Identifying policy and institutional gaps for managing rangelands for multiple benefits in the Hindu Kush Himalaya

Organisers: ICIMOD, Department of Livestock, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and the National Land Commission Secretariat, Bhutan

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About the workshop

In collaboration with the Department of Livestock, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and the National Land Commission Secretariat, Bhutan, we are organising a national consultation workshop to support the Royal Government of Bhutan in improving policies and institutional coordination for integrated, participatory, and inclusive management of rangelands.

Objectives

• Sensitise national decision-makers and national partners of the Rangeland Intervention on the need for policy harmony and institutional coordination for managing the multiple functions and services of rangelands and available tools and approaches for the purpose
• Review the objectives, outcomes, consistency, and compatibilities of national/sector policies of Bhutan on rangelands management in the context of managing rangelands for multiple benefits
• Identify mandates, roles, and responsibilities of key stakeholders in Bhutan in rangeland uses and management

Expected outputs

• About 20 key staff from the Department of Livestock, National Land Commission Secretariat, and other key stakeholders sensitised to the multi-functionalities of rangelands and information on available management tools and approaches
• Knowledge and information on the sectoral policies, programs, and investments in rangelands management
• Recommendations for policy and institutional changes and project interventions

Participants

Participants of the workshop include representatives from key institutions, including government departments, business sectors, enterprises, local communities, civil society, and research organisations using or managing rangelands, sharing the benefits from rangeland management, or whose activities impact rangeland ecosystems.

Background

Rangelands account for about 60% of the land area in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH). They are the primary spaces and resources for the over 25–30 million indigenous and culturally diverse people who inhabit and depend directly on the extensive use of rangelands, which is, pastoralism, for livelihoods and subsistence. Rangelands also provide enormous ecosystem services and vital ecological assets of great importance to downstream areas and communities beyond the region. Driven by the climate crisis, unsustainable use, land use changes, and socio-demographic changes, rangelands in the HKH region are undergoing rapid degradation.

Until the not-so-recent past, rangelands were mainly regarded as fodder sources for livestock production. Rangeland management primarily focused on increasing the quality and quantity of fodder for more or better livestock raising. However, this has changed in recent years. People have increasingly recognised the multiple functions of rangelands and their diverse ecosystem services, for instance, forage or fodder production (livestock production), habitat for wildlife (biodiversity conservation), carbon sequestration (climate change mitigation), ecological processes (soil and water), and cultural and aesthetic values (recreation and spiritual sites). The goals and objectives for managing the same rangeland areas have thus become complex and more diverse, sometimes diverging from each other. As a result, there is a significant expansion of rangeland stakeholders in quantity and space.

One common issue related to rangeland management was that rangeland policies were often developed without the active participation of the local pastoral communities, the actual users of the rangelands. Stakeholders for rangelands management were relatively fewer in number and more homogeneous: Local communities on the one hand and the government on the other. The existing policies and institutions often fail to address the complex and interconnected challenges rangeland management poses, which led to policy and institutional gaps in managing rangelands for multiple benefits in the HKH region. Therefore, identifying the policy and institutional gaps is of paramount importance.

The shift in managing rangelands for multiple purposes, and the expansion of stakeholders and interest group space, make management much more complex. It requires policies and governing institutions to take an integrated and coordinated approach (for different functions), be inclusive (of people), ensure stakeholder participation in decision-making (a process of management), ensure equity in cost and benefit sharing, and encourage international cooperation (to address issues of regional or global scale).

Recognising this, ICIMOD launched its Rangeland intervention: Managing rangeland for multiple benefits, under Action Area D (Restoring and Regenerating Landscapes) in its fifth Medium-Term Action Plan (MTAP V). A primary objective of this intervention is to support national partners in developing evidence-based enabling policies and institutions for managing rangelands for multiple benefits.

At the inception workshop held in Kathmandu from 29 May  to 1 June 2023, participants from key national partner institutions jointly developed the implementation plan for the intervention at both regional and national levels. Identifying policy and institutional gaps and recommending changes was one of the significant activities relevant and necessary for all the countries.

Among the HKH countries, Bhutan has a vast area under rangelands undergoing unprecedented change under the recently revised Land Act. Following the inception workshop, Bhutan’s National Land Commission Secretariat and Department of Livestock initiated to bring together relevant government agencies and draw their attention to issues surrounding rangelands in Bhutan. Appreciating the proactive engagement in the topic, ICIMOD has chosen Bhutan as the first regional member country to conduct a rapid desk review of the policies and institutions regarding rangeland management. After the review, we are organising a national-level stakeholder consultation workshop in Bhutan. Similar reviews and workshops are planned for Nepal and Pakistan later this year.

Agenda

All time stamps are in Bhutan Time (BTT).