The lack of need to feed the livestock or to reseed bare ground understandably puzzles many people. It is easiest explained in this manner. If there is a very poor area of land with only desert bushes, weeds and perhaps annual grasses in a good season it is generally supporting a few animals feeding on what is available over the year. Using the livestock hooves mainly to begin growing grasses and other plants we first concentrate the animals to get more “herd effect” of trampling, dunging, urinating as any gardener would understand to get plants growing. And we move the animals to the grazing plan to ensure they always have feed.

It works like this: assume you have say, only ten animals able to be supported on an area of largely bare land for a year. If you divide the area into four there is enough forage to hold those animals on a quarter of the land for 90 days. This means the plants on the remainder of the land are free to grow unimpeded by grazing or browsing which they do. And on the quarter you are holding the animals for 90 days feeding on what is there you have the animals more concentrated with their hooves producing better conditions for plants to grow and dung and urine more evenly spread. Now picture that with the same land divided into 30 divisions and the same principle applies. Now however the animals are kept on one of those divisions for a day or two only and all plants get anywhere from two to three months to grow out unimpeded. And the animals are now at 30 times their past density even with numbers unchanged.

Using the above principles, and with help from a large ranching company, I tested holistic planned grazing to a breaking point trying to see if we could make it fail before ever taking into the public arena. We did this by selecting 4,000 acres of the worst land we could where perennial grass had completely disappeared. By using the above principle we increased the livestock 300% on that land in the first year and dense perennial grassland developed and became healthier and healthier over the next 8 years in good and bad rainfall years. No feeding and no reseeding or any other measures were used – only increasing the animals, concentrating them and planning their moves over the land to ensure no plants were exposed to being grazed for more than two days and all plants received two to three months of freedom to grow during the growing season of about four months. And because 3 X the number of animals were, when grazing, on a thirtieth of the land the greatly increased animal impact or herd effect caused millions of new plants to grow and produce enough feed to carry the animals through 8 to 9 months of no rain.

Such conditions of extreme desertification are handled in this manner and where it involves pastoralists herding their animals it becomes much easier and faster than on ranches using fencing.

Learn more about Holistic Management and Holistic Planned Grazing in our Frequently Asked Questions.

Increasingly people are coming to understand that management needs to be holistic, meaning management needs to embrace social, environmental and economic complexity and cannot be reductionist, or directed to limited objectives or aims without producing unintended consequences. Currently everything we “make” using some form of technology is generally successful and increasingly so if we measure success only by achievement of the objective. However, globally we are experiencing cumulative unintended consequences to society, environment and economies – some beneficial some damaging. Everything we “manage” from the global economy to agriculture, natural resources, forests, oceans, fisheries, etc. are seen, if we look at them honestly, to be running into problems culminating in agriculture producing far more eroding soil than food, global desertification, biodiversity loss and climate change.

Holistic Management involves using a “holistic framework”  I developed working with many scientists, wildlife biologists, ecologists and pastoralists over half a century. Using the holistic framework people manage culture/social aspects, the environment and economy together not as isolated aspects as we have traditionally done. This results in management decisions that are socially, environmentally and economically sound for them in their situation both short and long term. This can be done from a family in a city not dealing with land, to a national or international level in any management situation, policy or development project and of course by people on the land managing crops, livestock, forests, etc.

When managing any situation holistically all objectives of management (policy or development projects) are aligned with what is called a “holistic context” defined by the people in that specific situation. The people’s holistic context defines how those people want their lives to be, based on their culture and values, what they need to produce from their resource base to live such lives and what the environment supporting them needs to function like centuries from now for their descendants to be still living such lives. This holistic context is needed for management objectives, goals, policies, etc because all objectives and goals need a clear context to be fully achievable and not lead to unintended consequences.

In conventional management and government policies actions always have an objective as they should, however why management runs into problems so commonly is because the context for our actions or goals is that we “need” or “desire” something or we are “addressing a problem.” While such contexts serve us well with everything that we “make” using technology in some form, these are not realistic contexts for objectives and goals in management situations. The reason for this is because management always involves complexity – social, environmental and economic. Given a holistic context in any situation we find that our objectives and goals become much more likely to be achieved without unintended consequences.

When using the holistic framework, especially when dealing with nature, we automatically assume our actions are wrong and in that manner determine what to monitor to detect as rapidly as possible anything going adrift to correct it. This leads to holistic management being proactive, producing the desired results rather than reactive or adaptive management as management has tended to be for centuries. Such proactive management is proving encouragingly successful wherever practiced.

