Henri Rueff

Lessons from community-based payment for ecosystem service schemes: from forests to rangelands

Climate finance investments and international policy are driving new community-based projects incorporating payments for ecosystem services (PES) to simultaneously store carbon and generate livelihood benefits. Most community-based PES (CB-PES) research focuses on forest areas. Rangelands, which store globally significant quantities of carbon and support many of the worlds poor, have seen little CB-PES research attention, despite benefitting from several decades of community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) projects. Lessons from CBNRM suggest institutional considerations are vital in underpinning the design and implementation of successful community projects. This study uses documentary analysis to explore the institutional characteristics of three African community-based forest projects that seek to deliver carbon-storage and poverty-reduction benefits. Strong existing local institutions, clear land tenure, community control over land management decision-making and up-front, flexible payment schemes are found to be vital. Additionally, we undertake a global review of rangeland CBNRM literature and identify that alongside the lessons learned from forest projects, rangeland CB-PES project design requires specific consideration of project boundaries, benefit distribution, capacity building for community monitoring of carbon storage together with awareness-raising using decision-support tools to display the benefits of carbon-friendly land management. We highlight that institutional analyses must be undertaken alongside improved scientific studies of the carbon cycle to enable links to payment schemes, and for them to contribute to poverty alleviation in rangelands.

Explaining spatial variations in climate hazard impacts in western Mongolia

The winter of 2009/2010 induced a mass loss of livestock known as dzud in Mongolia. We examine spatial heterogeneity in this livestock loss in a western Mongolian province using a semi-structured questionnaire, key informant interviews, meteorological station data, and two datasets derived from satellite imagery. We identify marked local variability in the impact of winter 2009/2010 demonstrated by a striking difference in livestock mortality between three Altai mountain districts and three Gobi desert districts. We explain this pattern with reference to site-specific circumstances. We ascertain a counter-intuitive pattern of milder winters with less snow in Mountain districts when compared to Desert districts, a contrast that was particularly acute in the winter of 2009/2010 which was uncommonly long and hard, with particularly deep and widespread snow cover in the Desert, but unusually mild in the Mountains. Examination of possible drivers of dzud vulnerability at the household and community levels—wealth and herder experience—found virtually no influence on livestock losses, although a large majority of herder households were characterised by a general lack of alternative income opportunities. The severity of conditions undermined many Desert herders’ coping and adaptive strategies, including communal pooling, although those who managed to move their herds in response to the 2009/2010 dzud suffered markedly smaller livestock losses. Limited government capacity, partly influenced by remoteness, further increased vulnerability in the Desert districts where the deep snow restricted access to dzud relief assistance. Implications for hazard management and governance are discussed, as are recent policy initiatives.

Indigenous fodder trees can increase grazing accessibility for landless and mobile pastoralists in northern Pakistan

Degraded hillsides in Northern Pakistan are rehabilitated through social forestry campaigns using fast growing exotic trees. These plantations on former scrublands curtail access by livestock owned by landless pastoralists and create social tension. This study proposes an alternative strategy of planting indigenous fodder trees and shrubs that are well-suited to the local socio-ecological characteristics and can benefit all social segments. The choice of fodder tree species, their nutritional value and distribution within the complex socio-ecological system is explained. This study also explores the suitability of these trees at different elevations, sites and transhumant routes. Providing mobile herders with adequate fodder trees could relax social tensions and complement food security.

