Livestock and Commons: Policy Perspectives for Rainfed Regions of India

Against the backdrop of increasing environmental degradation and un-favourable agriculture production systems, community institutions created for the management and protection of common property resources and dependent livestock production systems, provide an opportunity for sustainably enhancing the livelihood security of resource poor rural populations.

The objective of this policy paper, developed by the Foundation for Ecological Security, is to present a narrative of the options available for common property resource management considering the diversity of socio-economic groups engaged in this production system in different ecological, institutional and political contexts.

The policy paper reasons the need to move beyond panaceas to complex problems of resource conservation and use, governance and production objectives. It builds this argument by exploring the trends in livestock population and land use in rain-fed regions, the self-regulating mechanism of the system and its interconnectedness to the natural environment. It highlights the critical dependence of livestock production systems on the commons and also looks at the different stakeholders, socio-economic groups and species being raised on the commons. The paper also explores the key policies and programmes impacting livestock and the commons in rain-fed regions, transitions in policy perspectives, emerging institutional forms and resultant outcomes. The last section details policy proposals for consideration.

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