It is profoundly simple but not easy. Not easy purely because it is a new way of thinking for us, and changing our paradigms does not come easily. Where the management of land involves livestock needed to sustain people, or where there is no other possibility than using livestock to reverse land degradation, restore river flow, springs or underground water or loss of wildlife habitat  the same holistic framework and process is used with holistic planned grazing as the planning process to address that complexity involved.

Learn more about Holistic Management and Holistic Planned Grazing in our Frequently Asked Questions.

To meet this need, the Savory Institute is working to measure impact by monitoring the health of ecosystem processes, sequestration of atmospheric carbon into soil carbon, well-being of our communities, as well as our financial vitality. We have compiled a portfolio that includes peer-reviewed journal articles, theses and dissertations, and reports. This portfolio proves the principles behind Holistic Management and is an ever-evolving list. The gaps in research, documentation, and monitoring will guide us in strategically identifying collaborations and projects in which to engage.

For more information about this research portfolio please contact Andrea Malmberg, Research Director, at contact@savoryinstitute.com. Download the supporting evidence research portfolio here

Response to request for information on the “science” and “methodology” underpinning Holistic Management and holistic planned grazing, by Allan Savory (Updated 2013)

2012

Commentary – “U.S. Drought – Man-made Natural Disaster” by Allan Savory (2012)

A New Framework, A New Context by Allan Savory (2012)

Food and Agriculture: The future of sustainability, by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for Sustainable Development, Allan Savory contributor (2012) (External link)

2011

Response to request for information on the “science” and “methodology”
underpinning Holistic Management and holistic planned grazing, by Allan Savory (2011)

A Brief Overview of Holistic Management and Holistic Decision Making, by Allan Savory(2011)

2010

The Buckminster Fuller Award and the Afghanistan War, by Allan Savory

2008

A Global Strategy for Addressing Climate Change, by Allan Savory (2008)

Holistic resource management: a conceptual framework for ecologically sound economic modelling, by Allan Savory, in Ecological Economics(2008)

Good Governance, by Allan Savory (2008)

2001

Comments on 9-11, by Allan Savory (2001)

Photo credit James Duncan Davidson/TED2013

UPDATE – Click here to see a video recording of Allan Savory’s TED2013 presentation now live on www.ted.com. The title of the page and presentation is “How to green the desert and reverse climate change.”

Savory Institute President and founder Allan Savory’s presentation “How to green the desert and reverse climate change” at TED 2013  global conference “The Young. The Wise. The Undiscovered” was enthusiastically received, earning a standing ovation from the audience. We are grateful to TED2013 for providing such a prestigious platform from which to spread the word of Holistic Management. TED Conferences are one of the most elite platforms possible for thinkers, artists, and innovators from around the world.

Thank you to Ben Lillie for his excellent summary of the presentation, now available on the TED2013 web site at http://bit.ly/15k4EdM.

The presentation reviewed the devastating effects of desertification on the earth and our civilizations and the consistent failure of current approaches to stop desertification. He shows dramatic examples of how livestock are the best (and only) tool that can permanently reverse these processes. Quotes from the presentation:

“Desertification is a fancy word for land that is turning to desert…the fate of water and carbon are tied to soil and organic matter. When we damage soils, we give off carbon.”

“There is only one option left to climatologists and scientists. That is to do the unthinkable: to use livestock, bunched and moving, as a proxy for the herds.”

Even worse, we might think that only arid and semi-arid land is becoming desert, but tall grasslands are in danger as well. They can have a cancer “that we don’t recognize until it’s terminal form.”

Presenting at TED2013 is a tremendous honor, one which fittingly rewards Allan’s lifelong work to restore the world’s grasslands through holistic management and use properly managed livestock to heal the land and empower others to do the same. His work in agricultural policy reform has removed barriers on the path to large-scale success through activities such as conducting research, creating market incentives and raising public awareness.

Photo credit James Duncan Davidson/TED2013.

President Obama cannot lead us in the full measures essential to addressing climate change until public opinion very broadly supports treating the matter with the seriousness it warrants. He can however begin, albeit it with difficulty due to special interests, to take measures removing barriers to public scientific enlightenment and he can with ease bring about Congressional Enquiry into the science underlying natural resource management and agriculture in its wider sense.

In the near future, President Obama will be bombarded with advice from “experts”, most of which will merely add to the already serious confusion surrounding climate change. This is because most “experts” on climate change are trained in specialist areas and the problem requires broader, more holistic understanding.

