SESSIONS

The Congress will be organized under seven thematic areas of rangeland and grassland research and development with a better balance between the people/social/policy and more traditional topics. The congress will cover 30 sessions each dealing with a particular aspect of grasslands/rangelands as listed below.
The themes are 1) Rangeland/grassland ecology, 2) Forage production and utilization,  3) Livestock production systems 4) Wildlife, tourism and multi-facets of rangelands/grasslands, 5) Drought management and climate change rangelands/grasslands  6) Pastoralism, social, gender and policy issues and 7) Capacity, institutions and innovations for sustainable development in rangelands/grasslands.

RANGELAND/GRASSLAND ECOLOGY

  • Ecological site description and ecosystem classification
  • Soil and watershed management, water supply, quality and riparian health
  • Shrub encroachment, fire ecology, invasive species and pest management
  • Monitoring of rangeland and grassland resources
  • Sustainable rangeland/grassland management and improvement

FORAGE PRODUCTION AND UTILIZATION

  • Genetic resources, forage development and management
  • Grazing management practices and animal nutrition
  • Challenges for sustainability of intensive high rainfall grasslands, sown pastures and turf
  • Seed science and production systems

LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

  • Intensive production systems (including small-holder dairy systems in tropics and subtropics)
  • Extensive production systems (including ranching, nomadism, and dairying)
  • Integrated systems (Agro-silvopastoral systems and crop-livestock interactions)

WILDLIFE, TOURISM AND MULTI-FACETS OF RANGELANDS/GRASSLANDS

  • Wildlife management, conservation and tourism
  • Privately owned or leased rangeland systems
  • Biodiversity and ecosystem services of rangelands/grasslands
  • Status, and trends in rangelands/grasslands and options in the future
  • Competing interests in rangelands: mining, fracking, ground water exploitation

DROUGHT MANAGEMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN RANGELANDS/GRASSLANDS

  • Drought management for sustainable productivity
  • Carbon sequestration
  • GHG emissions from rangeland/grassland livestock systems
  • Impacts on biodiversity, livestock and grazing systems
  • Early warning systems and modelling future climate change in arid and semi-arid lands

PASTORALISM, SOCIAL, GENDER AND POLICY ISSUES

  • Cultural heritage and indigenous people’s use of rangelands/grasslands (Indigenous Technical Knowledge)
  • Governance, land rights and changes to pastoral systems
  • Social justice, gender and equity issues in rangelands/grasslands.
  • Livelihood diversification opportunities for pastoralists (crops, hand crafts, fishing, beekeeping, bio-fuels, silk, herbs, spices, wild fruit etc.).
  • Marketing infrastructure and systems in rangelands/grasslands
  • Policy issues for rangelands/grasslands development
  • Political instability and extremism: its impact on rangelands/grasslands management

CAPACITY, INSTITUTIONS AND INNOVATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN RANGELANDS/GRASSLANDS

  • Emerging/trending issues in rangeland/grassland science and education
  • Extension and technology-transfer
  • Green energy and Information Communication Technologies applications
  • Rangelands/grasslands and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
  • Participatory approaches and innovations in the management of rangelands/grasslands