{{menu_nowledge_desc}}.

CIFOR–ICRAF publishes over 750 publications every year on agroforestry, forests and climate change, landscape restoration, rights, forest policy and much more – in multiple languages.

CIFOR–ICRAF addresses local challenges and opportunities while providing solutions to global problems for forests, landscapes, people and the planet.

We deliver actionable evidence and solutions to transform how land is used and how food is produced: conserving and restoring ecosystems, responding to the global climate, malnutrition, biodiversity and desertification crises. In short, improving people’s lives.

Transhumance, Tree Growing and Ecosystem Resilience

Export citation

For centuries, communities in the Sahel have practiced transhumance as a coping strategy for feed and water shortages for livestock. This practice, however, is creating social, ecological and resource stress, as it is seasonally increasing the livestock footprint in landscapes already struggling with resource scarcity. It has also become a major challenge for on-farm tree growing and agricultural restoration. The large numbers of transient livestock is becoming a major concern for community forest restoration, as the animals feed on and trample planted young seedlings and saplings, hence slowing restoration. The problem encompasses both cross-border and domestic transhumance. Cross-border transhumant communities cut down trees, often resulting in conflict with local communities, who are responsible for the forest and community-managed parks.

Related publications