Obama cannot truly lead on this issue, as many people are wishing for and some are demanding, because leadership implies taking us in a new direction. No leader of any democratic society can safely do so until the bulk of the voting population is demanding or seeing a need for new directions. Only in times of war or situations in which a population is united by a common aim can a democratic leader truly lead. For example, Franklin Roosevelt knew America needed to enter World War II but he could not lead the American population into the war till Pearl Harbor aroused the nation.

At present, the American population is confused and not understanding either the speed or the severity of climate change. Recent weather extremes have increased the level of public concern to the point where Obama could declare his intention of taking climate change seriously, but that is a far cry from his being able to lead us into what has to be done.

Although scientists have seldom been as united as they are about the extreme dangers we face, they have not had resources at their disposal that are anything like those fossil fuels companies enjoy. And just as the tobacco companies acted to prolong profits by expending vast sums to deliberately cause public doubt so have the oil, coal and gas companies. So, currently not only is a very large segment of the public doubtful about climate change the experts advising the President are focusing almost entirely on emissions from fossil fuels, as the cause of climate change, making them the focus of solutions sought.

In reality climate change is also being caused by agriculture which is not crop production alone, but is the production of food and fibre from the world’s land and waters. Agriculture is causing climate change as much as, and possibly more than, fossil fuels, because of the high rate of damage to soils both causing the release of carbon and reducing the ability of soils to retain and hold carbon. Americans eat an average of one ton of food per year, but destroy several tons of soil for every ton of food produced. And the soil scientists who provide such statistics I believe only studied the soil damage and loss from the approximately 20% of the US that constitutes the croplands. The far greater soil damage and loss from much of the 80% of non-cropland that is desertifying is largely ignored.

When faced with such a complex problem as Obama is I have a habit of asking myself ,“What would I do if the buck stopped with me?” I do this because having been President of a political party, albeit in a far smaller nation, I know the pressures and unintentional confusion caused by specialized technical advice in a field broader than silo-trained specialists can comprehend. I would focus on three essentials of any successful policy:

• It has to be achievable by being supported by the vast majority of citizens
• It must address the root cause of the problem
• It must not lead to unintended consequences

Following this line of thinking my first actions would be to use all powers available to me to remove the barriers to a scientifically enlightened public about the serious nature of climate change which is far more serious that rising seas flooding major cities or ever more violent weather. People believing that these are the worst consequences of climate change simply have little understanding of how nature’s feedback loops operate and the high possibility that these will lead to runaway change ending civilization as we know it.

The situation should long ago have been put on what Paul Gilding, in his book “The Great Disruption”, called a “war-footing” – in which it is no longer a case of what you want to do, but what you have to do. Where treason in times of war, with a united population is a heinous crime I do not have words for, actions designed to cause public doubt when for all of humanity the situation we now face is far more dangerous than all the wars ever fought.

Apart from using what powers and persuasion Obama can muster to end the blockage of sound science being widely available to the public, the next thing I would do is to ensure that any future policy does in fact address the causes of climate change. If this is not done then there is no chance of success.

Allan Savory created the holistic management philosophy and practice and is the Founder and President of the Savory Institute.

A shortened preview of Allan’s talk is shown in the video above. In it he reviews the devastating effects of desertification on the earth and our civilizations and the consistent failure of current approaches to stop desertification. He shows dramatic examples of how livestock are the best (and only) tool that can permanently reverse these processes.

At the conference, Allan will present in Session 7 called “Sustain!”  on Wednesday, February 27, 2013, 5:00pm-6:45pm PST.  This session includes Leyla Acaroglu, sustainability strategist; Wang Li, mouth musician; Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao, science fair winners; Alex Laskey, energy software maker; Pedrito Martinez Group, Afro-Cuban alchemists; Michael Green, architect, and Ron Finley, renegade gardener. The TED2013 line-up features more than 70 speakers – the largest number of speakers in TED’s history. Nearly half of the program comes from our first-ever global auditions held in 14 countries.  Full list of presenters here

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design — three broad subject areas that are, collectively, shaping our future. The conference format is fast paced: 50+ talks over the course of four days. This immersive environment allows attendees and speakers from vastly different fields to cross-fertilize and draw inspiration from unlikely places.

Conference attendance is sold out, but there a limited number of passes still available for TEDActive in Palm Springs, which features a live simulcast of TED2013. You can also experience TED2013 at your home, work or office with TED Live.  Click for more details.

