Herding for Health
Partnering with African pastoralists to restore biodiverse grasslands, savannas and shrublands.
The Herding for Health programme — a partnership between Conservation International and Peace Parks Foundation — is a community-driven livestock management model that supports the livelihoods of rural communities living in and around protected areas — while restoring rangelands and conserving biodiversity through herding, capacity building and collective governance.
The Herding for Health Model is anchored on four key pillars:
▪️ Healthy Rangelands
▪️ Healthy Animals
▪️ Thriving Livelihoods
▪️ Good Governance and Enabling Policy
A unique strength of Herding for Health is its partnership nature.
View Partners
Summary: Estimated potential scope of the Africa Rangelands Programme through current engagements
(0.15M ha) secured.
Rest GCF prospect
2x possible national expansion through GCF Project
Site: South Africa
- Extent: 1 M ha
- Implementation Status: 3 x demonstration sites
Site: Botswana
- Extent: 4.6 M ha total, (0.15M ha) secured, Rest GCF prospect
- Implementation Status: 2 x pilot sites; 2x possible national expansion through GCF Project
Site: Mozambique
- Extent: 0.35 M ha
- Implementation Status: 2 x pilot sites
Site: Zambia
- Extent: 0.1 M ha
- Implementation Status: 1 x pilot sites
Site: Zimbabawe
- Extent: 0.1 M ha
- Implementation Status: 2 x pilot sites
Site: Kenya
- Extent: 1 M ha
- Implementation Status: 3 x pilot sites
Total: 6 Countries
- Extent: 7.15 M ha (incl. GCF Bots prospect)
- Implementation Status: 15 sites/landscapes
- 10 million hectares
- 10 million tons CO2 equivalents removed
- 235 000 animals
- 20,000 people with access to
- 10,000 jobs created
- 3.5 million beneficiaries
- Community governance structures established
- Policies informed
Herding 4 Health in Limpopo National Park
Regeneration of rangelands to improve soil and vegetation health is a climate-change mitigation tool that is rapidly gaining credibility and acceptance worldwide.
Herding for Health connects community farmers with markets
Farmers participating in the Herding for Health programme in Massingir in the Gaza province bordering the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique, no longer lose cattle to predation.
Herding for Health celebrates five years in Limpopo National Park
This August, Conservation International and Peace Parks Foundation celebrate five years of Herding for Health in Mozambique’s Limpopo National Park (LNP).
Our Challenge
Uncontrolled animal movement is one of the biggest challenges in communal rangelands. Livestock that is not kraaled and herded properly results in:
- Rangeland degradation
- Predation
- Disease transmission through contact with wildlife
- Poor herd health (high mortality and morbidity)
- Poor production
- Stock theft
- Tourism conflict
- Poor market and trade confidence
Our Opportunity
Regaining livestock movement control in communal rangelands through skills development, improved resources and incentives can lead to multiple positive effects.
