The grass beneath our feet: Why rangelands matter
Rangelands in Kenya, South Africa and Central Asia are shrinking, a new assessment shows, threatening the herders, farmers and tourism sectors that depend on them.
Source: United Nations News · August 16, 2026 at 6:28 PM · AI-assisted report
Corroborated
KUALA LUMPUR, 17 AUGUST 2026 —
Rangelands in Kenya, South Africa and Central Asia are shrinking, a new assessment shows, threatening the herders, farmers and tourism sectors that depend on them.
Market Impact
A nationwide ecosystem assessment in South Africa found that invasive plants and more frequent droughts are eroding grasslands, the country’s main rangeland. The report, released by the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, said grasslands are disappearing faster than the land can recover. Areas where community-led land management remains strong fare better, according to the assessment.
In Kenya’s Marsabit County, satellite imagery from 1990 to 2024 shows grassland steadily turning to barren ground. The Chalbi desert is projected to double in size within decades if trends continue, swallowing the pastures that pastoralist communities have relied on for generations. The thinning grass cover mirrors the situation in other rangeland regions.
Central Asia’s Aral Sea disaster shows the wider impact of rangeland degradation. The lake, once the world’s fourth-largest, has largely vanished, leaving a 5.4-million-hectare salt desert. In the neighbouring Kyzylorda region, over 80% of pastures are now degraded, and salt-laden dust storms spread toxic particles across thousands of kilometres.
The UN Development Programme’s Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Network (BES-Net) will highlight these issues at a desertification conference in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from 17 August. BES-Net, a flagship initiative under the UN Development Programme Nature Pledge, aims to strengthen ecosystem protection and restoration efforts.
For Malaysian investors and policymakers, the report signals that rangeland degradation can ripple through global food supply chains and tourism revenues. Companies with exposure to beef exports or wildlife tourism may need to track rangeland health in source countries, as declining pasture quality could affect product availability and pricing. The assessment also points to community-led land governance as a model for sustainable land use in Malaysia’s own rangelands and drylands.
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