Featured Video

Allan Savory: How to green the world’s deserts and reverse climate change – Presentation at TED2013 – Courtesy of TED2013

Allan Savory Interview for International Permaculture Day 2013 – May 2013

Can Livestock Bring Back Biodiversity? – The Fletcher School, Tufts University (www.fletcher.tufts.edu) – February 2013

How wildlife can resuscitate dying land – Allan Savory presentation at TED@Johannesburg Talent Search for TED2013 – Courtesy of TED (2012)

Message from HRH the Prince of Wales (Charles) to the IUCN World Conservation Congress – Courtesy of IUCN (2012)

Holistic Management – “Growing the Grazing Revolution” –  Courtesy Lachlan Catchment (2012)

Holistic Management – “A grazing method that changed our lives”, featuring Stewart Shand - Courtesy Lachlan Catchment (2012)

Holistic management – “Increased carrying capacity & sustainability” featuring Tim Hansen - Courtesy Lachlan Catchment (2012)

Daniela Ibarra-Howell – Land Management and the Environment – Courtesy of Stakeholder Forum (2012)

Allan Savory and Huggins Mantanga on Holistic Management – Courtesy of A. Lucich (2010)

Allan Savory Talk  ”Fire – How Do You Feel?” - Courtesy of Seth Itzkan (2011)

Holistic Management  - Overview by Allan Savory – Sponsored by TheRegenesis.com  (2009)

Holistic Planned Grazing - Animated overview – Produced by Chopra Foundation (2011)

How wildlife can resuscitate dying land - Allan Savory presentation at TED@Johannesburg Talent Search for TED2013 – Courtesy of TED (2012)

Interview with Allan Savory, Australian Broadcast Corp. (ABC) - Produced by ABC (2011)

The Grasslands Story – John Fullerton presentation – Courtesy of Capital Institute

Keeping Cattle – Cause or Cure for Climate Crisis? - Allan Savory Lecture, Trinity College, Dublin – Courtesy of Feasta Foundation (2009)

Manejo Holistico “el rebrote de la patagonia” – Courtesy of Ovitech (2012)

Meet the Ranchers of Grasslands – Courtesy of Capital Institute (2012)

Reversing Global Warming With Livestock?, Seth Itzkan presentation at TEDx Somerville – Courtesy TEDx (2012)

Savory Institute: Changing Our Future – TED “Ads Worth Spreading” - Produced by Foresight Multimedia (2011)

Savory Institute: Holistic Management Worldwide – Produced by Foresight Multimedia (2004, 2011)

Walkabout with Allan Savory Series – Sponsored by TheRegenesis.com (2009)

* New Mexico Example
* Herd Impact & Over-rest
* Planning & Mapping
* Stop Partial Rest
* The Four Processes
* Overgrazing

Interview with Allan Savory for International Permaculture Day 2013 – May 2013

Our Planet’s Destiny Lies in Its Pastures – Pacific Standard – May 2013

“We Can Afford No Further Fence-Sitting” – Interview with Allan Savory – Greeno – April 2013

Peter Byck television interview on “Real Time with Bill Maher” – April 2013 (available on HBO.com through paywall)

Commentary: Savory’s Solution Will Change View of Livestock – Drover’s Cattle Network – March 2013

How Cows Could Repair the World: Allan Savory at TED – NationalGeographic.com – March 2013

Allan Savory: How livestock can protect the land – Nature of Business Radio – March 2013

Can This Surprising Discovery Fix Climate Change? – Mashable.com – March 2013

A Better Understanding of the Impacts of Sheep Grazing – USDA Agricultural Research Service – March 2013

Putting carbon back into the ground – the way nature does it - Climate Code Red – March 2013

Can Livestock Bring Back Biodiversity? – The Fletcher School, Tufts University (www.fletcher.tufts.edu) – February 2013

 ”Introduction to Agroecology: Permaculture ≠ Holistic Management ≠ Biodynamic ≠ Natural Farming” – Daily Kos (author Joshua Finch) – February 2013

“Introduction to Agroecology: Holistic Management- Cattle, Cause or Cure for Climate Crisis?” – Daily Kos (author Joshua Finch) – January 2013

Readers’ choice: Best stories of 2012 and what to expect this year – OurWorld 2.0 – United Nations University – January 2013

Don’t Blame the Cows – Capital Press – January 2013

2012

NRCS Adopts Holistic Management – Land of Texas Magazine.com – Winter 2012 (link to .pdf, re-published with permission)

Holistic Land Management: Key to Global Stability – Forbes.com – December 2012

Holistic Land Management: Key to Global Stability (Interview) – Momentum, Univ. of Minn. – December 2012 

Guest Blog: Reflections on Savory: The Science and the Philosophy – Climate Solutions – November 2012

It’s time to redesign our economic system – Green European Journal – November 2012

The Natural Way – Farmer’s Weekly – November 2012

The Holistic Pasture - In Zimbabwe, livestock improves soil – Samuel Magazine – November 2012  (Page is in Portuguese. Use your browser’s Translate function for English.)

