For many years, large areas of grasslands have been turning into barren deserts at an alarming rate around the world. One of the major causes of desertification is agriculture — or more technically, the production of food and fiber from the world’s land and waters by human beings for human beings.

In the past, large wild herds of herbivores migrated over the land to find food and avoid predators. These herds grazed, defecated, stomped and salivated as they moved across the grasslands, building soil and deepening plant roots.

Unfortunately, over time, the wild herds were replaced by small numbers of domestic, sedentary livestock. Without the timely stomping and excrement of large numbers of animals, the cycle of biological decay in these grasslands was interrupted and the once-rich soils turned into dry, exposed desert land.

Desertification plays a critical role in many of the world’s most pressing problems, including climate change, drought, poverty, food insecurity and social violence.

Billions of dollars have been spent on solutions, including resting the land, planting trees and grass, using fire to remove dead material and developing new machines to work and irrigate the soil. These solutions rely on large amounts of capital and expensive technology and are often culturally inappropriate. They have not been successful in creating large-scale change and desertification continues to accelerate at an alarming rate.

There is a solution. Holistic Management is a planning process which is based on a decision making framework that results in ecologically regenerative, economically viable and socially sound management of the world’s grasslands. It was developed over 40 years ago by Allan Savory, a Zimbabwean biologist, game ranger, politician and rancher.

Holistic Management teaches people about the relationship between large herds of wild herbivores and the grasslands and then helps them develop strategies for managing herds of domestic livestock to mimic those wild herds to heal the land. It gives land managers and others the insights and management tools needed to understand nature and work with it, resulting in better, more informed decisions that balance key social, environmental and financial considerations.

Holistic Management is successful because it is cost-effective, highly scalable and nature-based. It is sustainable because it increases land productivity, livestock stocking rates and profits for landowners without compromising the long term viability of the resource base.

Today, more than 10,000 people have been trained in Holistic Management across the globe and over 40 million acres are managed holistically worldwide.

The Savory Institute promotes large-scale restoration of the world’s grasslands through Holistic Management. We work to accomplish this by healing land and empowering others to do so using properly managed livestock. We also work to remove barriers on the path to large-scale success, including conducting research, informing policy and creating market incentives.

Our plan for designing the future focuses on empowering practitioners around the world to use Holistic Management to have large-scale impact on the ground. Our goal by 2025 is to create the infrastructure needed to influence over one billion hectares of the world’s grasslands.

Daniela Ibarra-Howell co-founded the Savory Institute and became its CEO in 2011, bringing over 20 years of experience working on desertification and land degradation issues. Daniela has practiced and taught holistic management to successfully heal grasslands and meet economic and social goals in many different regions of the world, including the US, Argentina, Mexico, and New Zealand.

Approximately 18% of the world’s land is used for agriculture, however 80% of this figure is accounted for by non-cropland agriculture. In many of Earth’s most troubled regions, countries typically have only 1% to 5% cropland, with the rest being home to once thriving pastoral people.

Today global agriculture produces more eroding soil than food. Agriculture has been the primary driver of all major man-made desertification and results in the burning of more than a billion hectares of grasslands each year in Africa alone. It also contributes to ever increasing droughts, floods, poverty, emigration, violence, suffering and cultural genocide, which are often wrongly attributed to climate change.

When we weigh up the carbon emissions from expanding desertification, the destruction of soil and biological communities, the burning of biomass , as well as the destruction of tropical forests, it is clear that the contribution of agriculture to climate change is equal to, or maybe more than, that of fossil fuels.  Consequently, climate change is likely to continue in a post-fossil fuel world, unless we address desertification and unsustainable agriculture.

Whether through using new technologies, burning, or land resting methods, conventional attempts to combat desertification -currently occurring on about two thirds of the Earth’s land – remain insufficient. No other ‘tool’ is considered and livestock are vilified almost as much as fossil fuels, for causing both land degradation and climate change.

Seasonally humid grasslands and savannahs both develop over millennia, with vast herding herbivores, soils, plants and pack hunting predators collectively constituting complex yet stable natural ecosystems. However devoid of adequate disturbance from the hooves of herding herbivores and the return of nutrients to the soil from dying vegetation, land in these regions desertifies. The persistence of severe desertification on land managed by the US National Parks service despite over 70 years of research with no livestock and vast sums spent on technological interventions are testament to this reality.

Yet today most large wild herbivores have been exterminated, leaving livestock as the only viable mechanism to perform this function. Thousands of years of conventional herding has led to creation of the great man made deserts we possess today. This has been greatly accelerated by one hundred years of modern crop rotation and the widespread use of agricultural fencing. To change such deeply embedded practices to create agricultural methods which mimic nature, in the 1960s military battlefield planning was adapted to help solve this complex biological equation. What emerged from these efforts was a system known as holistic planned grazing.

