South American Agroforestry and Global Pastoralism
Over 150 million people in more than 100 countries make their livelihoods by tending to large herds of animals. This practice is known as pastoralism and it is exercised in approximately 25 percent of the world’s total land area, particularly with animals such as camels, cattle, sheep, llamas, yaks, and goats. In most countries, pastoralist communities contribute significantly to their national economies and live in harmony with the environment. Likewise, even though they are spread throughout the world, pastoralist communities share common practices and characteristics, particularly the fact that they are mostly transhumant or nomad. This means that these communities do not have strong institutional or political representation with their respective countries or regions. Meanwhile, the ancestral practice of pastoralism brings with it a complex set of traditional laws and customs. In the modern sense, pastoralist communities are usually unaware of their political and legal rights, which are particularly important as it relates to the use of grazing land and access to water resources.
South American Agroforestry and Global Pastoralism
Unrepresented or underrepresented in most processes of political deliberation, pastoralist communities have the land rights that often overlap with those of sedentary farmers and inland fisheries, particularly in regions such as the Sahel in Africa. Similarly, because livestock corridors are seasonal and may go unused for years, the traditional rights of pastoralist communities are often overlooked when designating nature reserves or granting rights for private industrial projects. Thus, it is important that the need of pastoralist communities to access grazing land and water sources not be disregarded, particularly in the current global context of accelerated climate change and increasing drought.
Another key issue surrounding the customary rule systems of pastoralist communities is gender parity. In most pastoralist contexts, economic decision-making and property ownership rights are reserved for men, which curbs the potential for female education, empowerment, and personal development. Notable exceptions to the rule of male centered rights in pastoralist communities can be found in Nepal and the Plurinational State of Bolivia. In sum, pastoralism is thought to have originated from nomad mixed farming techniques and it can be considered part of a sustainable way of practicing agroforestry.
As mentioned above, pastoralism is practiced mainly throughout Africa as well as parts of Latin America, such as Bolivia. The Plurinational State of Bolivia is a landlocked country located in South America. Currently, Bolivia has a total territory of 1.1 million square kilometers, which is almost three times the size of Montana. Geographically, the Andes Mountains, a highland plateau, and the Amazon basin dominate the country. Bolivia has a total population of almost 11.2 million citizens, 70% of which live in an urban setting, notably the capital city of La Paz with its 1.8 million inhabitants. The Bolivian economy has an annual GDP of approximately US$84 billion and has experienced positive growth upwards of 4.0% in recent years. The national economy is divided into 13% agriculture, 37% manufacturing, and 50% services. Likewise, Bolivia’s agricultural industry employs 30% of the national labor force, while manufacturing employs about 22%, and services employ another 48%.