[IYRP General List] General Update on IYRP - Aug/Sept 2021

[Maryam Niamir-Fuller]

Dear all,

Here is an update on progress in designating an International Year of
Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP). This update is also available on
https://iyrp.info.

*In summary* the designation of 2026 as the IYRP has entered the formal
United Nations process in New York. Support for IYRP continues to increase
among governments and non-governmental entities, including a Resolution at
the IUCN World Conservation Congress. A new IYRP Global Coordinating Group
has been created, consisting of Chairs of the Regional Support Groups,
Government of Mongolia, FAO and other key institutions. It’s task is to
help promote and coordinate activities in support of the designation of the
IYRP among the almost 300 partners in the International Support Group.
Outreach campaigns continue to be organized.

If you wish to be more actively involved please do contact me directly at
the email below; if you wish to show your support more visibly, please
share information about events, videos and other materials for inclusion in
the IYRP website.



*UN process related to IYRP:*

Following the endorsement of the IYRP Proposal at the FAO Conference in
June 2021, the Director General of FAO has officially transmitted the
Proposal to the UN Secretary General. The Government of Mongolia is working
on processing the Proposal through the appropriate channels for the 76th UN
General Assembly (UNGA). We are hopeful to achieve the designation of 2026
as the IYRP by the end of this year if not before.



*Status of support for IYRP:*

Three new country governments and ten new organizations including the
inter-governmental organization IGAD sent letters and/or logos to show
their support to the Government of Mongolia’s proposal. This brings us to a
total of 35 governments plus the EU, and 298 organizations. Please see this
Map
<https://www.iyrp.info/sites/iyrp.org/files/RangelandDistributionIYRPRev.jpg>
for this worldwide coverage.

The IUCN World Conservation Congress, 4–7 September 2021 in Marseille,
passed the Resolution 9 “Protecting and Restoring Endangered Grasslands and
Savannah Ecosystems <https://www.iucncongress2020.org/motion/010>”, which
includes a paragraph requesting IUCN to seek support from Member States for
the IYRP.



*Global Trust Fund for IYRP:*

The IYRP Global Coordinating Group (GCG), set up in June 2021 to help
coordinate the efforts of the IYRP International Support Group (ISG), has
decided to explore the possibility of creating a Global Trust Fund for the
IYRP – pending the approval and designation of the IYRP 2026 by UNGA. The
Regional IYRP Support Groups (RISGs) are holding consultations in the
regions to explore this option, including its structure, function,
governance, implementation, monitoring and accountability.



*IYRP Supporting Events and Activities between 13 July and 16 September:*

Ø  *Game-Changing Idea for the United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS)*

      o   The IYRP Parallel Session at the UNFSS Pre-Summit, 26 July 2021,
was very successful; over 150 people participated to find out more about
the Game-Changing Idea on *Mobile Pastoralism Valuing Rangeland Variability
<https://www.iyrp.info/un-food-systems-summit-unfss>*

                o   An outreach campaign was organized for the week of 9-15
September, led by Yolda Initiative with support from the GCG. The key
messages were addressed to the high officials of UNFSS and focused on the
importance of mobility of livestock for mitigating climate change,
restoring rangelands and ensuring sustainable livelihoods for millions of
pastoralists. These messages were posted on the social media accounts of
IYRP. They were retweeted and reposted many times by IYRP partners and
reached more than 28,000 viewers (Twitter <https://twitter.com/IYRP2026>,
Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/IYRP2026>, and Instagram
<https://www.instagram.com/iyrp2026/>)


Ø  With many thanks to volunteers from among the ISG, the highly
informative 2.5-minute *video "Pastoralism is the future
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeqITzac9Ac>"* prepared by CELEP in
collaboration with Misereor is now available in English with Arabic,
Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Mongolian & Spanish
subtitles as well as voice-over versions in Amharic, Kiswahili and Hindi.
See the original video here <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeqITzac9Ac>
and the various other language versions here.
<https://www.iyrp.info/resources/front>


Ø  *WWF’s Grassland Dialogues of 7 September 2021* featured pastoralism and
the IYRP. It included the video on “Pastoralism is the Future” introduced
by Ann Waters-Bayer (CELEP), a presentation by Maryam Niamir-Fuller on Mobile
Pastoralism, Game Changing Ideas, and IYRP <https://www.iyrp.info/resources>,
and presentations of the new FAO publication Pastoralism - making
variability work
<http://www.fao.org/policy-support/tools-and-publications/resources-details/en/c/1418863/>
by Veronique Ancey and Saverio Kratli


Ø  The *North America RISG* is working with the Society for Range
Management (SRM) to hold a dedicated virtual conference on IYRP in
conjunction with the 2022 SRM Annual Meeting
<http://annualmeeting.rangelands.org> in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in
February 2022. This will be an opportunity to follow up on the Joint
International Grassland & International Rangeland Congress this October –
more on this below


Ø  In the *Arctic Region*, the Association of World Reindeer Herders (WRH)
and the International Center for Reindeer Husbandry constructed the new *Boaššu
– Arctic Indigenous Peoples´ Innovation FoodLab
<https://reindeerherding.org/news/267-arctic-indigenous-peoples-food-lab-opening-in-kautokeino>*
as an instrument for raising awareness on the food systems of reindeer
herders. This initiative is linked to the ongoing Arctic Council EALLU
youth project on food, managed by WRH on behalf of the Arctic States.
Development of the UNEP/ GEF Peatlands & Nomadic Herders PPG project is
also progressing, with a global focus on reindeer herders and land
degradation, aiming to train indigenous reindeer-herding youth.