Too Many Animal Numbers Causes Overgrazing is a Myth - AgInfo.net – November 2012

Grazing visionary shares knowledge – Capital Press – October 2012

Holistic Management Guru Addresses Washington Ranchers – Capital Press – October 2012

Drought Forces Ranchers Into Difficult Decisions – NPR Talk of the Nation – (Interviews with Zach Jones and Jim Howell) – August 22, 2012

Holistic Management Course in Graaff-Reniet – The Diamond Route newsletter – August 2012

New Breed of Ranchers Shapes a Sustainable West – Christian Science Monitor – July 2012

Just Planting Trees Won’t Stop March of Deserts – Pacific Standard magazine – June 2012

World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought – The Solutions Presented to Rio +20 – Permaculture magazine  - June 2012

Coverage of Selected Side Events at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD or Rio+20) - IISD Reporting Services – June 2012

Using cows to help combat climate change? – Richard’s  Blog  - virgin.com – June 1012

TEDx Somerville: Seth Itzkan – Reversing Global Warming with Livestock? (Video) – May 2012

5 Billion Hectares of Hope: The Savory Institute – NextBillion.net – May 2012

Reversing Desertification with Livestock – U.N. University OurWorld magazine – May 2012

Large herds on the move revitalise degraded veld – Farmer’s Weekly – May 2012

Desertification and livestock grazing: The roles of sedentarization, mobility and rest  - Science  Alerts Social Network (Paper review) – May 2012

Holisticgoal: one word – a noun, not an adjective – Ecotrust.org blog – March 2012

Brown Revolution Brings New Hope – IPS Internews Agency – January 2012

Burros and Bio-Diversity: The Rest of the Story – Circle Ranch blog – January 2012

2011

Climate Solution: From Air to Soil – Radio Ecoshock – November 2011

Operation Hope – Reversing Desertification – Buckminster Fuller Challenge – December 2011

Healing Hooves Help African Soil – Capital Press – October 2011

Saving US grasslands: a bid to turn back the clock on desertification – Christian Science Monitor – October 2011

2010

Reversing Desertification, Public Radio International’s Living on Earth  - 2010

New Hampshire Public Radio’s Word of Mouth, Saving Land With Livestock – 2010

An Interview With Allan Savory by The Society for Range Management – 2010

Roving Herds of Grazing Climate Helpers, Miller McCune – 2010

Greener Pastures, SEED Magazine – 2010

How to Save the Grasslands: Bring in More Cattle, TIME Magazine (2010)

Using Primeval Methods to Fight Modern Abuses of Agricultural Lands, The New York Times (2010)

Method That Turns Wastelands Green Wins 2010 Buckminster Fuller Challenge, Fast Company (2010)

Winner of the 2010 Bucky Fuller Challenge Announced, Architectural Record (2010)

Africa Needs a Brown (Not Green) Food Revolution, Christian Science Monitor (2010)

2009

Scientists Help Ranchers Wrangle Carbon Emissions, NPR (2009)

Allan Savory, Founder and President of Savory Institute, has written a short message asking for everyone to cast a vote for us in the People’s Choice Award competition. Go to www.katerva.org/vote to register on the site and vote. Voting ends Jan. 29, 2013. 

One thing young people can do right away is help us start shifting public opinion on climate change. Awards such as the Katerva People’s Choice have a large positive effect on this opinion shift. There are only a few days left to vote on this one (voting ends Jan. 29, 2013), however, so we will need to move fast.

Can you spread this message to friends, family, and colleagues deeply concerned about desertification and climate change and ask that they do vote for the Savory Institute project. Our work addresses a most urgent problem in the world – climate change and the symptoms of desertification. These affects are man-made droughts, floods, poverty, social breakdown, violence, recruitment to dissident organizations, emigration to crowded cities and breakdown of local economies to name just a few.

I hope that encouraging you to take just a few minutes and put in your vote for us will help you and your network take action. I thank you for being a part of Savory Institute’s work.