Skip to main content
Have a personal or library account? Click to login
Governing Commons Through Uncertainty: Towards a Link Between Commons and Pastoralist Territories of Life Cover

Governing Commons Through Uncertainty: Towards a Link Between Commons and Pastoralist Territories of Life

Open Access
|Jul 2026

References

  1. Adams, W. M., & Hutton, J. (2007). People, parks and poverty. Conservation and Society, 5(2), 147183.
  2. Agrawal, A. (2001). Common property institutions and sustainable governance of resources. World Development, 29(10), 16491672. 10.1016/S0305-750X(01)00063-8
  3. Alary, V., Corniaux, C., & Gautier, D. (2011). Livestock’s contribution to rural food security. Food Policy, 36(2), 168176.
  4. Ameso, E. A., Bukachi, S. A., Olungah, C. O., Haller, T., Wandibba, S., & Nangendo, S. (2018). Pastoral resilience among the Maasai pastoralists of Laikipia County, Kenya. Land, 7(2), 78. 10.3390/land7020078
  5. Azhdari, G., Aminzadeh, N., & Razmkhah, A. (2021). Iran: A national analysis on the status of territories of life. In Territories of Life: 2021 Report. ICCA Consortium.
  6. Bassi, M. (2017). Pastoralists are peoples: Key issues in advocacy and the emergence of pastoralists’ rights. Nomadic Peoples, 21(1), 433. 10.3197/np.2017.210102
  7. Behnke, R., & Scoones, I. (1993). Rethinking range ecology: Implications for rangeland management in Africa. In R. Behnke, I. Scoones, & C. Kerven (Eds.), Range ecology at disequilibrium (pp. 130). ODI.
  8. Blench, R. (2001). You can’t go home again: Pastoralism in the new millennium. Overseas Development Institute.
  9. Bollig, M. (2016). Adaptive governance of African pastoral commons. Human Ecology, 44(3), 357371.
  10. Borrini-Feyerabend, G. (2024). Territories of life: Exploring vitality of governance for conserved and protected areas. ICCA Consortium. 10.70841/VY54762
  11. Borrini-Feyerabend, G., & Hill, R. (2015). Governance for the conservation of nature. In G. L. Worboys, M. Lockwood, A. Kothari, S. Feary, & I. Pulsford (Eds.), Protected area governance and management (pp. 169206). ANU Press. 10.22459/PAGM.04.2015.07
  12. Brockington, D. (2002). Fortress conservation. James Currey.
  13. Brooks, S., & Thomsen, C. B. (2017). Pastoralism and conservation: Governance, rights, and equity. Conservation and Society, 15(4), 377387.
  14. Butt, B. (2016). Ecology, mobility and labour: Dynamic pastoral herd management in an uncertain world. Revue Scientifique et Technique, 35(2), 447455. 10.20506/rst.35.2.2530
  15. CBD. (2022). Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Convention on Biological Diversity.
  16. Cleaver, F. (2001). Institutional bricolage, conflict and cooperation in Usangu, Tanzania. IDS Bulletin, 32(4), 2635. 10.1111/j.1759-5436.2001.mp32004004.x
  17. Cleaver, F. (2017). Development through bricolage. Routledge. 10.4324/9781315094915
  18. Descola, P. (2013). Beyond nature and culture. University of Chicago Press. 10.7208/chicago/9780226145006.001.0001
  19. Domínguez, P., & Rodríguez-Estévez, V. (2018). Transhumance in Spain and Morocco. Pastoralism, 8(1), 114.
  20. Domínguez, P., Zorondo-Rodríguez, F., & Reyes-García, V. (2010). Relationships between saints’ beliefs and mountain pasture uses. Human Ecology, 38, 351362. 10.1007/s10745-010-9321-7
  21. Dong, S., Kassam, K.-A. S., Tourrand, J.-F., & Bauer, K. M. (Eds.) (2021). Sustainable pastoralism and rangeland management in Central Asia. Springer.
  22. Edelman, M., Oya, C., & Borras, S. M. (2013). Global land grabs: Historical processes, theoretical and methodological implications and current trajectories. Third World Quarterly, 34(9), 15171531. 10.1080/01436597.2013.850190
  23. FAO. (2019). Pastoralism in the 21st century: Key messages and facts. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
