Table 1 Synthesis of the existing adaptation measures rooted in the traditional ecological knowledge of pastoralists in the EAR (marked in italics) and potential future measures and practices to adapt pastoralism in the EAR to the increasing vulnerability to droughts and the overall drought risk (refer to Supplementary Table 1 for a list of references)
From: Future drought risk and adaptation of pastoralism in Eurasian rangelands
Objective of the adaptation measures | Measures for adapting to | |
|---|---|---|
the increasing vulnerability to droughts (V) | the increasing risk of drought impacts (R) | |
Management improvement | - [P, G] Create and implement local rangeland management plans for user groups - [G, H, R] Enhance biodiversity by changing grazing techniques (e.g., rotational grazing), facilitating herd mobility, and protecting rangeland - Implement restoration - [P, G, H] Control and reverse rangeland degradation to increase vegetation cover - [G, R] Monitor and control the spread of harmful rodents and insects - [G, P, S, H] Increase water resource protection and management (fencing, harvesting, managing livestock to improve access, and restoring) - [G, H, R] Adjust the herd number to match the rangeland carrying capacity - [G, H, R, I] Increase hay harvesting (fencing, fertilizing, seeding, and irrigation) and planting drought-tolerant forage species - [G, S, H] Protect bushes, shrubs, forest understory, and riparian areas for emergency grazing - [G, S, S, R, H] Strengthen rangeland fire management and control; enable rapid postfire restoration efforts | - [P, G, R, H, S] Increase the efficiency of rangeland use through revitalization, protection, and forage cultivation - [G, S, H] Organize herding mobility (short- and long-distance) for rehabilitation of pastures - [P, G, S, H] Set aside emergency reserves of forage, grazing and/or migration area with livestock shelters and government services (mobile) - [P, G, R] Improve cross-sectoral and/or institutional management coordination to regulate emergency and cross-border movements - [G, S, H, I] Increase feed reserves by producing and importing hay and fodder - [G, S, R, H] Encourage diversification of the livestock composition to utilize the available forage and produce a variety of livestock products - [G, R, S] Introduce drought-tolerant livestock breeding or crossbreeding and species switching, - [G, R, S, H] Improve veterinary services - [G, R, I] Strengthening early warnings and early actions, forecasting and monitoring of extreme events and forage conditions - [G, S, R, I, H] Enhance early action and disaster preparedness and coordination of actions among all actors from the international to local levels for effective responses |
Social transformation | - [G, S, I] Improve the adaptive capacity of herders | - [P, G, S, R, I, H] Encourage livelihood diversification to increase credit access, generate alternative income, and improve market access for pastoral products - [G, S, I, H] Encourage herder groups to form small enterprises and cooperatives for risk management, credit processing and accessing, receiving processing, enterprise development, and marketing training - [P, G, I, S] Provide targeted income assistance to low-income and vulnerable herders - [G, P, I, H] Reduce outmigration by reducing vulnerability and increasing the adaptive capacity |
Capacity building | - [G, R, S, I] Improve the knowledge of herders and local officials by teaching traditional and modern advanced methods, rangeland and herd management technologies, and adaptation to climate change - [R, S, I] Monitoring and experimental research on rangeland improvement, opportunities in feed options, and drought-resistant varieties of plant and animal species [G, R, I, S, H] Encourage the traditional adaptive capability (mobility, diversification, storage, etc.) | - [P, G, S] Improve infrastructure with storage capacity and transportation by increasing road and market accessibility levels - [G, R, S, I] Enhance information technology for rural areas and herders to improve dissemination and response networks in a timely manner - [G, R, S, I] Encourage the transfer of technology and capacity development and increase the institutional capacity for hazard response and recovery - [R, I, S, H] Increase research collaboration with herders, livestock organizations, and other pastoralism and rangeland actors - [R, S, I, H] Expand research for integrating traditional and scientific knowledge in adaptation and decision-making processes - [P, G, R, S, I, H] Improve scientific communication between research findings and decision-making processes - [G, R, I] Educate and incentivize pastoralists to adopt greater responsibility for rangeland climate disaster risk, preparedness, and early response - [R, S, I, H] Expand research to assess alternative gendered and equity-based (ethnicity, age, and wealth) approaches to addressing differences in the adaptive capacity within pastoralist communities |
Policy reforms | - [P, G, R] Levy rangeland usage fees - [P, G] Establish risk funds to reduce vulnerability | - [P, G] Establish an insurance system for livestock, financial services, savings programs, and cash transfers to increase the effectiveness of drought responses - [P, G] Increase institutional support through policies that address land tenure, fragmentation, and degradation - [G, S, I, H] Increase social protection and create channels for effective emergency assistance to protect vulnerable herders from climate shocks - [P, G, S] Create post-disaster risk recovery programs (emergency response, disaster recovery, and migration, reactive or ex-post adaptation) - [P, G, S, R, I] Increase the participation of herders in decision-making and policy debates, market economies, rangeland management etc. - [P, G, I] Develop adaptation-focused strategic planning and budgeting strategies by identifying socioeconomic issues and financial constraints - [P, G, P, S] Create community and/or group funds (risk management, credit for members, and joint investments in pasture management) |
