Get reliable rangeland science

Global change is the sum of human-induced changes to our planet. It includes changes in atmospheric composition, changes in climate and changes in land use cause by social, political, economic, technological and demographic factors. 
Sustainable management as an ideal has been embraced globally to varying degrees. In rangeland areas, which in southern Africa (as elsewhere) are subject to variable climates, our understanding of institutional arrangements to support this ideal or of the effectiveness of different forms of resource use remains poor. Although considerable work on case studies in individual regions has taken place, integration between social and biophysical sciences is rare. 
The project introduced in these pages will attempt, over the next three years, to address the issues of sustainable rangeland management through comparative and integrative studies across the many different physical and social systems represented.