The UN International Year
The United Nations regularly selects focus areas to raise awareness and highlight how they support the UN development goals. For 2026, the UN has designated the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP 2026), as stated in UN resolution A/RES/76/253. The observance shines a light on landscapes, livelihoods, and the global role of pastoralism.
What Are Rangelands?
Rangelands are vast, mostly natural landscapes made up of grasses, shrubs, or scattered trees. They form some of the planet’s most important range ecosystems, supporting wildlife, storing carbon, and supplying grazing resources. These lands are used to let animals range (hence the name), usually at low intensity and often for grazing. Well-known examples include the Great Plains of North America, the Asian steppe, and Europe’s high mountain pastures.
Who Are Pastoralists?
Pastoralists are herders whose livelihoods revolve around managing animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, camels, yaks, or reindeer. Many practice mobile or seasonal herding, moving to follow fresh grazing. This way of life—known broadly as pastoralism—is an important cultural tradition and a key part of rangeland management.
Sustainable Grazing
The United Nations established IYRP 2026 to raise awareness of rangelands, pastoralists, and the landscapes they steward. The observance encourages sharing knowledge, supporting sustainable grazing, restoring degraded areas, improving mobility where needed, and strengthening the resilience of rangeland ecosystems.
Why It Matters
- They’re huge: Rangelands cover 54% of all land on Earth, according to some sources.
- They feed people: Grazing systems produce meat and dairy and support millions of livelihoods, especially in regions with long traditions of pastoralism.
- They store carbon & shelter wildlife: Healthy rangeland ecosystems lock carbon in soils and provide habitats for diverse species.
- They’re under pressure: Drought, land conversion, degradation, and policy neglect can erode the long-term health of rangelands.
IYRP 2026: What to Expect
The International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists will feature awareness campaigns explaining what rangelands are—in plain language and images—along with workshops, studies, and events on sustainable grazing, restoration, mobility, and land access. Many initiatives aim to highlight how rangeland ecosystems contribute to food security and climate resilience.
A key goal of IYRP 2026 is to elevate traditional pastoral knowledge alongside modern range science and advocate for policies that recognize pastoral mobility and secure grazing rights where appropriate.