RANGELAND PROFESSIONALS AND POLICY: Prospects for Effective Influence in the Developed and Developing Worlds

Support for range management interventions by the World Bank and other international development institutions has a somewhat checkered history. In certain respects, this has mirrored theoretical developments and shifts in thinking among rangeland professionals, but the relationship between rangeland science and development policy and practice is far from direct. It is mediated by contextual factors such as the relative importance of livestock production as a livelihood source and the relative political power of pastoralists in the countries in question; and influenced by broader debates surrounding property rights, globalization, and sovereignty in international development. This paper takes stock of some of the lessons learned in recent years from attempts to engage with rangeland tenure and policy in arid and semi-arid areas of Africa and Asia, with a particular focus on the experience of the World Bank, most recently in China and Mongolia. It concludes with reflections on the role of rangeland science and rangeland professionals in the development process.