Vast and undervalued: Rangelands under growing threat

New evidence shows rangelands are degrading faster than rainforests in some regions, despite bringing multiple benefits and sustaining two billion people 

Bonn/Panama City, 4 December 2025 – Stretching from the drylands of Latin America and Africa to the steppes of Central Asia, rangelands underpin food security, climate stability and centuries-old pastoral cultures. These vast landscapes, covering half the planet, store significant carbon, buffer climate extremes, and regulate water in some of the world’s driest regions.  

Yet, despite their immense value, rangelands remain one of the planet’s most overlooked ecosystems. In several regions, they are now deteriorating faster than rainforests--with serious implications for food security, climate resilience, and rural livelihoods. 

Restoring rangelands delivers some of the strongest returns of any ecosystem investment, with benefits reaching up to USD 35 for every dollar invested.  These new preliminary findings of a global cost–benefit analysis conducted by the Economics of Land Degradation (ELD) Initiative were presented today at this year’s UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) meeting underway in Panama — the 23rd session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC23). 

UNCCD Chief Scientist Barron Joseph Orr explains: “The analysis confirms what many pastoralist communities have long known: rangelands are strategic ecological and economic assets, not marginal lands. These gains come from higher vegetation productivity, deeper carbon storage, stronger water retention, and avoided degradation.” 

“The urgency is evident. Between 25 and 50 per cent of the world’s rangelands are degraded or at risk, weakening water cycles, livestock productivity, biodiversity and rural livelihoods. In regions such as the Sahel, Central Asia and parts of South America, climate pressures are already shrinking productivity and restricting pastoralist mobility - with knock-on effects for food security,” Orr said. 

Mark Schauer, Senior Programme Officer with the German Development Cooperation (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, GIZ), which coordinates the ELD Initiative, said: “Rangeland restoration makes economic and ecological sense. By strengthening the evidence base and partnering with pastoralist communities, we can help countries design investments that unlock long-term resilience.” 

For more than a decade, the ELD Initiative has equipped governments with evidence on the real economic value of healthy land - and the steep losses caused by degradation. Its new discussion paper, The Business Case for Investment in Rangeland Restoration, presented at CRIC23, will be followed by a full assessment at UNCCD COP17 in Mongolia next August. 

 “A growing body of evidence confirms that rangelands — long dismissed as marginal or ‘empty' spaces — are in fact central to climate action, food and water security and sustainable rural development. With the full economic assessment expected ahead of COP17, CRIC23 has strengthened the technical and political foundations needed to scale up investment in these vast, life-sustaining landscapes,” adds Schauer. 

Experts stressed that effective rangeland restoration does not depend on costly engineering. It requires secure land and water rights, community-led governance and sustainable, mobility-based grazing. When pastoralists can move with seasonal conditions, vegetation rebounds faster, soils hold more moisture and carbon stocks remain stable. This approach also strengthens the resilience of Indigenous Peoples, women, youth and others whose livelihoods and cultural identities are deeply tied to rangelands. 

CRIC23 takes place as countries prepare for the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) 2026, declared by the United Nations General Assembly. The IYRP is expected to bring unprecedented visibility to rangelands, pastoralists and their knowledge systems. 

“Pastoralists have cared for these lands for generations. Their knowledge, mobility and stewardship are essential for restoring rangelands and building resilience. As the world prepares for the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, we must ensure that pastoralist communities are not only heard but also supported as partners in climate and environmental sustainability actions,” said Enrique Michaud, Co-Chair of the IYRP Global Alliance. 

“Mongolia is a nation shaped by rangelands and pastoral traditions. We know from experience that when rangelands thrive, communities thrive. As we prepare to host COP17, our one of high priorities is to elevate rangelands on the global agenda and ensure that countries have the evidence, partnerships and investment needed to restore these vital ecosystems at scale.” notes Ariuntuya Dorjsuren, Director General for International Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Environment and Climate change, NFP of Mongolia. 

UNCCD is contributing to IYRP through its Rangeland Flagship Initiative and the Silk Road campaign planned for 2026, which will showcase rangeland landscapes and pastoralist cultures across the 6,000-kilometer journey spanning 10 countries. These efforts build on political momentum from COP16 in Riyadh to COP17 in Ulaanbaatar, aligning recent and upcoming COP Presidencies around elevating rangelands as a global climate and livelihood priority. 

List of resources 

• GLO Thematic Report on Rangelands and Pastoralists

• Prioritizing the protection of grasslands and savannahs

• Economics of rangeland restoration