Thumbnail Image

Sustainable approaches for rangeland management and livestock production in arid and semi arid regions of tropical countries.

Year of publication 1998

Pages 12

Author Aslam Pervez Umrani;Animal Production and Health Division

Publisher ODI ;

Product type Document

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) Sustainable grazing management or land resource use is a key issue of concern in most arid and semi arid regions of the world. This challenge is particularly formidable in arid rangeland environment, because of inherent seasonal constraints, higher livestock densities and change in socio-economic conditions of pastoral communities. The objectives of rangeland based livestock production vary with the pastoral system employed, such as nomadic, semi nomadic and sedentary systems. Ideally, sto cking rates to achieve maximum profitability should also be sustainable. Rainfall fluctuations from year to year in the arid and semi-arid rangelands, make it difficult to devise perfect stocking strategies and grazing management to cope with the variability. The light stocking rates required to match average rainfall can reduce the risk of forage deficit and financial losses due to death of animals in low and average rainfall years. Nevertheless, a major challenge lies ahead to convince pastora l people about the benefits of reducing stocking rates and improving production efficiencies, in order to achieve higher livestock production, an improvement in income and less degradation of the rangeland.

Language English

Also available in:
No results found.

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Thumbnail Image
    Document
    The rangelands of the arid/semi-arid areas: Challenges and hopes for the 2000s 1998
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    Do we need to worry about the rangelands in the arid and semi-arid areas? Is there hope for these resources in the year 2000 and beyond? Is it valid to assume that the world's marginal rangelands will survive the extraordinary pressures which started around the mid-1950s as a result of the sharp increase in human population density? What can modern technologies bring to these areas, other than disaster and over-use? Nowadays, domestic animals are trucked to the remotest corners of the ea rth and plants that used to flourish under very irregular and scanty rain hardly get a chance to germinate. The seed banks are depleting rapidly, and the seasonally-rich grazing areas are turning irreversibly into barren lands. These are the cries of the times, and the agonies of the helpless. However, nature has its own defense mechanisms and strategies which it has maintained throughout the history of our planet. This paper explores the fore-mentioned issues from a historic and stati stical perspective. Issues relating to the validity and long-term sustainability of approaches to monitor and manage the extensive rangelands in a changing world are substantiated and discussed. Attention is also given to the socio-economic and technical relevance of high tech and conventional approaches towards understanding the dynamics of vegetation and livestock, the consumption habits of graziers, and the market forces. Consideration is given to the balance between natural and man -made defenses and strategies and responsibilities at national and regional (e.g., GCC) levels are explored, proposed and/or recommended.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (stand-alone)
  • Thumbnail Image
Show more

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

No results found.