www.eld-initiative.org

COSTS AND BENEFITS OF COMMUNAL RANGELAND REHABILITATION IN JORDAN:

www.eld-initiative.orgwww.eld-initiative.org

THE FUTURE OF RANGELAND RESTORATION:Rangeland restoration may enhance the provision of fodder to rangeland communities, while also providing a series of benefits to the Zarqa River Ba-sin as a whole - notably in terms of enhanced water yield, ground water infiltration and sediment sta-bilisation. This indicates that Hima restoration is a worthwhile societal investment, able to compete other private sector investment opportunities. For the Hima system to be successful, communities re-quire full management rights to surrounding pas-tures and have to take responsibility for managing access to pastures. Improvement in long-term tenure of rangeland communities was proposed in the 2001 Jordanian rangeland strategy (MoA 2001). The strategy however has not been effective-ly implemented due to the absence of a national consensus over suggested legislation (MoA 2013). In the 2013 rangeland strategy, emphasis is placed on the promotion of pastoral communities (MoA 2013), but gives little attention to land tenure re-lated issues. The Jordanian Badia is representative of the vast dry environments found in West Asia and North Africa (ICARDA 2011). As such, Jordan could position itself as a front-runner within the region using innovative financial mechanisms and regulatory policy reform to stop continued land degradation and desertification, whilst promoting both climate change adaption and mitigation. The financial, technical and human resources are all in place, what is needed now is political will.

REFERENCES: ICARDA (2011) Restoration and Integrated Management

of Dry Rangelands Environments with Water Harvesting. Water Benchmarks of CWANA. Edited by M. Karrou, T. Oweis, F. Ziadat and F. Awawdeh. Hyper link.

MoA (2013). Rangeland Strategy for Jordan. Ministry ofAgriculture. Directorate of rangelands and Badia development.

Beetz, A. E., and Lee Rinehart 2004. Rotational grazing.National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service

(ATTRA).

Al-Tabini, R., Al-Khalidi., Al-Shudiefat., (2012). Livestock,medicinal plants and rangeland viability in Jordan’s Badia, through the lens of traditional local knowledge Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice 2012, 2:4

Al-Jaloudy, M.A (2006) Country Pasture/ Forage ResourceProfiles. Jordan. FAO. Retrieved 20/4/2014 from URL : http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/counprof/PDF%20files/Jordan.pdf

INFORMATION:This briefing note outlines the principle findings of a study carried out by IUCN with funding from the Eco-nomics of Land Degradation Initiative and GIZ. Wes-terberg, V. Myint, M. (2014) An Economic Valuation of a large-scale rangeland restoration project through the Hima system within the Zarqa River Basin in Jordan. A full report can be accessed at http://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/ecosystem_management/about_work_global_prog_ecos_dry/ For further information please contact either: Fidaa .F. Haddad: fida.haddad@iucn.orgVanja Westerberg: Westerberg@iucn.org Masumi Gudka: masumi.gudka@iucn.org

1. Increase public investment to strengthen local governance for community-based rangeland rehabilitation, through revival ofHima

• Prioritise investment for the revival of Hima approaches. • Strengthen communal management rights over rangeland res-

ources through appropriate legal mechanisms and greater will-ingness within the public sector.

2. Build institutional capacity and awareness to implement and monitor Hima processes, to provide suitable rangeland manage-ment advice, and to stimulate innovation in rangeland manage-ment

• Strengthen awareness and capacities in the public sector andcommunities for implementing Al Hima processes. Develop protocols for linking technical rangeland extension services with Al Hima development.

• Promote innovation in rangeland management.

• Invest in appropriate rangeland surveillance for improve moni-toring and decision making

3. Create an enabling policy and institutional environment for sus- tainable rangelands management

• Establish cross-sectoral mechanisms to ensure a wide range of positive externalities are recognised and compensated.

• Explore options to differentiate policies and invesments for live-stock sub-sectors.

4. Strengthen awareness of the economic values of rangeland reha- bilitation and develop markets-based incentives

• Develop market-based incentives to incentivise the environmen-tal benefits of Hima.

