeer husbandry, and everything that cannot be understood within this framework is labelled culture. “This is challenging from a policy perspective because if the only tool you have is a hammer, pretty soon every problem starts looking like a nail.”

Participants also discussed a draft resolution which was worked on during the week. On the last day of UNEA-2, the states adopted a resolution on Combating desertification, land degradation and drought and promoting sustainable pastoralism and rangelands. The resolution recognizes that pastoralism is a historical practice that in many countries is linked to the distinct cultures, identities, traditional knowledge and way of life of Indigenous Peoples and local communities. It contributes to enhancing and maintaining biodiversity, food security and sustainable management of rangelands.

The resolution says pastoralism is a global issue and calls for an environmental and socioeconomic assessment that would include, among other things, local and indigenous knowledge and technologies.

Recognizing the current knowledge gap about the threats and opportunities for the worlds’ pastoralists, the Nomadic Herders partners welcome a global assessment addressing these concerns. We are ready to contribute with an Arctic pastoral perspective to the assessment.