Ø  The *Australasia Region* has begun to develop the regional action plan
for the IYRP, in anticipation of the UNGA decision. They are also preparing
outreach documents to raise awareness among producers and politicians,
outlining why IYRP is important for the region.


Ø  In *China*, outreach efforts about the IYRP are reaching local
government and herdsmen in the pastoral areas of Tibet, Gansu, Qinghai and
Xinjiang, through the efforts of the China Grassland Society. A journal
publication is underway as well.


Ø  The coordinator of the *Europe* RISG will be presenting the IYRP at
the *Colloque
de la Semaine Européenne des Races locales de Massif* (SERAM3)
<https://www.races-montagnes.com/fr/colloque-seram/seram-vosges-2020.php> in
Colmar, France, this month. The event is organized by CORAM (*Collectif des
Races locales de Massif**)*, a European RISG member.


Ø  Several activities have occurred In the *Central Asia & Mongolia (CAM)
region*:

          o   The 2021 awards for “Sustainable Pasture Management and for
Conserving Rangelands
<https://cbnrm.mn/reports/Award_Announcement-%20_eng_01%20Aug.pdf>” were
announced by the National Federation of Pasture User Groups of Mongolia
(NFPUG); Environment and Development Association JASIL; Ministry of Food,
Agriculture and Light Industry, Mongolia (MoFALI); Central Asia Pastoral
Alliance (CAPA); CAM RISG and the Mongolian Working Group (WG) on
“Territories of Life” for Natural Resource Management (NRM) Communities,
Pasture User Groups (PUGs) and Forest User Groups (FUGs). The award winners
will be selected in September 2021 and expected to be announced during the
IGC/IRC Joint Congress Concurrent Sessions on IYRP

         o   Environment and Development Association JASIL prepared two
video messages <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tAbirIPXbw> about the
importance of mobility on pasture land use in Mongolia

        o   The CAM and South Asia RISGs organized a very successful virtual
workshop
<https://www.iccaconsortium.org/index.php/2021/07/23/statement-virtual-workshop-on-rangelands-and-pastoralism-asia>
entitled “Pastoral communities’ territories of life in Asia: tales of
coexistence of nature and people” on 16 July 2021


Ø  Also in *South Asia*, two events were organized by the RISG; they
featured respectively the benefits of draft animal power in pastoral
systems and a webinar on herbal treatment of animals.


Ø  The *Western & Central Africa (WCA) RISG* held a webinar
<https://www.iyrp.info/resources/361> on 8 September 2021 on the IYRP and
the commitment of regional institutions and civil society organizations in
planning future activities in favor of pastoralism. The webinar was the
first IYRP-related event in French and thus helped raise awareness about
the IYRP among a large French-speaking public. The fruitful discussions
showed the commitment of participants for the designation of IYRP.


Ø  The *Eastern & Southern Africa RISG* has been busy with a policy review
of key issues affecting rangelands and pastoralism in the region, a special
issue in the *African Journal of Range and Forage Sciences on African
Rangelands and Pastoralism* and preparations for the Joint IGC/IRC Congress.


*Updates from the Global Communications Team (GCT)*

Ø  A dedicated email address has been set up for the IYRP campaign (
iyrp at iyrp.info), which will be used for “official” correspondence from the
GCG.

Ø  The IYRP Branding Guidelines, designed by Yolda Initiative, were
reviewed in great detail by the GCG and other members of the GCT, and the
final version and related communications materials are being posted on the IYRP
archive site
<https://rangelandsgateway.org/international-year-rangelands-and-pastoralists-initiative>.


Ø  The updated 1-page and 4-page IYRP global flyers (Sept 2021 versions)
are now posted on the IYRP <https://www.iyrp.info/resources/front> website
along with news items about various events. Several updates were also made
on the “Conventions & Events <https://www.iyrp.info/conventions-events>”
webpage. If you notice anything missing, please let Barbara and Ann know.

Ø  Plans are underway for a global media campaign to target delegates at
UNGA. The campaign will be launched as soon as we know when UNGA will vote
on the IYRP proposal.

*Coming up:*

v  *UN Food Summit – 23rd September 2021.  *The Summit will be a virtual
event during the High-Level Segment of the 76th UN General Assembly. You
can register here <http://www.unfoodsystems.org>.

v  *Are livestock always bad for the planet?* This new scientific report on
livestock and climate change focused on pastoralism and in support of the
IYRP, will be launched this month as part of the *All4Climate* series of
events hosted by the Italian Government leading up to the UN Climate Change
(COP 26) pre-summit.  PASTRES, FAO and Yolda Initiative will hold the
launch event on 27 September 2021. Register now
<https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUpduutqDgpGtFfxv_Z2NAPgBSYA-MvmS1A>.


v  *The Joint IGC/IRC 2021 Virtual Congress* on 25–29 October includes two
Concurrent Sessions on the IYRP on 26 October between 1:30 pm and 6 pm
Nairobi time. The sessions will feature speakers from around the world
talking about issues and challenges that pastoralists and rangelands face,
and priority actions for the IYRP. Ample time is provided for a
participatory discussion. A Congress resolution on the IYRP will be
drafted. The Congress will also have virtual tours and exhibits, keynote
speeches from eminent scholars and practitioners, several more sessions
related to Pastoralism and Rangeland Restoration, and more. Deadline for
registration
<https://igandircongress2021.dryfta.com/congress-online-registration> is 30
September 2021. Delegates wanting financial support should apply online.




-- 
Dr. Maryam Niamir-Fuller
Vice Chair of International Support Group for the IYRP

*Support the call for an International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists!
https://www.iyrp.info <https://www.iyrp.info>*



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