1.2 Detalles de contacto de las personas de referencia e instituciones involucradas en la evaluación y la documentación de la Tecnología

1.3 Condiciones referidas al uso de datos documentados mediante WOCAT

El compilador y la/s persona(s) de referencia claves aceptan las condiciones acerca del uso de los datos documentados mediante WOCAT:

Sí

1.4 Declaración de la sostenibilidad de la Tecnología descrita

¿La Tecnología aquí descrita resulta problemática en relación a la degradación de la tierra, de tal forma que no puede considerársela una tecnología sostenible para el manejo de la tierra?

No

2.1 Breve descripción de la Tecnología

Definición de la Tecnología:

Borana is a private ranch which combines livestock production with conservation and tourism. "Holistic Management" is applied as a principle for livestock on semi-arid lands with limited water resources. Grazing comprises “bunching” and rotational movement of all animals in herds.

2.2 Descripción detallada de la Tecnología

Descripción:

Livestock production on Borana ranch is carried out under extensive grazing for beef, dairy, and sheep production. There is strategic fattening and offtake for sales in harmony with conservation principles. The Borana Conservancy is a non-profit organisation, also belonging to the ranch – on the same land - dedicated to the sustainable conservation of critical habitat and wildlife. Ranching contributes financially to the running of the conservancy.

“Holistic Management” (HM) as described by Allan Savory (1988) and promoted by Laikipia Wildlife Forum in Laikipia, is a method that integrates decision-making, planning, and livestock keeping. On the land, this means bunching of all livestock close together in order to act as a "plough" and break the soil to help incorporate seeds and nutrients. Water also infiltrates better. The aim is to improve plant growth and thus soil. Furthermore, it means moving the animals together from block to block, by planned rotational grazing with resting periods. HM aims at managing high numbers of livestock and simultaneously restoring degraded land. However, Holistic Management principles remain controversial.

Livestock herders employed by Borana move different herds of animals rotationally from one grazing area to the next. A defined grazing area lasts for around two months, with a resting period of six months. However, the grazing area and period vary a lot depending on rainfall. During the wet season, livestock usually spend more than two months within the same block. Cattle herds are split depending on their function as offtake for sales, or as breeding stock. The selling stock is located on the eastern side of Borana (currently 600 Head of cattle), while the breeding stock is on the western side (currently 1,800 Head of cattle). Sheep are grazed on the western side too (currently 1,200 Head of cattle).
A calf stays with its mother until it is about six months old. Then a few males are selected as bulls, and all others castrated. At the same time females are selected for breeding to rebuild stock. Only one bull was purchased from outside, in 2013 which was a rare exception.
Livestock are sold to butchers in local centres (e.g. Nanyuki, about 50 km distance), in the capital Nairobi (about 300 km away), and to the son of the owner, who runs a business nearby. Usually, only old and disabled cows are selected for selling.
Borana helps neighbouring group ranches with improved genetics - and access to their land for fattening purpose. It also acts as a grass bank during droughts. According to Borana management, boundaries between Borana and community ranches, which once clearly defined the difference between managed and over-grazed lands, are becoming less clear.
Typical of private ranches in Laikipia, Borana supports some of the highest densities of wildlife in Kenya. The wild herbivore biomass density on private ranches is estimated by Georgiadis (2007) at 14 ha /TLU.

2.3 Fotografías de la Tecnología

2.5 País/ región/ lugares donde la Tecnología fue aplicada y que se hallan comprendidos por esta evaluación

2.6 Fecha de la implementación

Indique año de implementación:

2008

2.7 Introducción de la Tecnología

Especifique cómo se introdujo la Tecnología:

• mediante proyectos/ intervenciones externas

Comentarios (tipo de proyecto, etc.):

Holistic Management approach by Allan Savory.
In Laikipia, it was introduced by Richard Hartfield, Laikipia Wildlife Forum and funded by Laikipia Wildlife Forum (LWF), Lewa Conservancy and Northern Rangeland Trust (NRT). Borana beared costs themselves.

3.1 Propósito(s) principal(es) de la Tecnología MST

• mejorar la producción
• reducir, prevenir, restaurar la degradación del suelo
• conservar el ecosistema
• preservar/ mejorar biodiversidad

3.2 Tipo(s) actuales de uso de la tierra donde se aplica la Tecnología

Comentarios:

Main animal species and products: Livestock: Cattle, sheep, chicken, pigs. Milk, beef and sheep production (a few chicken and pigs). Some organic farming (herbs, vegetables). Local (30%), national and partly international distribution (both 70%). Livestock: 1,780 TLU; Stocking rate: 7.3 ha/TLU Pressure on land including wildlife: 4.8 ha/TLU Livestock numbers: 2,400 cattle, 1,000 sheep Sales: Cattle 10% sales, Sheep 25%. Assisting community grazing: 500-1,000 Head of cattle during droughts until it rains. Wildlife: giraffe, antelope/gazelle (e.g. gerenuk, eland, waterbuck, impala, Thomson's gazelle), baboon, zebra, dikdik, hare, rhino, elephant, predators and others. There is more wildlife than on group ranches.

