Restoring Rangeland for Eco Sustainability: World Day of Combat Desertification and Drought 2026

Land degradation, desertification, and drought continue to threaten food security, biodiversity, and livelihoods worldwide, prompting the UN to mark World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought every June 17. The 2026 theme, “Rangelands: Recognize. Respect. Restore.”, spotlights rangelands that cover over half of Earth’s land and sustain 2 billion people, including pastoralists and smallholder farmers.

Though vital for carbon storage, water regulation, and forage, rangelands face mounting pressures from climate change, overgrazing, land conversion, and policy neglect.

 

Kenya will host this year’s global event in Kilifi County, urging nations to recognize rangelands’ value, respect Indigenous stewardship, and restore degraded areas through investment and inclusive governance.

 

In Nigeria’s savanna zones, including Nasarawa State, rangelands supply medicinal plants, fuelwood, and grazing but are strained by bush burning and agricultural expansion.

 

Experts say restoring them is key to climate resilience, poverty reduction, and biodiversity conservation, making the June 17 observance a critical call for action.

Rangelands are among the most extensive yet undervalued ecosystems on Earth, covering more than 50% of the planet’s terrestrial surface and directly sustaining the livelihoods of about 2 billion people, including pastoralists, Indigenous communities, and smallholder farmers.

 

Their significance extends beyond land area: they provide critical forage for livestock, habitat for diverse wildlife, sources of medicinal plants, and essential ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, soil stabilization, and water regulation.

 

In dryland regions, rangelands act as natural buffers against climate shocks by maintaining hydrological cycles and reducing desert encroachment.

 

Despite this value, rangelands remain highly vulnerable to degradation driven by climate change, drought, overgrazing, bush burning, and unregulated agricultural expansion.

 

In Nigeria, savanna rangelands in Nasarawa State and other frontline states are shrinking rapidly as farmland encroaches, grazing pressure intensifies, and repeated fires destroy vegetation cover and seed banks.

 

This degradation threatens food security, undermines pastoral economies, and reduces the availability of key medicinal species like Shea butterand Locust beans. Recognizing rangelands is therefore not symbolic but strategic.

 

Without acknowledging their ecological, economic, and cultural roles, national policies and investment frameworks will continue to neglect them, accelerating land degradation and weakening resilience to drought.

Pastoralists and Indigenous communities are the historical custodians of rangelands, having developed adaptive management systems over centuries that sustain productivity in harsh, variable climates.

 

Through practices such as rotational grazing, seasonal migration, controlled fire management, and community-enforced conservation rules, these groups maintain vegetation cover, protect water sources, and ensure the regeneration of key species.

Their ecological knowledge is finely tuned to local rainfall patterns, soil types, and plant phenology, making it indispensable for building resilience to drought and desertification.

 

Yet despite their role as primary stewards, pastoralists are often marginalized in land policy and development planning.

 

In Nigeria, unclear rangeland tenure, weak legal recognition of grazing reserves, and competing land uses have fueled conflicts between herders and farmers, especially across Nasarawa and other savanna states.

 

This exclusion undermines traditional governance systems that historically prevented overuse and resolved resource disputes. Respecting Indigenous stewardship therefore requires more than acknowledgment; it demands secure land rights, inclusion of traditional leaders in decision-making, and formal integration of indigenous practices with scientific rangeland management.

 

Blending local knowledge with research can improve early warning systems, restoration techniques, and sustainable grazing models. Protecting their rights and knowledge is central to reducing conflict, halting degradation, and ensuring rangelands continue to support livelihoods, culture, and biodiversity.

Restoring degraded rangelands requires practical, community-driven actions that rebuild ecological function while securing livelihoods.

 

Proven techniques include reseeding with native grasses to improve ground cover, controlled and rotational grazing to prevent overuse, establishment of fire breaks to reduce destructive bush burning, and water harvesting structures such as trenches and small dams to boost soil moisture.

 

Agroforestry systems that integrate multipurpose trees strengthen resilience by providing shade, fodder, and income. Key species like Acacia, Vitellaria paradoxa, and Parkia biglobosa play vital roles in stabilizing soils, fixing nitrogen, reducing erosion, and supporting pollinators.

 

These trees also supply non-timber products shea butter, locust bean, gum Arabic that diversify rural incomes and incentivize conservation.

 

However, restoration at scale faces major hurdles: inadequate funding, weak policy support, poor community participation, and lack of long-term monitoring.

 

Successful models link restoration directly to livelihoods through fodder banks for livestock, cultivation of medicinal plants, beekeeping, and emerging carbon credit schemes that reward land stewards.

 

The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030 targets restoring 1 billion hectares globally, and rangelands are central to achieving this goal given their vast extent and degradation levels.

 

In Nigeria’s savanna belt, including Lafia, restoring rangelands means blending science with indigenous practice, securing tenure, and ensuring benefits reach local users.

Rangelands cover more than half of Earth’s land and support 2 billion people, providing forage, wildlife habitat, medicinal plants, carbon storage, and water regulation.

 

In Nigeria, savanna rangelands in places like Nasarawa are threatened by bush burning, overgrazing, and farmland encroachment, reducing vegetation and worsening drought. Pastoralists and Indigenous communities have managed these lands for centuries through rotational grazing, controlled fire, and traditional rules, but they face weak land rights and conflicts with farmers.

 

Respecting their knowledge means securing tenure, involving traditional leaders, and blending indigenous practices with science.

 

Restoration requires reseeding native grasses, controlled grazing, fire breaks, agroforestry, and water harvesting. Trees stabilize soils and support livelihoods through fodder, food, and income. Linking restoration to fodder banks, medicinal plant cultivation, and carbon credits ensures community buy-in.