1.2 Contact details of resource persons and institutions involved in the assessment and documentation of the Approach

Name of the institution(s) which facilitated the documentation/ evaluation of the Approach (if relevant)

CDE Centre for Development and Environment (CDE Centre for Development and Environment) - Switzerland

1.3 Conditions regarding the use of data documented through WOCAT

When were the data compiled (in the field)?

15/08/2008

The compiler and key resource person(s) accept the conditions regarding the use of data documented through WOCAT:

Yes

1.4 Reference(s) to Questionnaire(s) on SLM Technologies

2.1 Short description of the Approach

Pasture management by a single herder, assisted either by an employee or by his own grandchildren, in collaboration with the habitants of the nearby village Karsang.

2.2 Detailed description of the Approach

Detailed description of the Approach:

Aims / objectives: The herder chooses his territory by the criteria of biomass, vegetation cover and availability of surface water. In his work he gives special attention to fattening the animals, to not losing any of them and to giving back the right animals to the right tenant at the end of the season. For him it is important to be sincere with the tenants and to pay for lost animals.

Methods: Every method applied serves the target of having an obeying herd. The herder works with lots of patience. In the first two weeks he pays very much attention to keeping the herd together, so the animals get used to each other. The rotational grazing scheme also fulfills the requirement of fattening the animals. Grazing the animals by night-time is a method to make the animals obey better. Part of the work is the daily control of the herd to identify sick animals and treat them.The animals are by the way not led by the herder, but rather accompanied by him.

Stages of implementation: After apprenticeship the herder is entrusted with animals from the village and with the generated income can then gradually build up his own herd.

Role of stakeholders: The herder is responsible for the relation with his animals, with the villagers and with the forest department (contract).

2.3 Photos of the Approach

2.5 Country/ region/ locations where the Approach has been applied

2.6 Dates of initiation and termination of the Approach

2.7 Type of Approach

• traditional/ indigenous

2.8 Main aims/ objectives of the Approach

The Approach focused mainly on other activities than SLM (The focus of this approach is providing the own family with income and meat, by herding own and animals of other herders. It is very important for the herder to keep the animals healthy and to give them all back (the fattest possible) to their tenants.)

The herder's motivation to continue his father's work was that it enabled him to nourish his family. In his work he pays attention to fatten the animals enough to make them survive winter and to give them all back.

The SLM Approach addressed the following problems: The inhabitants of the village give the herder their animals because they know that the animals will be more healthy on the more natural pastures frequented by him compared with village pastures and because the animals get more reserves for winter-time. The herder claims that the animals need 50% less hay and fodder in winter than the animals grazed near the villages.

2.9 Conditions enabling or hindering implementation of the Technology/ Technologies applied under the Approach

3.1 Stakeholders involved in the Approach and their roles

3.2 Involvement of local land users/ local communities in the different phases of the Approach

	Involvement of local land users/ local communities	Specify who was involved and describe activities
initiation/ motivation	self-mobilization	Deciding to be a herder
planning	none
implementation	self-mobilization	Once M. knew how to treat the animals he could begin work with an own herd.
monitoring/ evaluation	none
Research	none

3.4 Decision-making on the selection of SLM Technology/ Technologies

Specify who decided on the selection of the Technology/ Technologies to be implemented:

• land users alone (self-initiative)

Explain:

The herder learnt his profession during an apprenticeship of one year

Decisions on the method of implementing the SLM Technology were made by by land users* alone (self-initiative / bottom-up). M. learned all the technologies from his father, but says, that he only does his job half as well as his father.

4.1 Capacity building/ training

Was training provided to land users/ other stakeholders?

Yes

Specify who was trained:

• field staff/ advisers

If relevant, specify gender, age, status, ethnicity, etc.

Young men and boys.

Form of training:

• on-the-job

Subjects covered:

Teaching of herding method: He tells his assistants not to beat the animals, not to shout at them, to treat animals fairly so they obey and to nourish them sufficiently so they don't walk away by night.

4.2 Advisory service

Do land users have access to an advisory service?

No

4.4 Monitoring and evaluation

Comments:

There were no changes in the Approach as a result of monitoring and evaluation: None

There were no changes in the Technology as a result of monitoring and evaluation: None

5.1 Annual budget for the SLM component of the Approach

If precise annual budget is not known, indicate range:

• < 2,000

Comments (e.g. main sources of funding/ major donors):

Approach costs were met by the following donors: local community / land user(s) (All costs): 100.0%

5.2 Financial/ material support provided to land users

Did land users receive financial/ material support for implementing the Technology/ Technologies?

No

5.3 Subsidies for specific inputs (including labour)

If labour by land users was a substantial input, was it:

• food-for-work

Comments:

Also paid in cash: Whereas his grandsons help him and get food therefore, the herder sometimes employs assistants who are paid.

5.4 Credit

Was credit provided under the Approach for SLM activities?

No

6.1 Impacts of the Approach

6.2 Main motivation of land users to implement SLM

6.3 Sustainability of Approach activities

Can the land users sustain what has been implemented through the Approach (without external support)?

• yes

If yes, describe how:

The herder intends to continue his work as long as physically possible. He though wants to take less animals in the following year and instead more cows and less sheep and goats. He says that cows are easier to keep and in addition, he is paid four times more for a cow than for a sheep or a goat.

6.4 Strengths/ advantages of the Approach

Strengths/ advantages/ opportunities in the land user’s view
Each tenant has animals with their own comportment. M. only has to deal with a little number of tenants (and thus animal comportments), whereas the village herds are composed by animals of much more tenants.
animals can get used to each other. The composition of the big village herd is not always the same.
The herder is always the same and treats the animals fairly: he leads the animals slowly and doesn't shout at them or beat them.

Strengths/ advantages/ opportunities in the compiler’s or other key resource person’s view
With around 600-700$ per season, the work as a professional herder is quite well-paid (for rural areas). (How to sustain/ enhance this strength: As soon as work in the foreigner (especially Russia) becomes scarce, herding will be more attractive again.)
For people with a tight relationship to nature and god (in the case of M.) this area is a good place, since remote. (How to sustain/ enhance this strength: There will probably continue to be religious, nature-bound young people.)

6.5 Weaknesses/ disadvantages of the Approach and ways of overcoming them

Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks in the land user’s view	How can they be overcome?
The trees damaged by the animals are a problem from the herder's point of view.	He sees the main problem in the past civil war, when lots of trees were chopped illegally. He says that tree-planting would not be a solution, because then grazing would not be possible anymore either.

Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks in the compiler’s or other key resource person’s view	How can they be overcome?
The way of living is not modern in the young peoples' eyes: They prefer social and urban to rural, solitary life.	As long as poverty predominates in the villages and cities cannot offer enough jobs to young people, agriculture and herding will stay interesting. Though, new (old) forms of herding might appear, such as herding in groups.
Night grazing makes sheep eat impalatable (poisonous) plants and than become sick (according to a specialist from CARITAS).	Training and workshops could be a platform for the discussion of such critical aspects.