This session will take the audience on a journey to three parts of the world – Central Asia, Africa and Latin America – in order to hear the stories of pastoralists and others living there. The challenges that these people face will be discussed together with the different innovations that are being developed to overcome them and harness the productivities of drylands and rangelands for local and national economies, food production, and biodiversity conservation. The dearth of good data on rangelands and drylands will be highlighted, and a pathway mapped out for drawing sufficient attention to and investment in rangelands and drylands through the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration.

1. Introduction to the session – Fiona Flintan, ILRI/Coordinator of the Rangelands Initiative of the International Land Coalition (ILC) and Daisy Hessenberger, Junior Professional, IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature)

2. Film – A Common Right: Mongolia (produced by the International Land Coalition and the Land Rights Now campaign)
Introduced by: Mr Sukhbold Sukhee, Permanent Representative of Mongolia to the UN in New York

3. Film – Pasture Improvement and Paddocking – Cattle Herder Cameroon (produced by The School of Life)
Introduced by: Umar Sule, a Mbororo pastoralist and member of NGO MBOSCUDA, Cameroon.

4. Film – Chihuahuan Desert Grasslands of Mexico (produced by the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies)
Introduced by: Gabriel Seghezzo, Director of Fundapaz Argentina and Coordinator of the Semi-Arids Platform Latin America.

5. Closing remarks – Paolo Agostini, Lead Environmental Economist, Environment and Natural Resources Global Practice, World Bank