• UGI USER
  • May 22, 2024
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UN: INDIAN PASTORALISTS NEED LAND ACCESS, RIGHTS RECOGNITION IMPROVEMENTS

Why in the news?

  • UN report highlights need for better land access and rights recognition for Indian pastoralists.
  • Focus on rangeland degradation and marginalisation of pastoralist communities.
  • The UN Convention on Combating Desertification reports that nearly half of the world’s rangelands are degraded due to climate change and land-use changes.

 Understanding  Rangelands:

  • Definition: Rangelands are extensive areas with native vegetation grazed by domestic or wild herbivores, covering 40–50% of Earth’s land.
  • They include tallgrass prairies, steppes, desert shrublands, savannas, chaparrals, tundras, and some forests.
  • Rangelands are managed by controlling grazing animals, unlike pasturelands with human-established plants.
  • Supports diverse ecosystems and plays a crucial role in wildlife habitat and livestock grazing.
source:slideshare
About United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD):

  • Established: 1994, legally binding international agreement.
  • Focus: Arid, semi-arid, dry sub-humid areas (drylands).
  • Goals: Improve living conditions, restore land productivity, mitigate drought effects.
  • Approach: Bottom-up, local participation.
  • Cooperation: Knowledge and technology transfer between developed and developing countries.
  • Collaboration: Works with CBD and UNFCCC.
  • India: Hosted COP-14 in September 2019.

About Pastoralism in India:

  • No Official Recognition: Pastoralism lacks an official category and definition in India.
  • Defined by dependence on common resources, mobility, livestock income, traditional knowledge, and specific breeds.
  • Pastoralists: Practice involves using uncultivated plants for food, mediating human-environment interactions.