The theme of the conference is Sustainable Use of Grassland/Rangeland Resources for Improved Livelihoods. The Congress will be organized under seven thematic areas of rangeland and grassland research and development with a better balance between the people/social/policy and more traditional topics. The congress will cover 30 sessions each dealing with a particular aspect of grasslands/rangelands as listed below. The congress themes are:-

1) RANGELAND/GRASSLAND ECOLOGY

  • Global processes of woody encroachment in rangelands: status, drivers, and impacts.
  • Commons: old, current and future challenges for rangeland what innovations in collective issues to face these challenges.
  • Savanna use and dynamics.
  • Biodiversity, Ecosystem services.
  • Rangeland degradation and Restoration.
  • Rangeland monitoring and support systems.
  • Community composition and ecological drivers.
  • Ecohydrology and plant responses.
  • Grazing, soil nutrient and properties.
  • Grazers -plant communities interactions.
  • Sustainable Land Use.
  • Fire ecology, plant responses and management.
  • Soil amendments and ecosystem productivity.
  • Plant germplasm, recovery and biosecurity.
  • Ecological trade-offs.
  • Modeling and management of ecological systems.
  • Participatory management, rangeland health.
  • Remote sensing, risk analysis and land management.
  • Participatory management, rangeland health
  • Ecological relationships

2) FORAGE PRODUCTION AND UTILIZATION

  • Tropical Forages Genetic Resources.
  • Temperate/Tropical Transition Climate Zones: Locations for Breeding Forages with Climate Resiliency.
  • Recent advances in Urochloa grass research in Kenya.
  • Forage Genetics & Improvement.
  • Forage Traits for Breeding.
  • Forage Evaluation & Agronomy.
  • Forage Seeds Systems Genetic Resources.
  • Ruminant & Forages -Responses.
  • Forages and Nitrogen Use.
  • Evaluation of Dual Purpose Crops.
  • Forage & Fodder Yields and Conservation.
  • Forage and Animal Nutrition.
  • Forage Stress and Treatments for Improvement.
  • Forage Modeling and Meta- analysis.
  • Forage Exploration and Value chain.
  • Forages and Environment Improvement.
  • Forage Planning and Management.
  • Forage Management for Productivity and Nutrition.
  • Forage Quality and Antinutritonal Factors.

3) LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

  • Challenges on livestock production and rangelands/grasslands utilization in southern South America.
  • Utilization of Grasslands/Rangelands.
  • Sustainable Management of grasslands/Rangelands Ecosystems.
  • Beef Production Systems.
  • Integrated Crop and Pasture based Livestock Production Systems.
  • Climate change; adaptations and resilience of Livestock systems
  • Dairy Production Systems.
  • Small Ruminants Production Systems.
  • Social-Economics of Livestock Prodution Systems.

4) WILDLIFE, TOURISM AND MULTI-FACETS OF RANGELANDS/GRASSLANDS

  • Forage legume ecosystem services in sustainable livestock systems.
  • A Revolution in Conservation Innovation By and With Pastoralists: Examples from Kenya, Africa and the globe.
  • Wildlife, Agriculture and Protected Areas.
  • Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.
  • Ecosystem services and Ranching.
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5) DROUGHT MANAGEMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN RANGELANDS/GRASSLANDS

  • Early warning, monitoring and management of drought – a global perspective.
  • Droughts and degradation – social ecological perspectives on tipping points in dryland rangelands.
  • Land use, Carbon Sequestration and GHG fluxes 1.
  • Remote Sensing Applications for rangeland management.
  • Climate Change Impacts.
  • Mitigation, Adaptation & Resilience 1.
  • Mitigation, Adaptation & Resilience 2.
  • Land use, Carbon Sequestration and GHG fluxes 2.
  • Water Stress & Water Use Efficiency
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6) PASTORALISM, SOCIAL, GENDER AND POLICY ISSUES

  • Securing land tenure for pastoralists as an incentive for engaging actively in the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
  • Gender and Indigenous Perspectives for Sustainable Rangelands: Gendering and Decolonizing Pastoralist Studies and Rangeland Conservation Part 1.
  • Gender and Indigenous Perspectives for Sustainable Rangelands: Gendering and Decolonizing Pastoralist Studies and Rangeland Conservation Part 2.
  • Developing environmental services payments schemes for grasslands in China and Mongolia.
  • Changes in rangeland property rights and land use in Central Asia and western China.
  • Action Plan for the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists.
  • Local knowledge, local and global action.
  • Dynamic change and evolving pastoralism.
  • Territory and Policy and Governance Reform.
  • Investment, Infrastructure and Markets.

7) CAPACITY, INSTITUTIONS AND INNOVATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN RANGELANDS/GRASSLANDS

  • Accelerating the Use of Participatory Action Research for Development in Pastoral Lands: Challenges and Opportunities.
  • Re-envisioning Rangelands in the 21st Century: Overcoming the Marginalization Narrative and Social-Ecological Mismatches.
  • Participatory Socio-Ecological Observatories for Sustainable Rangeland Development.
  • Communal and Collaborative Governance.
  • Management, Land Use Planning & Ecosystem Services.
  • Participatory Monitoring and Sylvopastoral Systems.
  • Technological & Big Data Approaches to Decision-Support for Rangeland Management.