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