Background on the IYRP Initiative (IYRP History, Process, Priority Themes and Way Forward (PPT))

Beginning in early 2016, many organizations began working together to gain support for a United Nations designated International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP). This led to the formalization of an IYRP Steering Committee, and after the Mongolian Government's formal IYRP proposal was submitted, to a renamed and reconfigured IYRP Support Group (ISG).  The ISG has spearheaded this effort by actively engaging with colleagues and interested parties around the world. Most recently, the Mongolian Government presented the request for an IYRP designation at an open session of the October 2018 COAG meeting in Rome and the proposal was approved without reservations by the 2020 COAG meeting representatives. The proposal has since been approved by the FAO Council and FAO Conference, and on March 15, 2022 by the UN General Assembly.  IYRP 2026 is now official!!  Please contact Jim O'Rourke (jorourke@csc.edu) or Maryam Niamir-Fuller (mniafull2@gmail.com) for more information.

Press Releases: IYRP Approved by UNGA (March 2022)

COAG Endorsement of IYRP: Press Release (October 2020)

FAO-COAG IYRP Proposal (August 2020)

Mongolia Government Proposal to FAO-COAG for an IYRP (August 2019)

Letters of Support for Mongolia Proposal (March 2022)

Gap Analysis Report - "A case of benign neglect: Knowledge gaps about sustainability in pastoralism and rangelands” - StoryMap Presentation