Living with drought has taught pastoralists lessons the world needs

Pastoralists from Tanzania, Sudan, Nepal, Mongolia and elsewhere are meeting in Mongolia for the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, calling for stronger protections, funding, and formal recognition of their traditional land practices. Maasai herder Andrew Msami described desertification as an existential threat to Maasai identity, forcing many to trade cattle for drought-hardier but less valued goats.

Desertification is occurring at 30 to 35 times the historical average, according to the conference, threatening the roughly half of the planet's landmass classified as rangeland. Since the 1992 Earth Summit identified climate change, biodiversity loss and desertification as equal challenges, trillions of dollars have flowed to the first two while desertification funding lagged, though advocates say droughts in Spain, France and Sweden are shifting attention.

This year marks the first UNCCD with a formal Indigenous peoples caucus, though organizers say it has faced resistance in securing full participation. Advocates argue that legal protections for land and mobility rights are inseparable from climate adaptation, even as some countries have responded to drought by restricting pastoralist herd sizes and movement.

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