Samson Kodei watches over his flock in Leparua conservancy in northern Kenya. [File, Standard]
Governments participating in last week’s Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) Africa conference have committed to advancing action for rangelands and pastoralist communities.
GLF’s eighth flagship event on climate, nature and livelihoods in Africa brought together 133 organisations, over 5,500 online participants and more than 800 attendees at the CIFOR-ICRAF Nairobi campus, in support of the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists.
GLF Africa 2026 was particularly significant as Kenya prepares to host the global observance of Desertification and Drought Day on 17 June 2026 under the theme “Rangelands: Recognise. Respect. Restore.” The event will be organised jointly by the Government of Kenya and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
The 2026 observance will highlight the central role of the world’s rangelands in climate resilience, food and water security, biodiversity conservation and the cultural identity of pastoralist and Indigenous communities across Africa and beyond.
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Rangelands cover more than half of the Earth’s land surface and support the livelihoods of about two billion people, including 500 million pastoralists such as the Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania, who have stewarded these landscapes for generations.
Governments at GLF Africa pledged to strengthen efforts supporting rangeland ecosystem services, including biodiversity, food security, livelihoods, cultural preservation and carbon storage.
Environment, Climate Change and Forestry Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa urged governments to strengthen policies promoting sustainable rangeland management.
“Partners, let us scale up financing for restoration and resilience. Private sector, let us invest in sustainable value chains and support green growth opportunities. Research institutions, let us continue offering evidence-based solutions. Communities, let us remain stewards of these landscapes,” Barasa said.
Land degradation
UNCCD Executive Secretary Yasmine Fouad said rangelands must be placed at the centre of global environmental action. “They sit at the intersection of climate, biodiversity and land. They are central to adaptation, mitigation, biodiversity conservation and efforts to combat land degradation and drought,” she noted.
Discussions reached over 42 million people globally, reflecting growing international attention to rangelands, pastoralism, biodiversity, food systems and climate resilience.
Across 67 sessions, experts called for a shift in narratives around rangelands and emphasised the need for better data to inform policy and investment decisions.
CIFOR-ICRAF CEO and Director General Éliane Ubalijoro said Africa must not be a passive recipient of artificial intelligence tools developed elsewhere. She stressed the need for Africa to shape data systems, governance structures and ethical frameworks that reflect African landscapes, knowledge and ownership. “That means data sovereignty, consent, benefit-sharing and accountability. Above all, it means ensuring communities that have long stewarded these landscapes are the first to benefit,” she said.
Speakers also challenged misconceptions about pastoral systems, noting that rangelands are complex ecosystems covering deserts, savannahs, grasslands, forests and tundra.
Igshaan Samuels, Rangeland Ecologist at the Agricultural Research Council and Co-Chair of the Global Coordinating Group for the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, said degradation narratives are often based on ecological misunderstanding.
GLF Africa Regional Coordinator Amos Amanubo said the forum had made rangelands and pastoralism more visible, stressing that what is unseen is often undervalued and underfunded. “The challenge is not only to continue the conversation, but to transform visibility into recognition, then rights, and finally lasting support for communities who steward these landscapes,” he said.