Contraction of the Gobi Desert, 2000-2012

Abstract: Deserts are critical environments because they cover 41% of the world’s land surface and are home to 2 billion residents. As highly dynamic biomes desert expansion and contraction is influenced by climate and anthropogenic factors with variability being a key part of the desertification debate across dryland regions. Evaluating a major world desert, the Gobi in East Asia, with high resolution satellite data and the meteorologically-derived Aridity Index from 2000 to 2012 id entified a recent contraction of the Gobi. The fluctuation in area, primarily driven by precipitation, is at odds with numerous reports of human-induced desertification in Mongolia and China. There are striking parallels between the vagueness in defining the Gobi and the imprecision and controversy surrounding the Sahara desert’s southern boundary in the 1980s and 1990s. Improved boundary definition has implications for understanding desert “greening” and “brown ing”, human action and land use, ecological productivity and changing climate parameters in the region. The Gobi’s average area of 2.3 million km

High-Altitude Rangelands and Their Interfaces in the Hindu Kush Himalayas

The 2010 devastating floods in Pakistan were a striking reminder of how mountain rangelands management can affect people living downstream. While unprecedented climate factors triggered these floods, many other combined factors amplified their impact (Atta-ur-Rahman and Khan 2013). Deforestation, overgrazing, and cropping on steep slopes are all practices that occur in high-altitude rangelands of the Hindu Kush– Himalayas, destabilizing soils and increasing exposure to natural hazards. Mismanagement of highaltitude rangelands in the Hindu Kush–Himalayas is often the result of fragmented policies that fail to deliver sustainable development solutions for populations living in remote areas with scarce resources. As a consequence, poverty–environment nexuses are all the more deeply rooted in those systems. The first chapter of the book sets the tone, explaining the ecological functions and the sensitivity of highaltitude rangeland interfaces, as well as their substantial importance for conservation and sustainable development. The authors underline the ecological functions of transitional belts that serve as semipermeable barriers between plant communities and that are rich in biodiversity. They also highlight 3 central characteristics of rangeland interfaces: (1) their influence on material flow between ecosystems, (2) their unique biodiversity patterns, and (3) their users’ lack of awareness of the alterations they inflict on these systems. At the same time, these ecotones are becoming increasingly vulnerable due to the stressors mentioned above. The following chapters are organized geographically, documenting the current conditions of the various high-altitude rangeland socioecological systems across the Hindu Kush– Himalayas. All chapters offer insights on landscape evolution over time under certain forms of land use. A development context is often brought to the fore, along with the need for capacity-building among local communities to reduce their impact. While most chapters in sections 1 and 2 address rangelands from an extensive livestock system perspective, sections 3 and 4 focus on wetlands, peatlands, and the potential of payment for ecosystem services (PES) for restoring high-altitude rangelands. PES is presented from a theoretical perspective and illustrated with empirical cases (eg PES in India’s rangelands). These are analyzed in terms of the positive and negative effects that PES has had on the ecosystems concerned, as well as constraints on its implementation. However, more indepth discussion of specific extensive pastoralism PES schemes in highaltitude pastures would have been insightful, as they have remained nearly inexistent to date. The potential of cross-sectoral policies for addressing both conservation and livelihoods in Tajikistan brings a different angle to the book. Yet another chapter provides an indepth analysis of timberline disturbances due to extensive pastoralism practices with selective foraging and pasture burning, which lower the treeline ecotone on south-facing slopes. Had this tree line been undisturbed, it would have been much higher than that on the north-facing slopes. Overall, the book offers a balanced mix of insights into both biological and socioecological processes. It is timely for 3 reasons. First, it marks the 30th anniversary of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and commemorates three decades of working for sustainable development in the Hindu Kush–Himalayas, serving 210 million people in the region and a fifth of the world’s population, who depend on water from rivers originating there. Second, the importance of mountains for people has recently been acknowledged in the Rio+20 resolution adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations (Kohler et al 2012; UNCSD 2012; Ariza et al 2013), following their earlier inclusion in Agenda 21 (UNCED 1992) and at the Johannesburg Summit (WSSD 2002). Third, and in spite of this recognition, highaltitude rangelands often remain overlooked—a gap this book fills with a collection of articles that cover a wide geographical area and that take a transdisciplinary approach. Nevertheless, the book would have gained further insight by addressing 3 additional issues. First, a future policy vision. Many of the problems that occur across the region and are addressed in the book have similar causes. A chapter on policy issues could have covered failed development approaches and presented ICIMOD’s policy vision for the Hindu Kush–Himalayas at national and subnational levels and across various stakeholders (government agencies, donors, nongovernmental organizations [NGOs], and local communities). Recurrent fragmented policies in the region largely explain a sequence of failed development programs affecting certain communities. For example, landless mobile pastoralists in northern Pakistan face transhumance restrictions due to afforestation programs obstructing their transhumance routes (Ojeda et al 2012). In view of such failures, there is a need for crosssectoral and more holistic policy approaches. A second issue that should have been addressed is that of interlinkages between mountain ecosystems across elevation strata. Management at a given ecosystem MountainMedia Mountain Research and Development (MRD) An international, peer-reviewed open access journal published by the International Mountain Society (IMS) www.mrd-journal.org

