Description

The terms grasslands and rangelands are often confused, but the terms used to describe the people who live and manage these areas are even more confusing. The myriad of words used about these people includes: pastoralists, farmers, ranchers, herders, transhumants, indigenous peoples, nomads, graziers, gauchos. The terms used vary across the world, and meanings vary across time and space. One definition of pastoralists is “livestock-keepers who specialise in taking advantage of variability, managing grazing itineraries at a variety of scales so that livestock feed better than without a herder” (Krätli 2019). The United Nations Decade of Family Farming defines farmers as “people who own or operate an agricultural enterprise, either commercially or to sustain their families”. “Family farmers” include peasants, indigenous peoples, traditional communities, fisherfolk, mountain farmers, forest users and pastoralists (FAO & IFAD 2019). Excellent glossaries on rangelands and grasslands have been developed by the Society for Range Management (SRM), the International Grassland Congress (IGC) and the International Rangeland Congress (IRC). More recently, another group of scientists developed a complementary glossary of socio-institutional and political terms, the “people” terms. This glossary includes terms for the people who live and manage rangelands, including pastoralists, farmers, ranchers and many others. Also included are terms about the mobility of animals and people, e.g. transhumance, as well as land tenure, property and ownership, land rights, changes in rights to land, and land management and governance. This glossary has a Western focus, even though definitions take terms from various parts of the world into consideration. At this stage, terms are defined only in English, but it is hoped that they will be translated into other languages, and also that more terms will be added that are specific to certain regions of the world.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.13023/16ya-gw25

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Grasslands, Rangelands, Pastoralists – What Do We Mean?

The terms grasslands and rangelands are often confused, but the terms used to describe the people who live and manage these areas are even more confusing. The myriad of words used about these people includes: pastoralists, farmers, ranchers, herders, transhumants, indigenous peoples, nomads, graziers, gauchos. The terms used vary across the world, and meanings vary across time and space. One definition of pastoralists is “livestock-keepers who specialise in taking advantage of variability, managing grazing itineraries at a variety of scales so that livestock feed better than without a herder” (Krätli 2019). The United Nations Decade of Family Farming defines farmers as “people who own or operate an agricultural enterprise, either commercially or to sustain their families”. “Family farmers” include peasants, indigenous peoples, traditional communities, fisherfolk, mountain farmers, forest users and pastoralists (FAO & IFAD 2019). Excellent glossaries on rangelands and grasslands have been developed by the Society for Range Management (SRM), the International Grassland Congress (IGC) and the International Rangeland Congress (IRC). More recently, another group of scientists developed a complementary glossary of socio-institutional and political terms, the “people” terms. This glossary includes terms for the people who live and manage rangelands, including pastoralists, farmers, ranchers and many others. Also included are terms about the mobility of animals and people, e.g. transhumance, as well as land tenure, property and ownership, land rights, changes in rights to land, and land management and governance. This glossary has a Western focus, even though definitions take terms from various parts of the world into consideration. At this stage, terms are defined only in English, but it is hoped that they will be translated into other languages, and also that more terms will be added that are specific to certain regions of the world.