ICIMOD’s Regional Rangeland Programme was developed with the aim of helping to alleviate poverty among rangeland dependent mountain people and improving the productivity of rangeland ecosystems in the Hindu Kush-Himalaya-Tibet Plateau region. The Programme started in 1999 and is being implemented in Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal and Pakistan. Overall, the programme focuses on the promotion of ecologically appropriate, socially equitable, and gender sensitive innovations for enhancing the livelihoods of herders and the ecological health of the rangeland ecosystem on which they depend, paying special attention to women and other vulnerable groups. The first phase focused on developing baseline information, and the second on testing innovations for overcoming the social, economic, and physical vulnerabilities faced by rangeland dependent mountain communities. The focus in Phase 3 (RRP III, January 2007 to December 2009) has shifted from policy dialogue to policy formulation and amendment and scaling up of innovative pastoral development and rangeland management practices, building on the experience and achievements of the previous phases.

Co-management of rangeland resources by all the stakeholders involved is promoted as a strategic approach in all the phases. The core of the co-management approach is negotiation and the essence is ‘learning by doing’. RRP is also facilitating institutional arrangements in all its pilot project countries by applying a co-management approach, using both formal and informal mechanisms.

Duration

1999-2009 (now in its third phase)

Geographical coverage

Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal and Pakistan

Core financial partners/development partners/sponsors

Austrian Government

Implementing partners

Afghanistan: Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Livestock & Irrigation; Agha Khan Foundation
Bhutan: Department of Livestock, Ministry of Agriculture; National Feed and Fodder Development Programme;  Dzongkhag Administration Paro
China: Bureau of Animal Husbandry, Ministry of Agriculture; Sichaun Grassland Science Academy; Chengdu Institute of Biology; Tibetan Academy of Animal Sciences (Institute of Livestock Research); Kunming Institute of Botany; Centre for Biodiversity and Indigenous Knowledge (CBIK), Kunming
India: Wildlife Institute of India (WII); Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC)
Nepal: Department of Livestock, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives; Anapurna Conservation Area Programme; Nepal Agricultural Research Council (Feed and Fodder Research Division); National Trust for Nature Conservation
Pakistan:  Ministry of Environment; National Agricultural Research Council; Governments of NWFP and Baluchistan; AKRSP Chitral; Arid Zone Research Centre, Quetta

Contact information

Abdul Wahid Jasra
Muhammad Ismail
Environmental Change and Ecosystem Services