International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists

The UN has declared 2026 the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP). Discover SLU's ongoing projects and opportunities for collaboration in support of the IYRP.

Swedish and Arctic research projects at SLU
Two reindeers in the mountains

REINFORCE - Climate, habitat and animal production

Rapid and pronounced climate change in the Arctic and Subarctic regions causes distress, challenges and economic uncertainty in the indigenous Sami reindeer herding pastoral system. The reindeer and reindeer husbandry are also affected by competing anthropogenic activities.

Researchers taking blood samples on reindeer calves.

EQUIP - Is reindeer husbandry equipped for the perfect storm?

The purpose of EQUIP is to monitor the survival and mortality of reindeer calves in cooperation with reindeer husbandry in order to find causes of losses of calves from calf marking to slaughter.

Reindeers

TransRein - Transition from Transport Reindeer Herding to Reindeer Pastoralism

By studying Sami natural resource use from 1550 to 1800, the project investigates how Indigenous peoples manage the transition from a foraging to a food-producing economy and how that change affects people.

Global research projects at SLU
Cow grazing among trees.

Restore4More

The entry point of Restore4More is to identify the synergies in the biodiversity-water-climate nexus to accelerate restoration of degraded rangelands for improved climate change adaptation and mitigation, enhanced biodiversity and water and food security in the drylands of East Africa.

COPE - Long-term resilience implications of development agendas

This project aims to produce new, locally rooted knowledge about resilience by learning from farmers and pastoralists about how they deal with change, uncertainty and crisis situations.

Pastoralist herding goats

Bridging the metabolic rift - An epistemic justice perspective on land use conflicts

Taking a political economy and epistemic justice perspective, conflicts between farmers and agro-pastoralists in Kigoma, Tanzania are explored in collaboration with the local community by making a movie about the conflicts together.

Get involved
Reindeers
COURSE

Reindeer biology and reindeer husbandry

The aim of the course is to provide knowledge about the reindeer’s biology and adaptation to the subarctic and arctic environment and to provide knowledge of reindeer husbandry as a pastoral system.

Bananas in a tree
COURSE

Sustainable Forestry and Land-use Management in the Tropics

This course will take you through the arc of understanding global issues and theoretical knowledge to the on-the-ground complexities, challenges, and strategies of tropical forest and landscape management activities.

Opportunities for SLU researchers to engage

Individual researchers can join some of the existing IYRP Working Groups. The tasks of the working groups include collating and analysing existing research results, identifying knowledge and information gaps among other things.
Read more about the working groups
Interesting reading
Lion resting

SLU research on coexistence with lions

An unexpected event on the savannah changes SLU researcher Ingela Jansson's life and she decides to find ways for lions and humans to live side by side. Now she presents her research on coexistence and lion genetics.
Read full article here

Policy brief: Grazing with trees

A silvopastoral approach to managing and restoring drylands with trees
Read and download
Background

Background

Rangelands cover half of the Earth’s surface, supporting over 2 billion people and more than 50% of the world’s livestock. Despite their importance, they are often overlooked. The UN has declared 2026 the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) to raise awareness about their value and the need for protection. A global coalition of partners, organisations and individuals have formed an international support group to lay the foundation for a successful international year in 2026. SLU is involved in various ways and has a range of expertise – find out what activities are ongoing and what opportunities there are for cooperation.
Read more here
Four persons standing round bags of edible insects

AgriFoSe2030

The AgriFoSe2030 programme targets the UN Sustainable Development Goal 2 - "End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture" in low-income contexts. We synthesise and translate existing science into policy and practice, and develop capacity to achieve this.
Learn more about the programme