Morphological characterization of Achai cattle in sedentary and transhumant systems in Pakistan

Achai is an as yet undocumented but well-adapted cattle breed of the Hindu Kush Mountains of northern Pakistan, which is reared under sedentary farming system (SFS) and transhumant farming system (TFS). This paper compares the morphological (physical and morphometric) characteristics of this cattle breed under both farming systems to know the effect of these styles of management. Data were collected from 108 adult females and 108 males in SFS and 108 females and 36 males in TFS on physical characteristics (colour of the coat, horns, eyelashes, muzzle, hoof, switch) and morphometric measurements – i.e. heart girth, body length, height at withers, height at hipbone, face length, horn length, horn circumference, ear (length and width), neck length, dewlap length, chine length, loin length, rump (length and width), length below knee, hoof circumference, tail and switch length. Results showed that farming systems significantly affect most of the morphological characteristics of both sexes, particularly the morphometric measurements with tall and leggy conformation for TFS cows and bulls. This indicates an adaptation to long distance transhumance and mountain terrain grazing. It can be concluded that the Achai has the potential to adapt to the requirements of specific farming systems. There is hence a need for the conservation of its adaptive traits in both farming systems.

Assess the human and environmental vulnerability for coastal hazard by using a multi-criteria decision analysis

ABSTRACT This study provides an integrated approach using geographical information system (GIS) based on a multi-criteria approach (MCDA) to assess coastal vulnerability, resulting from human activity, population density, erosion, and climate change-induced sea level rise. A coastal vulnerability index (CVI) for erosion and floods was calculated and mapped (∼24 km in length; ∼400 m in width, and 11.47 km2 in surface) for the lagoon barrier of Nador located on the Mediterranean coast of Morocco. Results suggest that 54% (∼13 km) of the shoreline is moderately vulnerable, while 42% (∼10 km) is highly vulnerable and only 4% (1 km) present a low vulnerability. The vulnerability map of the socio-economic activities indicates that most wetlands and forest areas 83% (∼31 ha) and 50% (∼440 ha) respectively, present low vulnerability. 52% percent of artificial areas (∼23 ha), 73% of agricultural land (∼128 ha), and 41% of natural areas (∼363 ha) present moderate vulnerability. However, the level of vulnerability of the remaining artificial and agricultural areas classifies from high to very high. The north-western sector was classified as the most vulnerable area, characterized by an erosion (−0.6 m/yr to −1.20 m/yr) for 70% of this area, while the south-eastern part shows a low to moderate vulnerability marked by an erosion (−0.1 m/yr to −1m/yr) for 40% of this area. Coastal vulnerability maps have potential as decision tools to prepare and respond to sea level rise, and identify exposed coastal zones, as such contributing to national climate action and disaster risk reduction sustainable development goals (goals 13 and 11, respectively).

Morphological characterization of the Azikheli buffalo in Pakistan

This study aims to characterize Azikheli, an undocumented buffalo breed, in its home tract (Khwazakhela, Swat, Pakistan) under traditional farming conditions. For this purpose, 108 buffalo cows and 27 bulls were randomly selected. Mean, standard error, Students t test and Chi-square test were used for various comparisons. The results show that the majority of animals have a brown coat colour. Cows have significantly higher heart girths, longer horns, longer necks and wider faces at the level of the eyes than bulls, whereas bulls have significantly longer bodies, longer ears, thicker horns, thicker necks and larger hooves than cows. Horns are flat laterally, directed backwards and then slightly upwards without twisting, leading to a sickle to semi-sickle appearance. Owing to its small body size and brown coat colour, the breed is well adapted to mountain slope grazing and thrives well away from swamps. Its adaptation to mountainous ecosystems warrants its in situ conservation.