Number of growing seasons per year: 2
Short rains in November and December. Long rains in April and May. Rains from (October) November to December are usually better in this area. Rainfalls with strong local variations and changing regimes.
Livestock density: Livestock: 1780 TLU; Stocking rate: 7.3 ha/TLU livestock but overall pressure on land including wildlife: 4.8 ha/TLU

3.4 Provisión de agua

Provisión de agua para la tierra donde se aplica la Tecnología:

• de secano

3.5 Grupo MST al que pertenece la Tecnología

• pastoralismo y manejo de tierras de pastoreo
• cobertura de suelo/ vegetal mejorada

3.6 Medidas MST que componen la Tecnología

3.7 Principales tipos de degradación del suelo encarados con la Tecnología

Comentarios:

Across the grasslands and rangelands, an increase in bare land and bush has been a clear trend all over Laikipia for many years, both on community-owned lands and private ranches. Major identified ecological problems (partly) caused by livestock production are: bare ground, low contents of soil organic carbon and plant-available nutrients, soil erosion (sealing, crusting, rills and gullies, water flow patterns, sheet erosion, pedestals), poor soil properties, undesirable species, and (increasing) woody and invasive species. The technology aims at improving vegetation cover of the land and thereby reducing further degradation and restoring degraded land. Borana is clearly not as much affected by the degradation of the land (compare Herger 2018), however, they use and support ranching with Holistic Management as a tool to enhance the quality of the grazing and prevent degradation. According to Borana management, cattle grazing reduces the moribund grass biomass, promotes seed dispersal, increases the nutritional value of the grass, and decreases the risk of bush fires. Even more crucial: The introduction of planned grazing (as Holistic Management) to Group Ranches in the area prevents conflicts (e.g. invading of private ranches), livestock diseases and deaths.

3.8 Prevención, reducción o restauración de la degradación del suelo

Especifique la meta de la Tecnología con relación a la degradación de la tierra:

• prevenir la degradación del suelo
• reducir la degradación del suelo

4.1 Dibujo técnico de la Tecnología

4.2 Información general sobre el cálculo de insumos y costos

Especifique cómo se calcularon los costos e insumos:

• por unidad de Tecnología

Especifique la moneda usada para calcular costos:

• USD

4.3 Actividades de establecimiento

	Actividad	Momento (estación)
1.	Training of employees
2.	Grazing planning

4.4 Costos e insumos necesarios para el establecimiento

Comentarios:

No figures on this, costs for implementation are estimated low, because ranching with the former grazing system was not that different before.

4.5 Actividades de establecimiento/ recurrentes

	Actividad	Momento/ frequencia
1.	Herders, supervisors, watchmen etc
2.	Animal treatments (vaccination, spraying, injections)

4.6 Costos e insumos necesarios para actividades de mantenimiento/ recurrentes (por año)

	Especifique insumo	Unidad	Cantidad	Costos por unidad	Costos totales por insumo	% de los costos cubiertos por los usuarios de las tierras
Mano de obra	Herders/employees	Person*days	16200,0	4,0	64800,0	100,0
Mano de obra	Insurance	Unknown quantity	1,0	3900,0	3900,0
Equipo	Vehicle	Unknown quantity	1,0	3700,0	3700,0
Otros	Animals treatments	Per TLU	1780,0	11,0	19580,0
Indique los costos totales para mantenecer la Tecnología					91980,0
Costos totales para mantener la Tecnología en USD					91980,0

4.7 Factores más determinantes que afectan los costos:

Describa los factores más determinantes que afectan los costos:

Labor

5.1 Clima

5.2 Topografía

Indique si la Tecnología se aplica específicamente en:

• no relevante

5.3 Suelos

Si se halla disponible, adjunte una descripción completa de los suelos o especifique la información disponible, por ej., tipo de suelo, pH/ acidez de suelo, capacidad de intercambio catiónico, nitrógeno, salinidad, etc. :

Red and brown sandy soils. Black cotton soil. Luvisol, Regosol, Vertisol
SOC 2 %
pH: 6.4
Clay: 8%
Silt: 53%
Sand: 39%
Further data on rangeland health compare Herger (2018)

5.4 Disponibilidad y calidad de agua

¿La salinidad del agua es un problema?

