A case of benign neglect

• There are large information gaps in the understanding or cataloguing of LIKT among pastoralists. Gender issues are covered relatively less than other issues. • While there is considerable focus on land degradation, rangeland conditions and productivity, there is less coverage of specific issues such as pollution, disasters, displacements and management change. • Academic publications provide more coverage of policies that affect pastoralists and rangelands than other topics. However, some specific policy issues, such as taxation and sedentarization, are covered less (the latter may have been covered more in the pre-2000 period). Some countries have important information on pastoralism and rangelands, even if it is substantially less than information on forests or croplands. However, it is impossible to ascertain whether there are countries with absolutely no information. The Scopus search suggests that there may be some countries that have not benefited from peer- reviewed publications, but this may indicate a lack of accessibility (language, grey literature) rather than availability. Furthermore, there are at least some forms of data available for every rangeland country, even if they are not fully disaggregated. For example, even if FAO data on livestock are not disaggregated fully among pastoralists and non-pastoralists, it is fair to assume that for countries where pastoralism contributes 70–80 per cent of agricultural GDP (such as Mongolia and Sudan), livestock data will largely be about pastoralism. The importance of adequate disaggregation and increasing accessibility to information should not be understated. Current innovations and paradigm changes are generally not reflected in the information available in databases, assessments and project

Summer camp of the Dukha reindeer herders, East Taiga, Mongolia. Lawrence Hislop/GRID-Arendal

documents. For example, recent scientific research on non-equilibrium ecosystems, benefits of livestock mobility to ecosystems, economic valuation of environmental benefits, and impacts of the Internet and telecommunications on pastoral systems are not reflected or captured. However, these have been increasingly covered in scientific publications since 2000 and could be addresses in policy briefs and grey literature. However, the fact that these issues are primarily covered in academic publications and less in global assessments, databases and development projects means that such concepts may have a reduced impact on decision- and policymaking. Future assessments should design a strategic approach that bridges the old and new paradigms.

There are some opportunities where existing information could be enhanced. For example, the level of disaggregation of multilateral organizations’ data sets directly relates to the level of disaggregation of statistics at the national level. At present, such disaggregation seems to be very low for pastoralists and rangelands. To enhance data availability, governments could improve their data collection by disaggregating using targeted indicators. Similarly, the review of project documents indicates that a development project infrastructure is a potentially important means for data collection (for example, through their baseline studies and monitoring/ evaluation exercises) and that this information could be made more accessible to the public.

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