Presentation

Range Land and Biodiversity Conservation

June 12, 2015

4

Collaborative watershed management after major disasters, collaborative tools, post

project evaluation & discussions with communities, reflecting the need for more

evidence on impact

BY Dr. Faizul Bari, FAO Pakistan

Definition of Rangelands

• Areas unfit for agriculture due to sever cold or heat• Fit for grasses, shrubs and fodder species• Spread over 7 ecological zones; alpine pastures in

the north to the arid and semiarid ranges in the south

• Support both livestock and wildlife grazing

Rangeland Resource• Vast resource cover the major land use; 60% area• Resource is subjected to heavy grazing and

degradation• Current productivity is less than 50%• Vegetation cover has been reduced by 30%• Proportion of Palatable plants reduced to 25%• Correspondingly the related services and functions

drastically reduced; biodiversity, water flow, non-timber forest products, ecotourism

Land Use Analysis • Major land use• There is also grazing within forests• Bringing this major land use under proper

management will result in lot of benefits; increased and healthy and productive livestock

Challenges• Due to the major challenges the current

productivity is far less than its potential• The degradation has negatively impacted the

livelihoods of million of poor people besides reduced functions and services

• The land tenure is a major issue, where the rangelands are exploited due to its community nature

• Poor ranges divert pressure to the surrounding forests

• Nomadic grazing is also major problem

Rangeland Biodiversity• Major land use, habitat for important Fauna

and important flora• Rangeland and pastures jointly used by the

livestock and wildlife, competition for food and habitat

• Overgrazing disturb the wildlife, restricted to remote un-disturbed sites

• Common watering points• Disease transfer

Need for Rangeland Policy• First ever policy• Resource needs to put back on tract• Adopt more holistic approach to natural resource

management including biodiversity conservation• The benefits will be enormous• Will develop strategy for mitigation and adoption of

climate change• Will also contribute to carbon stock

Thrusts/Priority Area• These are the areas if focused the range productivity, services and

functions will increase• The major land resource will be brought under scientific management

Thrusts/Priority Area (cont)

• Mitigation of climate change & other natural disasters• Awareness raising & capacity building• Promotion of academic discipline of range

management, research and technology and extension services• Generation of financial resources &

establishment of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rangeland Development Fund

Institutional Arrangement• Requires separate staff to focus on the rangeland

management• There is need to also associate livestock and

agriculture department