Rangeland Management
Rangelands are expansive, mostly unimproved lands on which a significant proportion of the natural vegetation is native grasses, grass-like plants, forbs, and shrubs. Rangeland also consists of areas seeded to native or adapted introduced species that are managed like native vegetation. Rangelands include natural grasslands, savannas, shrublands, many deserts, tundra, alpine communities, coastal marshes, and wet meadows. Rangeland is generally arid, semi-arid, sub-humid or otherwise unsuitable for cultivation. degraded rangelands are often the relult of poor landmanagement, which leads to desertification.
Most of Namibia’s rangelands are degraded as a result of inappropriate land management and infrastructure development. The carrying capacity has declined to 36% of what it was 50 years ago. This causes problems both ecological and economical as brush incroachment leads to an anual loss of N$1.6 billion.
How to create sustainable rangeland management
Sustainable rangeland management invlovles the use of the beneficial actions of livestock by moving and herding them in large numbers to a new territory every day. The animals are herded according to agrazing plan; animals come to the same grazing area only once during the growing season and once during the non-growing season.
To mantain sustainable rangeland, it is important to bunch animals to improve the nutrent water cycles by natural fertilization. Also, perennial grasses need adequate recovery periodsbetween grazing to preventovergrazing and over-rest. It also imperitive to ensure that livestock numbers do not exceed the amount of food available and always ensure a sufficient reserve supply to cope with drought conditions.
The outcome of proper rangeland mangement is Increased productivity of vegetation due to natural fertilisation by the animals, ｌimited loss of livestock from theft and disease, due to daily contact with herders, increased carrying capacity (case studies from Southern Africa show a doubling, in some cases even tripling, of stocking rates over time), improved livelihoods, mitigation of droughts and climate change