Holistic Management:Zimbabwe and Kenya 

Experiences

Richard Hatfield, Belinda Low, Constance Neely, Michael Peel

The Holistic Management Decision‐making Framework

HOLISTICGOAL: what are managing for?

WHOLE UNDER MANAGEMENT: what is being managed?

4 ECOSYSTEM PROCESSES: water cycle, mineral cycle, energy flow, biological communities

TOOLS FOR LAND MANAGEMENT: fire, technology, rest, grazing, animal impact

7 TEST QUESTIONS – C&E – WL – MR – GPA – $E S&U – SUST – S&C

PLANNING PROCESSES  Grazing – Financial – Land ‐Monitoring

MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES

ASSUME WRONG and MONITOR

Community Decision Making

Photos: C. Leggett

Ecosystem Processes – managing the foundation

Photos: C. Leggett

Solar Energy Flow

Biological Community DynamicsWater Cycle

Nutrient Dynamics

Leggett, 20

Photo credit: C.Neely

Photo credit: C. Leggett

Photo credit: C. Leggett

Tools of the Trade

Zimbabwe ‐ Regenerating Landscapes

Photo credits: A. Savory

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Today, Holistic Management is practiced by tens of thousands of people in many countries and contexts.  One source calculates as many as 12 million hectares (30 million acres)  under Holistic Management.  Its biggest impact, however, has been on the rangelands and grasslands of the seasonal rainfall environments – about two-thirds of the world’s land surface – which is where the large herds of wild herbivores originated and where they have for the most part disappeared. Livestock can be used to mimic the role these herds once played in maintaining ecosystem health, which is what the holistic grazing planning process was designed to do.In these environments, as well as others, however, the key to success lies in the everyday decisions people make to satisfy immediate needs. Ideally, they want to do that in ways that assure their continued well being, and the well being of future generations. The holistic decision making process enables them to do that by ensuring the actions they take in meeting those needs enhance the well-being of the environment that sustains them now and in the future

Water where not been before in human memory

600 mm rainfall

Namibia

AustraliaKenya

Mexico

12 Million Hectares Globally on 4 Continents

Will climate change be the ultimate incentive to do what we have meant to be doing all 

along?

Holistically Planned Grazing in West Gate Community Conservancy

Belinda Low, Grevy’s Zebra Trust

• Strong community institution – West Gate Community Conservancy

• Strong historical partnership through Grevy’s zebra conservation – assured continuity and trust in implementation

Background

1. Exposure tour of 5 community members to the Africa Centre for Holistic Management (ACHM)

2. Institutional training (conservancy board,  grazing committee, dedicated grazing coordinator)

3. Village‐level training for 8 settlement zones

Foundations for Implementation

Pilot Holistic Grazing Project in Conservancy Buffer Zone (1,200 ha)

Managing towards a collective vision

• Values tied to:– Livestock, Health, Education, Unity, Security, Pastoral Livelihoods

• Identified what needs to be created to support those values

• How the land must look to support the community far into the future:– Covered Soil, Perennial Grasses, Diverse & Abundant Wildlife, Abundant Water, Wild Fruits 

Planned grazingRECOVERY PERIOD

Animal impact

Tools to improve the land (long‐term)

Tools to improve the land (short‐term)

Clearing unwanted “invasive” species e.g. A. reficiens

Grass planting in cleared areas

Monitoring

Initial Results (first season)

• Increase in covered soil (approx. 50% forage left + litter increase)

• Bare ground treated with animal impact

• Healthy cattle (bulls from the holistic herd fetched the highest prices during a recent livestock sale to Ol Pejeta Conservancy)

• +ve response of wildlife (especially Grevy’s zebra)

• Community commitment through exposure to the buffer zone and village‐level training

Laikipia Wildlife Forum’s Rangeland Rehabilitation & Management Programme 2008‐2010

Experiences from 3 years experience implementing the Holistic Management approach  

Richard Hatfield, Programme Lead

Main appeal of the HM approach to LWF:

o ‘Triple bottom line’ approach

o Land regeneration know‐how

o User‐driven approach

RNE Royal Netherlands Embassy

Some insights from:  Il Ngwesi group ranch, Laikipia Kenya

Phase I: Practicing new techniques – planned and bunched herding

Animal ImpactResults

Wildlife died in thecore conservation area(livestock‐free 14 years)‐ the drought of 2009

Phase 2: Carrying out a PlanEG Grazing planning – Il Ngwesi community

Grazingexample

Dry seasongrazingplan

Il Ngwesi

group 

ranch

July‐

Oct

2008

Phase 3:  Permanent application:  

Back to the drawing board

Il Ngwesi –(Temporary) Holisticgoal for the community

QUALITY OF LIFE FORMS OF PRODUCTION

We are prosperous Healthy businesses

We are unified as a community Good communication & Respect

We are healthy as individuals Education, sufficient food, happy families

There is peace Respect & good relations with neighbours

There are opportunities for all people Education & good partnerships / networks

We are independent Self sufficiency

We maintain our traditional culture Value for the traditional way of life

FUTURE RESOURCE BASE

Plentiful and diverse wooded grasslands

Flowing rivers, streams and springs

Covered soils

Educated, wise and capable people as examples of progression in the region

Change in Il Ngwesi governance structure: before and after adopting the HM approach

TRUST BOARD

Wildlife

GROUP RANCH COMMITTEE

Village             Village           Village            Village            Village            Village Forum             Forum             Forum            Forum              Forum              Forum 

ConservationBuffer Zone

ConservationCore Zone

Lodge

GROUP RANCH COMMITTEE

MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE TRUST BOARD

ConservationCore Zone

LodgeConservationBuffer Zone Water Health Education Grazing

Phase 4:  Building village‐based management

Need: capacity built:

• Compotence• Confidence• Committment

Needs to be focused on recognised dynamics of social transformation• Emotional dimension• Relational dimension• Cognitive dimension

Primary ‘success factors’ experienced

• Strong community institutions

• Strong historical partnerships

• Continuity of engagement

• Emphasis on the process of community engagement and the process of social transformation

• Holisticgoal & knowledge to understand/read the land are extremely powerful

Parting Shot – how large can a herd be? An image from Chile..courtesy: Jose Manual Gortazar Martinez, Ovitec

Thank You

Richard Hatfield, Belinda Low, Constance Neely, Michael Peel