Today holistic planned grazing is being practiced on over 20 million hectares worldwide and represents perhaps the most powerful tool for reversing desertification at our disposal.

The picture above  is of a ranch in the Karroo Desert of Africa.  This desert was once a vast grassland supporting millions of antelope of many species. As these were exterminated and replaced with a far smaller number of cattle and eventually sheep, desertification took hold. Yet in the 1970s a programme of planned grazing with double the number of cattle was introduced, directly attempting to mimic previous natural conditions. After only a relatively short space of time, the grasslands at this ranch – like thousands of others that have followed the holistic planned grazing model – have been restored.

Yet despite countless examples such as this, there remains an urgent need for public education if we are to end the vilification of the only method which can feasibly address desertification’s role in poverty, migration and climate change.  Soil scientists estimate that the world’s grasslands alone can sequester the entire carbon legacy load. Perhaps more importantly, however, this can be done without the unintended consequences that almost always follow technological solutions to nature’s complexity.  Desertification cannot be reversed by technological innovation or other orthodox more methods, yet the Rio+20 process has so far failed to both adequately consider the full implications of continued land degradation, as well the most effective solution to this problem. Without injecting new scientific insights such as the holistic planned grazing model into the international consciousness, business as usual will prevail and we will journey ever closer to a global tragedy beyond imagination.

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

In recognition of International Permaculture Day on 6 May 2012, Allan Savory contributed an open letter to participants. This letter was first published on the organizers’ Facebook page at www.facebook.com/InternationalPermacultureDay. Many thanks to Bella Bell. Video courtesy of International Permaculture Day. 

To all Permaculture practitioners, supporters and activists may I wish you well and ongoing success on International Permaculture Day. You might be scattered across the globe and often isolated, but you can be proud to be part of a movement in which people are leading meaningful lives while bettering life for all of humanity. Never in history have humans faced a more grave threat than today in the form of biodiversity loss, desertification and climate change, and you are at the leading edge as we face the future moving beyond the narrow confines of mainstream agriculture as you do in your design philosophy and practices.

Agriculture, contrary to mainstream thinking is not crop production alone but is the production of food and fibre from the world’s land and waters. Croplands only cover about 18% of the Earth’s land area. And in the most problematic region of the world across North Africa to Pakistan only 1% to 5% of many countries are croplands. Agriculture today is producing far more eroding soil than food, burning billions of acres of grasslands annually as well as tropical forests, and causing desertification to go viral globally.

When all is taken into account – soil destruction, burning, desertification – agriculture is clearly causing climate change as much as, if not more than, fossil fuels. And agriculture, not climate change, is causing ever increasing droughts, floods, poverty, social breakdown and violence as well as mass cultural genocide and movement to cities. And what is more serious is that even in a post-fossil-fuel world agriculture will, unless changed, lead to continued climate change, as cropland and grassland soils become increasingly incapable of storing carbon or breaking down methane.

Design and management, as Permaculturalists well know, lies at the heart of solutions whether in our cities or in agriculture. The way we have managed livestock for thousands of years causes both carbon and water to move from soil to atmosphere and reduces soil’s ability to break down methane. Properly managed livestock mimicking nature does the opposite, storing carbon and water in the soil while increasing it’s ability to deal with methane. And on our croplands we see the same principle with mainstream technological agriculture causing climate change while properly designed crop production does the opposite.

Gradually, and you have played a leading role, we are seeing constructive new thinking that might yet serve to save humanity and civilization as we know it. And we are seeing a steady coalescing of good people and organizations seeking solutions across the board from redesigned cities mimicking nature, to those of us addressing destructive cropping practices, desertification and climate change, the destruction of ocean life, and the government policies that allow the status quo to continue, or even encourage it.

Leadership, so desperately needed, can never come from governments, international agencies, corporations or universities but only from ordinary people like yourselves and you are certainly playing your part daily.

Over the years, since first meeting Bill Mollison and being exposed to the design principles of Permaculture, I have enjoyed many friendships and earnest discussions on what we can do to change the status quo. I believe we can move forward even more meaningfully by closer collaboration – between the Savory Institute and yourselves. I look forward to working with you as we strive to bring about the future we can create much more effectively together.

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

Allan Savory with his wife and collaborator Jody Butterfield. Photo courtesy Farmer’s Weekly.

Allan Savory is profiled in the 4 May 2012 issue of Farmer’s Weekly magazine. Written by Heather Dugmore, “Large herds on the move revitalise degraded veld” describes the principles of putting holistic management into practice as Allan recently demonstrated at a workshop in Graaff-Reinet, South Africa.  Download the article here. 

