The past nine (9) years have seen the rangelands governance portfolio grow in RECONCILE this has been occasioned largely by the role of RECONCILE in coordination of the Rangelands Initiative first; as a global programme and currently as an African region programme.
This next phase of the programming shall strengthen programmatic engagement on Sustainable Rangeland Governance and Management. Technology is key in this programme areas and this is building further on the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) a conceptual framework that provides the ability to capture and analyze spatial and geographic data.
In strengthening food security and policy interventions GIS applications and other computer-based tools designed to establishment of interactive products critical in securing rangelands and resources for integrate the management such as land, water, biodiversity, and other environmental resources to meet human and animal needs, while ensuring the long-term sustainability of ecosystem. This programme is cognizant that rangelands provide a base for livelihoods for many rural communities within the Eastern Africa Region. Within these communities, there existed traditional rangeland management strategies which allowed them to adapt to the variability in rangelands resources for their production systems.
However, there currently exits a growing concern on sustainability of communal rangelands in Eastern Africa, as they have become less productive. This has mainly been attributed to the gradual loss of traditional knowledge and systems on rangelands management, adverse effects of climate change and increased human interference. In particular; illicit acquisition, unsustainable infrastructural investments, and overexploitation of rangeland resources, have been cited as major threats. This has left rangelands dependent communities susceptible to loss of livelihoods. In addition, since animals rely on rangelands for habitat, their survival and well-being has also been heavily compromised by the continued destruction of these resources.
These realities have not only left the ecosystems prone to conflicts associated with rangeland use, but also catalyzed the emergence of zoonotic diseases, due to increased human encroachment into wildlife habitat. This makes sustainable rangelands Governance and Management integral to the achievement of one health, (the recognition that the health of people is closely connected to the health of animals and our shared environment).
