At 8th GEF Assemebly in Samarkand, Uzbekistan - With 2026 designated by the United Nations General Assembly as the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP), there is a clear global mandate to raise awareness, fill knowledge gaps, promote innovative solutions, and strengthen coordinated action for the sustainable management and restoration of rangelands, while recognizing, empowering and supporting pastoralists as rights holders.
Co-organized by the Yolda Initiative, Global Alliance for Rangelands and Pastoralists (GA4RP), Secretariat of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), this side event will explore how this mandate is being operationalized across institutions, such as FAO, UNCCD, CMS, UNDP and GEF and countries and stakeholders by highlighting concrete commitments, ongoing initiatives and practical experiences, while identifying opportunities to better align efforts and generate impact at the scale required.
Conservation and sustainable management of rangelands and pastoralism directly contributes to multiple focal areas of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), including biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation, and land degradation neutrality and also integrated programmes of food systems, drylands and drought management, and global wildlife for development.
Healthy and connected rangelands maintained by sustainable pastoralism harbour some of the most diverse and biologically unique systems on the planet, support migratory species, maintain ecosystem services, strengthen resilience to climate impacts and reduce pressures on fragile ecosystems, particularly in dryland and mountain regions.
A practical example from the Central Asian Mammals and Climate Adaptation (CAMCA) project will demonstrate how nature-positive pastoralism and wildlife-friendly grazing management can serve as cost-effective, scalable and community-driven solutions relevant for future GEF integrated programming.
The discussion will further explore opportunities to enhance alignment across policy frameworks, programmes and financing mechanisms including through future GEF investments, ensuring that rangelands and pastoralists are more effectively integrated into global and national agendas on biodiversity, climate and land.