HERD is funded by GEF Trust Fund, implemented by UNEP and executed by IUCN, to strengthen restoration and sustainable management of pastoral rangelands for the provision of ecosystem services and protection of biodiversity in Egypt and Jordan and catalyzing scale up regionally and globally. CEDARE and the Desert Research Center are jointly responsible for the implementation of the project in Egypt. The project duration is 48 months commencing in October 2017
Rangelands that are subject to land degradation are the object of management interventions under this project. The concept of HERD – Healthy Ecosystems for Rangeland Development – is being consolidated through this project on the back of numerous projects, programs, initiatives, studies, scientific articles and policy papers. HERD intervention focuses on Jordan and Egypt and on the specific issue of or land degradation in drylands, which affects pastoral rangelands in the two countries. It also serves as a ‘catalyst’ for scaling-up of HERD, both regionally and globally.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes the importance of supporting pastoral systems while also increasing productivity in the agriculture sector and simultaneously protecting biological diversity, managing waste, and reducing greenhouse gases. It thus provides an opportunity to work globally towards a holistic transformation. Sustainable Pastoralism is a means to deliver on the global 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals through monitoring SDG 15, Life on Land and its interlinkages with all the 17 SDGs.
Rangeland health is linked to the persistence of ecosystem function and, in general terms, healthy rangelands are those where their ecosystem services continue to produce the optimal range of benefits to
society. The optimal use of rangelands is something that needs ongoing negotiation. For this reason, governance is at the heart of this initiative.
HERD builds on the sustainable management of pastoral rangelands for the provision of ecosystem services and protection of biodiversity.
This will be achieved through the delivery of results-oriented project Outcomes, grouped under four Components that focus on: (1) Provision of evidence-based technical assistance; (2) Institutional strengthening for rangeland governance; (3) Up-scaling of good practices in Sustainable Rangeland Management (SRM); and (4) Promoting Sustainable Rangeland Management knowledge, at the global and regional levels.
HERD partners are IUCN, CEDARE, the Desert Research Center in Egypt, The Hashemite Fund for Development of Jordan Badia (HFDJB), GIZ – Jordan, Ministry of Environment in Jordan, the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD).