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Restoring African Grasslands

BIODIVERSITY

In South Africa, people long raised livestock alongside wildlife, mimicking the rhythms of nature. But when apartheid arrived, centuries of traditional herding were disrupted when communities were forcibly displaced from their ancestral territories, reshaping their cultural identity and way of life.

Working alongside pastoral communities, our local affiliate, Conservation South Africa, is restoring South Africa's grasslands, in part by reinvigorating a herding approach that had been practiced here for thousands of years. This effort aims to protect more than 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres) of land while establishing a replicable model to conserve grasslands throughout Africa.

This is a way of doing things that honors the whole system — people, livestock, wildlife and plants all thriving together. But it’s important to remember that no one invented this model — this is simply what African pastoralism looks like in its most innate form.

Julia Levin, Conservation South Africa

An agreement that works for herders

Through the project, communal herders agree to move livestock periodically between different pastures, allowing grazed lands to recover. In exchange, farmers receive incentives such as vaccinations for their cattle and opportunities to sell their cattle to prime buyers. This “conservation agreement” model — developed by Conservation International 20 years ago — is reaping benefits for herders: As a result of the project, livestock have more to eat and arrive at market healthier, fatter and much more likely to command a premium price.