No

¿Se está llevando a cabo la inundación del área? :

No

Comentarios y especificaciones adicionales sobre calidad y cantidad de agua:

Waterpoints provided by waterpipes (sometimes destroyed by elephants)

5.5 Biodiversidad

Comentarios y especificaciones adicionales sobre biodiversidad:

Grassed acacia bushland. Little bare ground. Dominant grasses: Eragrostis species, Cynadon species, Hyparrhenia species, Kelenger species. Dominant shrubs: Grewia tembensis, Hibiscus aponeurus, Rhus natalensis, Scutia myrtina. Dominant trees: Acacia tortilis, Acacia mellifera, Euclea divinorum, Boscia angustifolia. Detailed list of all species (also wildlife) available (Herger 2018)

5.6 Las características de los usuarios de la tierra que aplican la Tecnología

5.7 Área promedio de la tierra usada por usuarios de tierra que aplican la Tecnología

5.8 Tenencia de tierra, uso de tierra y derechos de uso de agua

Tenencia de tierra:

• individual, con título

Derechos de uso de tierra:

• individual

Derechos de uso de agua:

• individual

Comentarios:

Masai in the area have claimed that land leases of white settlers have expired and the land belongs to them. Government states the land belongs to the private ranchers, but the future development is unknown. There have already been conflicts and are likely to happen again. On the other hand, cooperation with group ranches has increased.

5.9 Acceso a servicios e infraestructura

6.1 Impactos in situ demostrados por la Tecnología

Impactos socioeconómicos

Producción

Disponibilidad y calidad de agua

Ingreso y costos

Impactos socioculturales

Impactos ecológicos

Ciclo de agua/ escurrimiento de sedimento

Suelo

Biodiversidad: vegetación, animales

Reducción de riesgos de desastres y riesgos climáticos

6.4 Análisis costo-beneficio

¿Cómo se comparan los beneficios con los costos de establecimiento (desde la perspectiva de los usuarios de tierra)?

¿Cómo se comparan los beneficios con los costos de mantenimiento/ recurrentes (desde la perspectiva de los usuarios de tierra)?

6.5 Adopción de la Tecnología

• 11-50%

De todos quienes adoptaron la Tecnología, ¿cuántos lo hicieron espontáneamente, por ej. sin recibir nada de incentivos/ materiales:

• 11-50%

6.6 Adaptación

¿La tecnología fue modificada recientemente para adaptarse a las condiciones cambiantes?

No

6.7 Fuerzas/ ventajas/ oportunidades de la Tecnología

Fuerzas/ ventajas/ oportunidades desde la perspectiva del usuario de la tierra
Method leaves grass time to grow/rest
One can manage resources properly (water and pasture)
To keep all animals in one place makes vaccinations /disease prevention easier
“Ploughing effect” by the concentrated / bunched animals in one herd (new grass stimulated)
Tick population kept under control
In general for the whole area if many Group Ranches implement Holistic Management: More secure financial future and less stress during times of drought for pastoralists’ livestock. For Borana, this means less pressure from surrounding pastoralists when pasture is scarce.
Enhance the quality of grazing. Cattle grazing reduces the moribund grass biomass, promotes seed dispersal, increases the nutritional value of the grass and decreases the risk of bush fires.

Fuerzas/ ventajas/ oportunidades desde la perspectiva del compilador o de otra persona de referencia clave

The listed advantages from Abdi Sora, land user, are for the most part shared by the compiler's view. Regarding Holistic Management (HM) principles and land recovery there remain some uncertainties. On the one hand it is generally questionable to state as in HM that: “the more animals the better” (as long as they are managed properly they can even recover degraded land), but this seems dangerous in areas with such high livestock numbers and cultural value of livestock keeping - without scientific proof of the principles in similar ecological conditions. Since Borana has relatively low stocking rates and good management the rangeland is in good condition anyway. The effects of Holistic Management principles on their own are difficult to estimate.

6.8 Debilidades/ desventajas/ riesgos de la Tecnología y formas de sobreponerse a ellos

Debilidades/ desventajas/ riesgos desde la perspectiva del usuario de la tierra	¿Cómo sobreponerse a ellas?
More work (a lot of supervision, monitoring etc)
More costs (a lot of supervision, monitoring etc)
Danger of disease outbreak in a big herd

7.1 Métodos/ fuentes de información

7.2 Vínculos a las publicaciones disponibles

Título, autor, año, ISBN:

Georgiadis, N.J., Olivero, I.N., Romanach, S.S. (2007). Savanna herbivore dynamics in a livestock-dominated landscape: I. Dependence on land use, rainfall, density, and time. Biology Conservation 137(3): 461-472.

¿Dónde se halla disponible? ¿Costo?

Online

Título, autor, año, ISBN:

Herger, M.B. (2018). Environmental Impacts of Red Meat Production. MSc Thesis. University of Bern.

¿Dónde se halla disponible? ¿Costo?

University of Bern

Título, autor, año, ISBN:

Savory, A (1988). Holistic Resource Management. Gilmour Publishing, Harare, Zimbabwe

¿Dónde se halla disponible? ¿Costo?

Online

Título, autor, año, ISBN:

•Carter, J., Jones, A., O’Brien, M., Ratner, J., Wuerthner, G. (2014). Holistic Management: Misinformation on the Science of Grazed Ecosystems.

¿Dónde se halla disponible? ¿Costo?

International Journal of Biodiversity.

Título, autor, año, ISBN:

•Briske, D.D., Ash, A.J., Derner, J.D., Huntsinger, L. (2014). Commentary: A critical assessment of the policy endorsement for holistic management. Agricultural Systems 125:50-53.