LEAD approach
To addressing livestock’s role in dryland management

ands classified as desert (length of growing period = 0), arid (lgp <90), and semi-arid (90<lgp<180) occupy approximately half of total emerged lands. These areas receive between 100 and 600 mm of rainfall annually, in a very erratic and inconsistent regime, the main feature of their “dryness” being the negative balance between the annual rainfall and evapo-transpiration. Many of world’s drylands are grazed natural pastures. The specificity of these rangelands lies in their lack of biomass stability. Drylands are widely spread over the globe, hosting an important share of the global population in fragile ecosystems. They therefore represent an important focus area for the LEAD Initiative.

Livestock production has been the main activity developed to sustain livelihoods in these low productivity and unstable environments. Nomadic pastoralism fully exploits these characteristics, however, the more traditional practices have been modified in recent years and pastoralists are adopting a variety of agricultural practices, including cropping. In pastoral areas, livestock are often one of the few assets owned by the poor and as such play a significant role in their livelihoods. One of the main interactions between the poor and the environment in drylands is through their high dependence on common property grassland resources.

There are several environmental problems which affect drylands and the human populations which they support. Overgrazing and land degradation has increased as a result of reduced mobility of pastoral herds and increases in cropping and livestock numbers. In addition, competition for resources between wildlife and livestock interactions is increasing, resulting in increased marginalisation of the poor and game poaching. Finally, declining biodiversity is a critical issue in drylands where the number of flora and fauna species is high, for example, the presence of large mammals is important in the ecology of African grasslands but dry savannah areas and deserts host 13% and 15%, respectively, of mammals threatened by extinction, In Africa, the average plant genetic diversity for savannah land (1,750 species) is not far below that of rainforests (2,202 species). Drylands are also important for their contribution to carbon sequestration, despite their low biomass production rates.

LEAD approach to all identified livestock and environment hotspots include a number of activities, which are:

1. Collection and provision of basic data: baseline data on the hotspot is collected and shared with partner organisations through the LEAD Virtual Research and Development Centre.

2. Analysis and assessment: the data is analysed and the causes and effects of the environmental degradation in each hotspot is assessed.

3. Design of policy and technology options: using this analysis, tools are developed to facilitate the design of policy and technology options for consideration by decision makers at national and local level.

4. Testing, validation and up scaling of options: the identified options are tested and validated. The project scales-up the approach from national level to regional level with the aim of impacting on eco-systems and exploit the benefits of cross-boundary interactions.

5. Provision of decision-support tools: tools are made available to decision-makers to assist them to analyse critical livestock-environment-poverty interactions and to perform an ex-ante analysis of considered policy and technology options.

6. Development of guidelines: facilitates the adoption of tools and their use within the wider context, taking into account, for example, equity and health as well as the environment.

7. Capacity building and uptake: LEAD raises awareness of detrimental livestock-environmental interactions and provides its partner organisations with the skills and knowledge to carry out relevant research. In addition, it establishes effective uptake pathways for the adoption and application of results at local, national and regional levels.

Regarding livestock’s role in dryland management, LEAD undertakes the following activities:

Activity 1. Collection and provision of basic data

The central hub for the assembling and provision of generic information on the interactions between livestock and drylands with regard to Africa, South Asia and Central Asia will be the Virtual Centre and its language platforms in English (FAO-Rome), French (CIRAD-Montpellier) and Russian (FAO-Rome). Types of data include:
the extent of grazing land by agro-ecological zone and other bio-physical characteristics, by management form and other technical characteristics and by property regime and other socio-economic characteristics
environmental parameters
institutional data base.

Detailed information will be provided on issues where LEAD has initiated its own studies and research and development activities, notably:
wildlife-livestock interactions, mainly in East Africa, but also in parts of West Africa where the information will cover a host of bio-physical, technical and socio-economic parameters describing the complementarity and competition between wildlife and livestock, in addition to relevant institutions and programmes active in this area.
the “Pôle Pastoral” programme, which is active in francophone West Africa within important dryland systems, will provide information sets covering the resource base, management types and critical focus areas, in addition to relevant institutions and programmes active in this area, and decision making processes, in particular under drought conditions.
in India, where a study is being launched into the role of livestock in watershed management and its impact on rural livelihoods, information will be provided on impact on the environment, resource access, household food security, impact on income and employment, and market access, in addition to detailed information on existing programmes and policies.
in Central Asia, the Virtual Centre and its Russian language platform will provide an inventory of the existing knowledge about livestock-environment interactions and relevant institutions and programmes active in this area.