Carbon sequestration in Himalaya's alpine meadows: Mitigating cropping encroachment on pastures in Northern Pakistan

Rangelands store about 30% of the world’s carbon and support over 120 million pastoralists globally. Adjusting the management of remote alpine pastures bears a substantial climate change mitigation potential that can provide livelihood support for marginalized pastoralists through carbon payment. Landless pastoralists in Northern Pakistan seek higher income by cropping potatoes and peas over alpine pastures. However, tilling steep slopes without terracing exposes soil to erosion. Moreover, yields decline rapidly requiring increasing fertilizer inputs. Under these conditions, carbon payment could be a feasible option to compensate pastoralists for renouncing hazardous cropping while favoring pastoral activities. The study quantifies and compares C on cropped and grazed land. The hypothesis was that cropping on alpine pastures reduces former carbon storage. The study area located in the Naran valley of the Pakistani Himalayas receives an annual average of 819 mm of rain and 764 mm of snow. Average temperatures remain below 0°C from November to March while frost may occur all year round. A total of 72 soil core samples were collected discriminating land use (cropping, pasture), aspect (North, South), elevation (low 3000, middle 3100, and high 3200 m a.s.l.), and soil depth (shallow 0-10, deep 10-30 cm). Thirty six biomass samples were collected over the same independent variables (except for soil depth) using a 10x10x20 cm steal box inserted in the ground for each sample. Aboveground biomass and coarse roots were separated from the soil aggregate and oven-dried. Soil organic carbon (SOC) and biomass carbon (BC) were estimated through a potassium dichromate oxidation treatment. The samples were collected during the second week of October 2010 at the end of the grazing and cropping season and before the first snowfall. The data was statistically analyzed by means of a one-way analysis of variance. Results show that all variables taken separately have a significant effect on mean SOC [%]: crop/pasture 1.33/1.6, North/South 1.61/1.32, low/middle/high 1.09/1.62/1.68, shallow/deep 1.4/1.53. However, for BC, only land use has a significant effect with more than twice the amount of carbon in pastures [g m-2]: crop/pasture 127/318. These preliminary findings suggest that preventing the conversion of pastures into cropping fields in the Naran valley avoids an average loss of 12.2 t C ha-1 or 44.8 t CO2eq ha-1 representing a foreseeable compensation of 672 € ha-1 for the Naran landless pastoralists who would renounce cropping. The ongoing study shall provide a complete picture for carbon payment integrating key aspects such as the rate of cropping encroachment over pastures per year, the methane leakage from the system due to livestock enteric fermentation, the expected cropping income vs. livestock income and the transaction costs of implementing the mitigation project, certifying it, and verifying carbon credits. A net present value over an infinite time horizon for the mitigation scenario shall be estimated on an iterative simulation to consider weather and price uncertainties. The study will also provide an estimate of the minimum price of carbon at which pastoralists would consider engaging in the mitigation activity.

Mountain cattle breed for coping with climate change: needs for conserving and reintroducing the Achai in the Hindu Kush Mountains of Northern Pakistan

Local low input and output breeds are often a better choice for herders rearing livestock in remote mountains. With more vulnerability to diseases outbreaks and more pasture resources uncertainties as a consequence of climate change, these high resistant and well adapted breeds deserve more attention from local authorities. Local breeds also perform well on poor quality roughages, and can move on rugged terrain for grazing, whereas the exotic and crossbred heavy milk cattle breeds require quality rations, and are more vulnerable to diseases and weather extremes (KOHLER-ROLLEFSON et al., 2009).