09 Jul 2026

Professional herding and range restoration approach is a demonstration to the livestock community that when livestock is herded and grazed properly- good management of livestock- can actually reduce overgrazing even in communal areas. 

Under this approach, unlike in farms where there are ranches and fences for demarcation, trained eco-rangers and restoration workers are employed to act as fences in communal grazing areas. 

They move livestock accordingly, to ensure that there is restoration of degraded rangeland and control of the spread of diseases amongst other things. “They do so by ensuring that animals avoid certain areas with diseases such as Foot and Mouth Disease,” said Herding for Health Manager, Conservation International, Dr Edwin Mudongo. 

In a telephonic interview about the Herding For Health concept under which professional herding falls, Dr Mudongo explained that based on its benefits, the approach would improve the livelihoods of farmers. “Farmers won’t be losing their livestock to diseases, predators, theft and their livelihoods will improve as long as there’s a market to sell to,” Dr Mudongo said. 

Currently funded by Great Climate Fund at US$37 million, US$ 54 million by the government of Botswana and US$ 6.8 million in kind by Conservation International (CI), the idea behind the approach is for farmers to learn and take it up when the project term ends in 2030. 

The project has been piloted and proved successful at Habu, where it has been ongoing for about five years while in Phuduhudu, the project is in its third month. 

In Bobirwa it is expected to kick-start in 16 villages. In total, the project will be undertaken in 104 villages in Botswana. 

Eco-rangers, who double as restoration workers, are trained at BUAN, courtesy of CI, following their successful recruitment. 

Government provides salaries of these herders under the public works programme, otherwise referred to as Ikageng. Conservation International further provides camping equipment, tools for restoration and food rations to the eco-rangers and restoration workers who spend 24 hours tending to livestock and its needs. 

The concept of Herding for Health, Dr Mudongo narrated, put a lot of emphasis on stewardship of the environment which has given birth to a rangeland stewardship agreement (RSA) - a voluntary, non-legally binding agreement signed between the community and the project. 

The RSA entails that when a community wants to start the model Herding for Health project with CI and the government, the trio would identify the areas to work in, devise a grazing or restoration plan and the community would then commit to taking part with their livestock grazed according to principles of Herding for Health. 

The eco-rangers are Batswana aged between 18 and 64 years old and living in the villages under which the project would be undertaken in order to qualify for the green jobs. 

A total of 6000 people are expected to benefit from the project as herders and restoration workers. The project, according to Dr Mudongo, targets people that are a collective and shifts rangeland management from uncoordinated to disciplined, professionalised system. 

Amongst a plethora of benefits, the project seeks to emphasise capacity-building as part of behavioural change. 

“You can’t expect people to just herd without capacitating them because otherwise, they will just do the business as usual,” said Dr Mudongo.

Also herders according to Dr Mudongo are equipped with skills in primary livestock healthcare, grazing and grazing management practices inter alia. 

Herding for Health is a livestock management model that improves the health of livestock, the rangeland where livestock is kept, the livelihoods of the people as well as all the enabling environment policies and structures. 

“So, it is an adaptive model which is also area-specific to each community, taking into account things like geographic location, culture and many others,” Dr Mudongo said adding that the model is community-led by structures such as grazing area committees. 

At the end the eco-system based adaptation and mitigation should be able to reduce greenhouse gases by 21 metric tonnes in 20 years while also restoring 4.6 million hectares of degraded rangelands. ends