Includes bibliographical references (pages 260-290) and index.

Principles of pastoralist governance and land management -- Governance of the rangelands in a changing world -- Rangeland resource governance : Jordan case -- Ranchers, land tenure, and grass-roots governance : maintaining pastoralist use of rangelands in the U.S. in three different settings -- Community governance of natural resources and rangelands : the case of the eastern highlands of Morocco -- Wetlands in drylands in the Sahel : the urgent need for good joint governance -- Current situation and future perspectives for the governance of AGRO-pastoral resources in the Ait Ikis transhumants of the High Atlas (Morocco) -- Rangelands management in Lebanon : Cases from northern Lebanon and Bekaa -- Legal and policy aspects of rangeland management : Mongolia -- Rangeland governance in an open system : Protecting transhumance corridors in the Far North Province of Cameroon -- Strengthening communal governance of rangeland in Northern Kenya -- Searching for extensive livestock governance in the Northwestern inland of Spain : Achievements from two case studies in Castilla y León -- Strengthening communal rangelands management in Botswana : legal and policy opportunities and constraints.

"Rangelands are large natural landscapes that can include grasslands, shrublands, savannahs and woodlands. They are greatly influenced by, and often dependent on, the action of herbivores. In the majority of rangelands the dominant herbivores are found in domestic herds that are managed by mobile pastoralists. Most pastoralists manage their rangelands communally, benefitting from the greater flexibility and seasonal resource access that common property regimes can offer. As this book shows, this creates a major challenge for governance and institutions. This work improves our understanding of the importance of governance, how it can be strengthened and the principles that underpin good governance, in order to prevent degradation of rangelands and ensure their sustainability. It describes the nature of governance at different levels: community governance, state governance, international governance, and the unique features of rangelands that demand collective action (issues of scale, ecological disequilibrium and seasonality). A series of country case studies is presented, drawn from a wide spectrum of examples from Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, Europe and North America. These provide contrasting lessons which are summarised to promote improved governance of rangelands and pastoralist livelihoods"--