Sample quotes:

“A universal fear of running livestock in large numbers is the biggest cause of veld deterioration, soil erosion and desertification in the world. I said so 50 years ago, and I say it again with urgency, that hoof action, with an emphasis on large livestock hooves,is the secret to restoring degraded landscapes. They work the soil better than any machine can possibly do, and healthy soil creates healthy vegetation.” – Allan Savory

“Outdated notions of endlessly resting the land and decreasing animal numbers will accelerate our downfall.” – Allan Savory

“Finally, his message is being heard. From the United Nations to farmers all over the world, Allan’s call for a Brown Revolution, which focuses on what we are doing to the soil, is taking hold.” – Heather Dugmore, Farmer’s Weekly

How much do you know about the theories behind holistic management? Find out on the Principles of Holistic Management page of our Web site. 

Our team participated in side events tied to food security and sustainable agriculture among them, “Responding to the global soil crisis, desertification and sustainable agriculture” hosted by the Permanent Mission of Australia to the UN and the session “Rio+20: Towards sustainable agriculture and a world free of Hunger – interactive dialogue with Rome-based agencies and the Committee of World Food Security” hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Both women were able to interact with attendees during the sessions, give input that will inform the negotiations, and network with other government representatives and stakeholders.

Follow us on Facebook to stay updated on the work we’re doing in preparation for Rio +20. 

South Africa: Land on the left managed under Holistic Planned Grazing showing a contrast with advancing desertification

The challenge of desertification is becoming more real and brutal by the day, with the associated serious issues of global climate change, poverty, famine, drought and violence. Millions of people are suffering around the world. Traditional methods that have been employed through the decades to stem desertification and revive degraded grasslands have fallen short of the desired results.

However, there is a scalable, cost-effective, nature based solution – and has been for more than 40 years. A practice called Holistic Management, pioneered by Allan Savory of the Savory Institute, has demonstrated remarkable results in restoring depleted grasslands around the world. This holistic approach to land management uses properly managed livestock to bring land and water back to life, create social and economic benefits, reverse desertification and mitigate climate change.

VIDEO: A short animation shows how Holistic Management works

Nature provides the model for Holistic Management. In the past, large wild herds of herbivores such as caribou and buffalo migrated over these types of grasslands to find food and avoid predators. These herds grazed, defecated, stomped and salivated as they moved across the grasslands, building soil and deepening plant roots. Unfortunately, over time, the wild herds disappeared and were replaced by small numbers of domestic, sedentary and mismanaged livestock.

Without the timely stomping and excrement of large numbers of animals, the cycle of biological decay in these grasslands was interrupted and the once-rich soils turned into dry, exposed desert land. This dry, bare desert land dramatically decreases the effectiveness of rainfall because water evaporates or runs off instead of soaking into the soil. This increases the frequency and severity of both floods and droughts even with no change in rainfall in a specific region. What is even worse is that this dry, infertile, bare soil is unable to store carbon, releasing it into the atmosphere.

Using properly managed livestock can create environmental, economic and social benefits

We need to restore the land’s natural balance – and to do this, we must acknowledge that nature is complex. It functions in wholes. Holistic Planned Grazing is a formal planning procedure that honors and is able to accommodate nature’s complexity in the strategic management of herbivores.

If livestock are properly managed to mimic the behavior of wild herds in the past – they can heal the land, bringing back water, and creating food and economic stability for entire regions. The soils of these revitalized grasslands represent a sizeable natural carbon sink that will sequester carbon into the soil and store it as stable humus helping revert the climate trends we experience today.

The Africa Center for Holistic Management (ACHM) in Zimbabwe is using properly managed livestock under Holistic Management to improve land health, and empowering pastoralists in the surrounding villages to do the same. Results have been impressive, with water returning to creeks that have been dry for many years, crops strategically grown in areas “treated” with livestock are producing three times the average yields, wildlife is beaming, and people are once more hopeful.

This holistic approach is successful because it is cost-effective, highly scalable and nature-based. It is sustainable because it is culturally appropriate, increases land productivity, livestock stocking rates and well-being, without compromising the long term viability of the resource base.

Daniela Ibarra-Howell co-founded the Savory Institute and became its CEO in 2011, bringing over 20 years of experience working on desertification and land degradation issues. Daniela has practiced and taught holistic management to successfully heal grasslands and meet economic and social goals in many different regions of the world, including the US, Argentina, Mexico, and New Zealand.