• Use economic valuation to validate further up-scaling nationallyand regionally.

P O L I C Y O P T I O N S

This brochure was published with the support of the Partner Organisations of the ELD initiative and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)

Design: magic line- info@magicln.com Photography: Muhammad Ammar - Amer Maadat Amman Jordan

June 2015©2015

For further information and feedback please contact:

ELD Secretariat Mark Schauer c/o Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Godesberger Allee 119 53175 Bonn Germany T + 49 228 24934-400 F + 49 228 24934-215 E eld@giz.de I www.eld-initiative.org

An Economic Valuation of a large - scale rangeland restoration Project throughthe Hima system within the Zarqa River Basin in Jordan.

An Economic Valuation of a large-scale rangeland restoration project through the Hima system within the Zarqa River Basin in Jordan.

Ecosystem services have been in decline over the past five decades in the Eastern Jordanian Desert also known as the Badia, resulting in livestock feed deficits, soil erosion, loss of biodiversity and vegetation cover. There is an urgency to define and pursue viable strategies to reverse this trend. Pastoralism in Jordan is a long standing cultural tradition that supports livelihoods and food se-curity. The pastoral livestock sector is reliant on healthy rangelands but rangeland condition has deteriorated in recent years. This is primarily due to policy reforms, but exacerbated by declining rainfall, abandonment of sustainable practices in rangeland and water management (Al-Satiri et al., 2012), rangeland conversion, continuous years of drought, high water run-off, and changes in tenure regimes (Al-Jaloudy 2006; MoA 2013, Al-Tabini et al., 2012).

For fourteen hundred years Jordan’s grazing lands were characterized by effective traditional land ten-ure systems and grazing rights which were associ-

ated with tribal institutions (Al-Jaloudy 2006) and Hima systems used to conserve natural resources and biodiversity (IUCN 2007). However, policy re-forms registering rangelands as open-access state land and the establishment of political boundaries (Al-Tabini et al., 2012), resulted in livestock owners over-utilising pasture and fodder resources without considerations to long-term soil fertility and plant resources (Ministry of Agriculture 2001). With the consequential decline in rangeland resources, natural forage was supplemented with purchased feedstock. A subsidy on feedstock was introduced in the 198 0s when their prices began rising, en-couraging livestock owners to increase their herd size beyond the carrying capacity of lands, further exacerbating rangeland deterioration (Al-Tibini et al., 2012). IUCN’s approach to Hima is about restor-ing communal governance of rangelands through a participatory process involving all stakeholders. Through this process communities develop rules for sustainable rangeland management and build their capacity to implement those rules and to pre-vent abuse of the rules by outsiders.

• Benefits of adopting large-scale rangeland restoration through the Al-Hima system outweigh the associated management and implementation costs.

• Large-scale adoption of the Hima system could provide between 144 and 289 million JOD worth of net-benefits to Jordanian society over a 25 -year time horizon.

• Pastoral communities could save up to 16.8 million JOD on fodder purchase by sustainably managing their rangelands through Hima systems in the Zarqa River Basin.

• Hima restoration is a cost-effective way of enhancing groundwater resources. The value of enhanced groundwater recharge from large-scale Hima restoration is in the order of 188.5 million JD.

F I G U R E 1

Figure 1: Current Land Use in Zarqa River Basin, Jordan.

JORDANIAN RANGELANDS: Jordanian rangelands are a source of valued live-stock produce and deliver valuable ecosystem ser-vices in terms of climate change mitigation and adaptation, purification and infiltration of ground water, carbon storage, biodiversity and medicinal plants (Al-Tabini et al., 2012). They also serve as

watersheds that receive rainfall, yield surface water, and replenish the groundwater throughout the re-gion. However, acceleration of desertification, land degradation and drought in the arid and semi-arid regions of Jordan, are jeopardizing the provision of these services.

