Participatory, systems-oriented research on rangelands uses specialized local knowledge, encourages farmer acceptance and adoption of technological interventions, and may be less expensive if available resources are properly used. Research, extension and monitoring should be closely coordinated. The highest-priority rangelands conservation and management research topics are as follows:

• Long-term monitoring and inventory of rangelands ecosystems; measuring trends in vegetation composition as affected by grazing pressure; fuel harvesting; cultivation of marginal land areas; unprescribed fires; and climatic and natural factors.
• Range ecosystem research; integrating ‘indigenous knowledge’; and developing practical and socially acceptable grazing management systems.

Research has played an important role in many IFAD projects. For example, one of the aims of the Northern Pasture and Livestock Development Project in China was to establish a pasture research unit for the purpose of identifying the most suitable grass and legume species for each region, determining fertilizer and trace element requirements, investigating specific problems relating to pasture establishment (sowing, seed rates and seed inoculation requirements) and supervising grassland surveys of various communes in the sub-project area. Similarly, under the Livestock and Pasture Development Project in the Eastern Region in Morocco, research was undertaken on herder management techniques and knowledge dissemination.

Rangelands projects have a greater chance of success when the extent of range degradation is thoroughly investigated before formulation. Essential components include assessments of climate, soil erosion and conservation, land-use/land-cover change and land-use policy and socio-economy, as well as regional biomass monitoring. For example, the Qinghai/Hainan Agricultural Development Project in China undertook a detailed survey of grassland and livestock in the project area so as to determine both the extent of degradation and the degree of degradation to be used as a baseline. The findings of the survey were that 28% (about 890 000 ha) of the land was degraded, mainly as a result of overstocking; that the summer grasslands were generally over-grazed (and overstocked by 52%); and that winter land, which had received attention in the early stages of project appraisal, was overstocked by only 36%. The survey also showed a feed supply rate of 3.7 million stock units (SUs) while actual animal numbers were 4.9 million SUs, indicating that there was an excess of 1.2 million SUs (about 33% over the sustainable level).

While projects must be designed in accordance with preliminary surveys and research, continuous impact monitoring is equally important, especially considering the fragility of range ecosystems. In the Arhangai Rural Poverty Alleviation Project, the appraisal mission recommended the establishment of a rangeland management and monitoring system to ensure that the currently stable rangelands were not affected by increased livestock production. Measures were to include annual livestock censuses and the use of other data sources, including satellite imagery, to assess rangeland carrying capacity. However, although the Government of Mongolia agreed to set up a monitoring system, the activities proposed at appraisal had not been yet implemented at mid-term, owing to perceived high costs, technical difficulties and limited institutional capacities. The project therefore planned to experiment with an innovative pilot rangeland monitoring and management system in 15 localities. The system was to be based on a participatory approach building on indigenous knowledge, and to include mapping and sampling techniques.

Relevant IFAD Projects