To be clear, livestock, even while on grasslands are usually poorly managed resulting in “unsustainable meat.”  The problem is of course not the herbivore, who knows nothing about its impact on the land, but humans making decisions about how they are managed. Even though grasslands evolved and still depend upon herbivores, our livestock management fails to learn from and mimic nature.

So, how did nature sustainably produce meat before we meddled in the name of efficiency? Large wild herds of herbivores such as deer, caribou, and buffalo migrated over grasslands to find food and avoid predators. These herds grazed, defecated, stomped, salivated and yes, emitted methane as they moved, building soil and deepening plant roots. The life rich web of plants, animals and microorganisms in the soil would cycle carbon and methane and would lock down carbon in stable forms of humus.

This desert-like land dramatically decreases the effectiveness of rainfall because water evaporates or runs off instead of soaking into the soil. This increases the frequency and severity of both floods and droughts even with no change in rainfall. Worse, is this infertile, bare soil is unable to store carbon, thereby releasing it into the atmosphere.

We have additionally turned many biodiverse, healthy grasslands into croplands, devoid of biological diversity, producing more eroding soil than food. And because of the misuse of grasslands, we started cutting rainforests to raise livestock before they head to the feedlots where they will be fed grain produced on former grasslands.

Still, we continue to somehow defend the industrial model on “efficiency” criteria. Ironically, however, it is a system based on subsidies and is therefore by definition inefficient. We are poisoning ourselves and our life supporting systems and are justifying it through flawed, economic reasoning and manipulation of incomplete information.

However, humans can also make the choice to properly managed livestock by mimicking nature resulting in not only sustainable meat but restorative agriculture. What would happen if we:

• Cut all fuel, corn and soybean subsidies and added taxes to fuel used in agriculture?

• Imposed huge penalties for deforestation and grasslands conversion?

• Created strong incentives for properly managing livestock?

• No longer needed fire as a mineral cycling tool?

A one percent average increase in soil organic matter over 12 billion acres of grasslands would represent a net carbon sequestration of 135 gigaton of carbon which equals 67.5 ppm CO2 from the atmosphere. These restored soils rich in soil organic matter would absorb the rain to be used by plants and living organisms, and replenish dried up rivers. By properly managing livestock and restoring the underutilized grasslands of the world we may be able to produce enough healthy protein for the 2 billion undernourished people and the 2 billion yet to come. Of course, people would need to manage these animals – that means there would be pastoralists – from ranchers in the Rockies, to the Masai of Kenya proud and prospering by supplying sustainably raised meat to their neighboring cities.

So the myth is that we can’t realize a real, scalable solution to feeding ourselves and reversing desertification and climate change. Maybe even harder to grasp is that the solution is in the hands of pastoralists and hooves of properly managed livestock.

Daniela Ibarra-Howell co-founded the Savory Institute and became its CEO in 2011, bringing over 20 years of experience working on desertification and land degradation issues. Daniela has practiced and taught holistic management to successfully heal grasslands and meet economic and social goals in many different regions of the world, including the US, Argentina, Mexico, and New Zealand.

Rio +20 roundtable session. Photo courtesy Christopher Stampar

Daniela Ibarra-Howell, CEO of The Savory Institute, traveled to New York City earlier this month to participate in RIO +20: High Level Roundtable on Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture which was formed to address the urgent need for a change in agriculture and food systems. The focus of the roundtable was “Ecologically, Socially and Economically Sustainable Food Systems.”

The event was hosted by the Swiss Government through the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC), Biovision and the Millennium Institute, and co-sponsored by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA). The Savory Institute joined high-level representatives from governments, the UN System, scientific and farming communities, civil society and the private sector to produce an outcome document: Nourish Our People – Nurture Our Planet: Recommendations from the High Level Roundtable on Food and Nutrition Security and Sustainable Agriculture. This document calls for major transformation in agriculture and outlines specific actions that should be taken to provide an enabling framework and adequate leadership at both global and local levels. It also included a platform for performance monitoring mechanisms.

Afterward, Daniela commented that “We were able to give the pastoralists of the world a voice in this debate and highlight the need to include grasslands in any action plan. The participants were very open to the idea that agriculture – the production of food and fiber from the world’s lands – must be holistic and centered around people.”

The Shift Network launched the  Spring of Sustainability 2012: Solutions for a Thriving New World series in March 2012, offering  free virtual and live workshops and interviews with world-class sustainability pioneers such as Jane Goodall, Bill McKibben, Vandana Shiva, Hazel Henderson and many others. Our own Allan Savory will be interviewed on May 17, 2012. You can register for the events on the Spring of Sustainability Web site.

Correction – Date of Allan Savory’s interview is May 17, 2012.  (Apr. 24)