China’s Experience in Community Engagement for Grassland Governance and Climate Change Response

A discussion of experiences from China in community participation, collaborative grassland governance and climate-change adaptation.

Organizers: Shan Shui Conservation Center; Xilingol AEI Environmental Volunteer Association; West Ujimqin Pastoral Information Service Center; Inner Mongolia Churiya Pastoral Ecology Research Center; and UNDP/GEF Small Grants Programme.

Community-driven innovative and inclusive sustainable land and territorial management in rangelands and landscapes

Official side event #650

A discussion of community-driven approaches to sustainable land and territorial management, bringing together practical experiences from rangelands and pastoral landscapes.

Restoring Land, Restoring Hope through an Economy of Care

This side event will bring women’s voices from Indigenous and local communities to share their work, their aspirations, and their knowledge and perspectives in advancing a holistic One Health approach that recognizes the interconnections between the health of people, animals, plants and ecosystems. It will highlight how women sustain and transmit intergenerational knowledge —including food, traditions, medicinal plants and ecosystems stewardship —while strengthening community resilience and restoring land to in the face of environmental degradation.

Organized by: Wome4Biodiversity, MARAG, Oxfam

Indigenous data and resilient territories: Community monitoring for Land Degradation Neutrality

Official side event #694

The session will explore how Indigenous Peoples and local communities generate and govern knowledge about their territories, and how community monitoring can contribute to Land Degradation Neutrality while respecting community priorities, rights and knowledge systems.

Community-Based Co-management of Rangeland Territories of Life: IYRP Processes and Challenges

Through discussions and a participatory workshop, this session will explore experiences with community-based rangeland co-management and territories of life. Participants will reflect on progress, opportunities and continuing challenges emerging from the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, with particular attention to community governance, pastoralist rights and locally led stewardship.

Indigenous Nomadic Pastoralists’ Territories of Life: Pathways to Rangeland Restoration and Dryland Resilience

Official side event #669

This event will explore how pastoralist-led conservation and restoration practices contribute to ecosystem recovery, the prevention of land degradation and long-term resilience. The discussion will examine customary grazing systems, seasonal mobility, collective territorial governance and Indigenous knowledge as foundations for healthy soils, biodiversity and climate adaptation.

Protected and Conserved Areas, Pastoralists’ Rights and Territories of Life: Towards Inclusive Conservation and Resilient Rangelands

Official side event #364

This session will examine how rights-based and inclusive conservation—including ICCAs–territories of life and community-led governance—can support rangeland restoration and resilience. It will highlight the importance of pastoralists’ rights, mobility, collective stewardship, access to grazing areas and migration routes, and enduring cultural relationships with land.