Sustainable Rangelands Initiative
Programs
In northern Tanzania, 92 percent of available wildlife habitat consists of places where people and wildlife interact. Conservation solutions must be community-driven and responsive to changing conditions.
The Sustainable Rangelands Initiative works to keep these critical areas open and flourishing for the long-term benefit of rural communities and wild animals. In addition to community rangeland monitoring, our team collaborates with village leadership and grazing committees to restore vital habitat and nutritious forage in the battle against climate change.
Improving Rangeland Health
Through regular data collection, assessment, information sharing, and active management, volunteer rangeland monitors – selected in conjunction with local leaders – use a mobile-based reporting system to provide updates on pasture quality to their community networks. The project is generating visible results, including increased grass height, reduced areas of bare ground, and the return of important plant and wildlife species to community-managed grazing areas.
How Community Rangeland Monitoring Works
Step One
Each participating community receives comprehensive training from APW staff in sustainable rangeland management.
Step Two
A team of community volunteer rangeland monitors allocates plots in local pastures for assessment.
Step Three
The team gathers data such as grass height, the percentage of bare ground, and presence of invasive plant species.
Step Four
The team transmits the rangeland data to the community grazing committee via a mobile-based reporting system.
Step Five
The grazing committee meets with the local government to decide where and when community members can graze their livestock.
Step Six
Critical habitats regenerate, leading to the return of important plant and wildlife species. Rangeland restoration projects help improve and maintain ecosystem health in the long term.
Because of this project, our communities are able to work together in a collaborative, scientific way. Pastures that used to be bare now have grass growing. We also have transport assistance that allows us to monitor and manage areas that were difficult to reach before.
Yohana Lesirkon, Grazing Committee Member
Related
Impact Stories
Meet some of the people whose lives have been changed through our community partnerships.
Natural Resource Stewardship
We empower communities to use and manage grasslands and water sources sustainably.
Wildlife Conservation and Coexistence
We reduce human-wildlife conflict, involve local people in conservation, and increase tolerance for coexistence.
