Photo 1: Rangeland in the IGAD Region
Participatory Rangeland Management (PRM) is a step-by-step process which aims to address degradation of vast rangelands through appropriate management practices and governance of communal rangelands. So far, PRM has been piloted in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania with the help of non-governmental organizations, using field guides developed by International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). A study of the results of PRM application in Ethiopia showed amongst others, improvements in the governance of rangelands including more participatory decision-making processes, improvements in rangelands and livestock productivity, and improvements in women’s empowerment.
On 6th October 2023 Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) signed a contract agreement with ILRI to work together on the upscaling of PRM across the region (Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda). This agreement particularly foresees ILRI’s technical support to IGAD towards preparation of the PRM process field guide.
Photo 2: Community Meeting in the Field
PRM is an approach that builds the capacity of communities to improve the management and governance of their communal rangelands. As a first step, the agreement stipulates that ILRI will develop a field manual on the PRM process based on current experiences and practices across the IGAD region. As part of the process, IGAD Center for Pastoral Areas and Livestock development (ICPALD) held a regional technical experience sharing, and validation of draft field guide for PRM process meeting on 27th and 28th October 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya. The objective of the technical meeting was to facilitate experience sharing amongst practitioners across the region from PRM piloting, and contextualizing the draft PRM field guide. It is anticipated that the regional PRM manual will support the scaling of PRM across the region over the next five years.
With significantly more severe and prolonged droughts across the region, increased rangeland degradation, land use conflicts, and weakened grazing land governance & management, there is need to build the capacity of communities and supporting stakeholders, in order to reverse these trends. PRM has proved to be a successful approach to do this and achieve it at scale. At ICPALD we believe that improved rangelands could contribute to triple benefits: Climate change adaptation and mitigation, Improved livelihood income and Enhanced ecosystem services.
IGAD and ILRI are excited to be working with other partners on scaling out, refining and contextualizing PRM, to better understand its impacts on the environment and food security of livestock keepers & others, and strengthen its role as a vehicle for women’s empowerment.
Additional Resources: https://www.cgiar.org/news-events/news/participatory-rangeland-management-upscaling-boosted-by-igad-agreement/