Activity 2: Analysis and Assessment

A generic assessment will be undertaken for the world’s drylands that will provide a state-of–the art reference document.

This will be based partially on a detailed analysis accompanying LEAD’s on-going or planned activities:
an analysis of the complementary factors and competition between livestock and wildlife in two selected study areas (Chad, Tanzania) from an environmental, economic, social and health perspective, to be complemented by spatial analysis
an assessment of livestock-environment hotspots in francophone West Africa with regard to drought mitigation and decision-making processes together with a critical review of existing pastoral development programmes, to be complemented by spatial analysis
an assessment of the role of livestock in watershed development and watershed development programmes in four states in India where common property areas and dryland grazing systems are common; this assessment will serve as a guide to public policy makers to assist them in the design of these programmes
an assessment of the current state of degradation of central Asian grasslands and a review of current policies
an analysis of different benefit-sharing schemes for stakeholders to facilitate a more harmonious coexistence of wildlife and livestock.

Results of the analysis will feed into an updated global assessment to be available at the end of the project period.

Activity 3: Design of Policy and Technology Options

The design of policy options in LEAD’s “livestock in dryland management programme” will focus on institutional innovations to promote equitable resource access and benefit-sharing mechanisms. This will be complemented by suitable technologies to reduce grazing pressure in critical areas and to reduce wildlife biodiversity degradation. This will be achieved by the design of:

community-based development programmes based on benefit-sharing of wildlife revenues and participatory land use planning, based on integrated policy-technology combinations
policy and technology options to enhance the ability of pastoralists to mitigate the effects of drought and to enhance the resilience of pastoral livelihoods
policy and technology options to be included as integrated components in watershed development programmes in India
policy and technology options for the management of central Asian grassland will be developed based on the above review

Activity 4: Testing, Validation and Upscaling of Options (applied research and development)

Testing and validation is part of the ongoing GEF projects in Chad and Tanzania. Upscaling is underway for the wildlife-livestock interaction component of the livestock in dryland management programme through GEF funding. LEAD will continue to play a co-ordinating and backstopping role in the upscaling project on wildlife-livestock interactions and will continue to prepare proposals for funding by donors.

Depending on the prospects, LEAD may convene formulation workshops and formulate, or commission the formulation of, project documents, in the areas of watershed management in South and Central Asia or of project documents connected to drought preparedness with the Pôle Pastoral programme. A support system for decision making will be tested in the Sahel.

Activity 5: Provision of Decision-Support Tools

The purpose of analytical tools is to equip decision-makers to analyse critical livestock-environment-poverty interactions, to perform an ex-ante analysis of considered policy and technology options and for use in the formulation of policies. The needs of decision-makers at all levels in the process will be identified, from village level through to local and national government levels, and tools will be tailored accordingly.

The following analytical and policy formulation tools will be provided:
participatory planning approaches involving local communities, government and other stakeholders
social impact analysis tools
drought insurance model
planning tools for drought preparedness and rehabilitation
cost-benefit analysis of integrated livestock wildlife systems
models for the design of benefit-sharing mechanisms
spatial analysis for the identification of hot spots and for priority setting
model to calculate water usage by production systems

Activity 6: Formulation of Guidelines and Standards

Policy makers and programme designers will be equipped with guidelines for the following:

design of benefit-sharing schemes in community-based development in areas of wildlife-livestock interaction
dryland monitoring and early reaction, drought preparedness and rehabilitation
design of the livestock-environment component in watershed development programmes and related policies in India, at State level.

Activity 7: Capacity Building and Uptake

Capacity building is an on-going activity that is already accounted for in the projects for which extra-LEAD funding has been obtained. In addition, LEAD under the trust fund regime, will carry out capacity building activities through the development of processes to facilitate participation by stakeholders, for example through workshops, outreach seminars and the development of training materials. Mechanisms and structures for effective policy change will be explored, including links with other organisations and programmes, such as the FAO-managed Pro-Poor Livestock Policy Facility. Support will be provided to the different project stakeholders to facilitate the uptake of project outputs through the identification of the needs of different stakeholders and products will be tailored according to the users.