In this Peace Parks TV episode, we celebrate the food-fuelling partnership power of Herding For Health and meet Zvi Tangawamira, Peace Parks’ Senior Programme Manager. She is excited to be part of this impactful initiative which is setting out to change lives, livelihoods, and landscapes across Africa. Driven by the communities, Herding For Health focuses on restoring rangelands, preserving biodiversity, enhancing livelihoods, and boosting food productivity in the process.
Africa faces unprecedented challenges, with climate change straining ecosystems and threatening the wellbeing of communities. Rangelands cover 43% of the continent’s land, where people grapple with resource scarcity, land degradation, and extreme weather events. Herding For Health offers a practical solution to managing cattle with planned rotational grazing and mobile night enclosures that protect cattle from predators. Herders are guided by an experienced team who combines indigenous knowledge with scientific research.
H4H is operational in six African countries, targeting seven million hectares in the coming years. The programme’s nutritional foundation starts with the soil, and recognises the interconnectedness of climate, water scarcity, economies, food production, and health. Water security measures are enriching the earth and lessening competition between people and wildlife for vital water resources, encouraging conditions for harmony and coexistence.
As soil fertility is revitalised, the land can better sustain cattle and produce thriving crops, bringing in more dependable incomes and putting food – beef and grains – on the table to sustain communities. Cattle are protected from predators, wildlife safeguarded, and peace returns in place of conflicting needs.
This programme has brought together Conservation International and Peace Parks Foundation who joined forces to restore 20 million hectares of degraded rangelands, to bolster the resilience of landscapes and the people who depend on them.
Visit www.conservation.org/south-africa to learn more about the power of partnerships in restoring Africa’s precious rangelands and boosting food security.
