[IYRPsupportgroup] Update on the IYRP

Thu May 20 15:12:44 MST 2021

Dear Friends of IYRP

We would like to bring you up to date on progress in designating an
International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists.

• To date, 18 national governments have sent formal letters of support to
the Mongolian Government for the designation of an International Year of
Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) in 2026. In addition, another 15
countries plus the EU showed support during the deliberations at the FAO
COAG in 2020.

• We now have more than 200 non-governmental organizations and one State
(Provincial) Government, that are formally supporting the IYRP. UNDP is the
latest United Nations agency to have joined in support.

• We are hopeful that the FAO Conference (14 -18 June 2021) will approve
the motion. Thereafter, the proposal will be forwarded to the 76th UN
General Assembly (UNGA) in September 2021 – the final step. The IYRP
International Support Group (ISG) stands ready to prepare any additional
documentation needed by the Government of Mongolia and FAO to complete the
submission of the proposal to the UNGA and help show the broad and
worldwide support for this proposal.

• The Mongolian Government requested the IYRP ISG to prepare a draft Action
Plan for IYRP, as a way to engage other countries to support the IYRP. This
draft is a compilation of all the priorities and commitments that the
governments and organizations have included in their letters of support.
More work will be done in the near future to refine the IYRP Action Plan on
the basis of the regional action plans being developed.

In addition, the IYRP International Support Group (ISG) has established a
Global Communications Team. Among other things, the Team has:
• Worked on enhancing the website (https://iyrp.info) , including providing
links that show relevance of other UN Conventions and Processes to the
IYRP, including the SDGs, the UN Decade on Family Farming (2019-2028), the
UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030) and more.
• Following a survey, we created two Word Cloud Graphics to help explain
what we mean by ‘rangelands’ and ‘pastoralists’ and how so many different
words are used around the world to mean more or less the same. These
graphics are attached for your use.  Word Clouds in languages other than
English are also being prepared.

Seeing the need for greater decentralization of efforts, a total of 11
Regional IYRP Support Groups (RISG) were established with help from the
IYRP ISG since December 2020 for the following regions:  Australasia, East
Asia, Central Asia & Mongolia, South Asia, Middle East & North Africa,
Eastern & Southern Africa, West & Central Africa, Europe, Arctic, North
America and South America. Below are highlights of some of their
achievements to date:

• *Australasia*: Australia is among the countries that has written support
for IYRP. The RISG developed an additional Stakeholder List of ~70
organizations and engaged in outreach to them.

• *Central Asia and Mongolia*: organized stakeholders outreach meetings on
local, regional and national levels in some countries, resulting in a
signed Resolution; they have translated all key IYRP documents into
Russian; and are preparing draft regional action plans for IYRP.

• *Eastern and Southern Africa*: In addition to reaching out to national
governments in the region to seek their support of IYRP, this RISG is
conducting a comprehensive mapping of policies in the region that affect
pastoralists and rangelands, and supporting the documentation of African
indigenous knowledge for the International Rangeland Congress (October
2021). This RISG is considering dividing into two (Eastern, and Southern).

• *Europe*: The RISG is ensuring the continuity of the support of the EU's
and EU Member States’ to IYRP at the UNGA, and advocating for development
of an EU Action Plan for promoting pastoralism. Yolda Initiative and
Euromontana are organizing a high level webinar on 14th June hosted by the
EU Committee of the Regions, to discuss the contribution of pastoralism in
tackling various issues in the EU, including biodiversity, climate change,
food security and resilient rural communities, and to review how the
international policies of the EU have impacted pastoralism around the
world. The RISG is also working to translate the IYRP Draft Action Plan
into French and Hungarian.

• *North America*:  In Canada, a joint support letter co-signed by 23
national and regional NGOs that collectively represent hundreds of
thousands of Canadians to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs Canada,
International Development Canada, and other departments. Similarly, a joint
statement is being prepared in Mexico (25 signatories so far) for the
Ministry of Agriculture (SADER). The Canadian Minister of Agriculture and
the Governor of the State of Durango, Mexico have sent letters of support
to Mongolia. In the USA, signatures are being sought for a group letter to
be sent to several Government Departmental Secretaries. An information note
has been drafted titled” Why the IYRP matters to the USA Government”. The
North American RISG is also finding ways to engage on issues related to
indigenous pastoralism (including through creating opportunities related to
capacity-building via indigenous universities and technical schools), and
building momentum among wildlife and Park agencies working on the ground
throughout the central grasslands of North America.

• *South Asia*: In March 2021 India and Bhutan joined the other South Asian
governments that are supporting IYRP. In addition, the RISG is organizing
an Award For Recognizing Pastoralists who conserve local breeds, and use
best practices in pasture land management in South Asia.  The RISG is
compiling traditional food recipes and value added livestock products from
pastoral communities, and provided the COVID situation allows, it is
planning events for 22 May International Biodiversity Day, and 5 June World
Environment Day.

Finally, several members of the ISG have engaged proactively with the UN
Food Systems Summit, after seeing that pastoralism and rangelands were
(once again) being left behind.  Among these actions: a Pastoralist
Champion (Mr. H. Ykhanbai of Mongolia) has been nominated and is engaging
with the different processes; Game Changer Solution Ideas have been
submitted for Action Tracks 1, 3 and 5; and at least three Independent
Dialogues are in preparation (one by ILRI and GASL; one by the Mountain
Partnership Secretariat; and one by CELEP partners in Eastern Africa).

For more information on IYRP please visit : https://iyrp.info.

Please continue to show your support for an IYRP! The next few months are
crucial in raising awareness worldwide.

If you wish to get more involved, please contact me, or the Chairs of the
RISG for your region (see list attached).

 Maryam Niamir-Fuller
Vice Chair of ISG
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