This brief was developed with contributions from a broad group of experts working with the Global EverGreening Alliance and the EverGreening the Earth Campaign on Target 6 (grazing lands and silvopastoral systems). Key contributors include Ciniro Costa Junior, Fiona Flintan, Dennis Garrity, Bobby Gill, Fidaa Haddad, Seth Itzkan, Mounir Louhaichi, Chris Magero, Constance Neely, Maryam Niamir-Fuller, Judith D. Schwartz, Rolf Shenton, Karl Thidemann, and Patrick Worms, among others.
The Target Action Group has set a global ambition to regenerate a healthy grass–tree balance on 650 million hectares of degraded rangelands, aiming for 3.6 Gt CO₂-eq of annual sequestration by 2050 while improving ecosystem functions and livelihoods.
Summary for Policymakers
Regenerative grazing and silvopastoral systems are among the most powerful, yet underutilized, nature-based solutions for climate mitigation, ecosystem restoration, and rural livelihoods. Rangelands—covering more than half of the world’s terrestrial surface—have historically co-evolved with grazing animals, building deep, carbon-rich soils. However, land-use change, inappropriate tree planting, and restrictive policies have degraded these systems, releasing carbon and undermining biodiversity and pastoral livelihoods.
Evidence shows that well-managed, mobile, high-density grazing can rapidly restore ecosystem function: improving soil health, water infiltration, forage availability, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration while reducing erosion and disease risks. Community-based approaches, such as those in Kenya, Morocco, and Zambia, demonstrate that collective grazing management can deliver ecological recovery alongside significant income gains.
To unlock this potential, policies must recognize pastoralism, secure tenure, integrate mobility into development planning, invest in grassland management capacity, apply true cost accounting to livestock products, and embed regenerative grazing within national climate strategies and NDCs.
Please log in or sign up to comment.