F I G U R E 2

Suitable Areas for establishment of Hima Systems in the Zarqa River Basin, Jordan

tential to provide improvements in hydrological cycles, livestock production and biodiversity con-servation, the study is the first of its kind to demon-strate both the market and non-market economic values associated with rangeland restoration. A comprehensive economic valuation study of a large-scale rangeland restoration scenario within the Zarqa River Basin was undertaken. High-res-olution remote sensing and ArcSWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) integrated with economic analyses of key regulating and provisioning ecosys-tem services were used. Associated costs of estab-lishing Hima systems were considered, to better understand the immediate constraints to restoring rangelands. Biophysical models were used to pre-dict impacts of adopting Hima on key ecosystem services. The value of large-scale Hima restoration was estimated as, increased edible biomass; the premium associated with increased natural forage; the extent of improved water infiltration; and re-duced sedimentation of dams (increased storage capacity) over a 25 year time horizon.

ECONOMIC VALUATIONS – ENHANC-ING DECISION MAKING:This study examined the contribution of reviving Hima systems to securing the long-term viability of rangelands for climate change mitigation, and food and water security. While it is widely recog-nised that rangeland Hima systems have the po-

MULTIPLE BENEFITS of HIMA: Appropriate land management can protect and maximize rangeland ecosystem services for socie-ty. Large-scale adoption of the IUCN piloted Hima system (based on rotating rangeland enclosures) within the Zarqa River Basin may deliver between 143 and 289 million JOD worth of net-benefits to Jordanian society (Table 1) depending on the dis-count rate (r) used. This includes global benefits associated with enhanced carbon sequestration, where large-scale Hima restoration could procure

up to 7.6 million JOD of net-benefits (r= 5%). Reg-ulating services provided by rehabilitated range-lands benefits the Zarqa River Basin as a whole. On average 307 500 less of sediment will be deposited in the King Talal dam per annum. Our results show that the net present value to pastoralist communi-ties of large-scale Hima restoration is 11.8 million JOD (at r=5%), assuming that the communities themselves were to bear the management costs of the Himas (Table 1).

impacts on the rangeland have been observed. Our results show that even without capitalizing on ecosystem services such as carbon sequestra-tion or sediment stabilisation, it is still in the pri-vate interest of rangeland communities to use the Hima system to manage their rangelands - provid-ed they have adequate tenure systems and rights.

HIMA RESTORATION – A PROMISE: The study found societal benefits of using Hima restoration to be substantially higher than its in-vestment costs over a 25-year time horizon, thus making a case for scaling up Hima systems within the Zarqa River Basin. There is growing interest in reviving Hima systems as a suitable land manage-ment tool within pastoralist communities in Jor-dan, increased involvement of women, reversing rangeland degradation, and scalable to the Arabi-an peninsula. This interest spans across all levels, from government, community, civil society to the Royal society. Hima restoration can be adapted to suit the aspirations of the community managing the Hima. What underlies Hima systems is the development of grazing protocols whereby herds or flocks are regularly and systematically moved to ‘rested’ areas with the intent to maximize the quali-ty and quantity of forage growth. In the same time, respecting the women rights to use and ben efits from Hima land in terms of collecting and process-ing herbs.

Resting grazed lands allows the vegetation to renew energy reserves, rebuild shoot systems, and deepen root systems, resulting in long-term maximum bi-omass production (Beetz and Rinehart 2004). The Ministry of Agriculture in partnership with IUCN has piloted on-going Hima initiatives in the Zarqa River Basin where rapid and significantly positive

Net present value of large-scale Hima restoration over a 25-year time horizon

Discount ratesr=2.5% r=5% r=8%

NET PRESENT VALUE OF LARGE-SCALE HIMA RESTORATION IN MILLION JORDANIAN DINAR (JOD)

To pastoral communities in the Zarqa River Basin if they bear the management costs 18.7 11.8 6.7

To the Jordanian society 289.0 207.1 143.9

To the global society 326.7 214.0 143.9

T A B L E 1

An Economic Valuation of a large-scale rangeland restoration project through the Hima system within the Zarqa River Basin in Jordan. COSTS AND BENEFITS OF COMMUNAL RANGELAND REHABILITATION IN JORDAN

F I G U R E 3

Multiple Benefits of Pastoralism through Hima (McGahey et al. 2014 unpub.)