  24. FAO. (2022). Making way: Developing national legal and policy frameworks for pastoral mobility. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 10.4060/cb8461en
  25. Fairhead, J., Leach, M., & Scoones, I. (2012). Green grabbing: A new appropriation of nature? The Journal of Peasant Studies, 39(2), 237261. 10.1080/03066150.2012.671770
  26. Fernández-Giménez, M. E. (2002). Spatial and social boundaries and the paradox of pastoral land tenure: A case from post-socialist Mongolia. Human Ecology, 30(1), 4978. 10.1023/A:1014562913014
  27. Fernández-Giménez, M. E., Batkhishig, B., Batbuyan, B., & Ulambayar, T. (2015). Lessons from co-management in Mongolia. Journal of Environmental Management, 169, 1120.
  28. Foggin, J. M., Brombal, D., & Razmkhah, A. (2021). Thinking like a mountain: Exploring the potential of relational approaches for transformative nature conservation. Sustainability, 13(22), 12884. 10.3390/su132212884
  29. Galaty, J. G. (2016). Reasserting the commons: Pastoral contestations of private and state lands in East Africa. International Journal of the Commons, 10(2), 709727. 10.18352/ijc.720
  30. Galvin, K. A. (2009). Transitions: Pastoralists living with change. Annual Review of Anthropology, 38, 185198. 10.1146/annurev-anthro-091908-164442
  31. Gavin, M. C., McCarter, J., Mead, A., Berkes, F., Stepp, J. R., Peterson, D., & Tang, R. (2015). Defining biocultural approaches to conservation. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 30(3), 140145. 10.1016/j.tree.2014.12.005
  32. Godoy-Sepúlveda, F., Sanosa-Cols, P., Parra, S. A., Peña-Enguix, A., Pérez-Luque, A. J., Ramos-Font, M. E., Robles, A. B., Tognetti, M. J., González-Robles, A., Ravera, F., & Ventura i Oller, M. (2024). Governance, mobility, and pastureland ecology: An eco-anthropological study of three pastoral commons in northeastern Andalusia. Human Ecology, 52(2), 303318. 10.1007/s10745-024-00495-4
  33. Haller, T. (2020). Institution shopping and resilience grabbing: Changing scapes and grabbing pastoral commons in African floodplain wetlands. Conservation and Society, 18(3), 252264. 10.4103/cs.cs_19_104
  34. Haller, T., Acciaioli, G., & Rist, S. (2016). Constitutionality: Conditions for crafting local ownership of institution-building processes. Society & Natural Resources, 29(1), 6887. 10.1080/08941920.2015.1041661
  35. Haller, T., Breu, T., de Moor, T., Rohr, C., & Znoj, H. (Eds.) (2019). The commons in a glocal world. Routledge. 10.4324/9781351050982
  36. Haller, T., Fokou, G., Mbeyale, G., & Meroka, P. (2013). How fit turns into misfit and back: Institutional transformations of pastoral commons in African floodplains. Ecology and Society, 18(1), Article 34. 10.5751/ES-05510-180134
  37. Hardin, G. (1968). The tragedy of the commons. Science, 162(3859), 12431248. 10.1126/science.162.3859.1243
  38. Hesse, C., & Thebaud, B. (2006). Will pastoral legislation disempower pastoralists in the Sahel? Indigenous Affairs, 1, 1423.
  39. Homewood, K. (2008). Ecology of African pastoralist societies. Ohio University Press.
  40. Houzer, E., & Scoones, I. (2021). Are livestock always bad for the planet? Rethinking the protein transition and climate change debate. Institute of Development Studies. 10.19088/STEPS.2021.003
  41. ICCA Consortium. (2021). Territories of Life: 2021 Report. ICCA Consortium.
  42. ILRI, IUCN, FAO, WWF, UNEP, & ILC. (2021). Rangelands atlas. ILRI.
  43. Johnsen, K. I., Niamir-Fuller, M., Bensada, A., & Waters-Bayer, A. (2019). A case of benign neglect: Knowledge gaps about sustainability in pastoralism and rangeland. UNEP and GRID-Arendal.
  44. Jonas, H. D., Lee, E., Jonas, H. C., Matallana-Tobón, C., Wright, K., Nelson, F., & Enns, C. (2017). Will OECMs help or hinder Indigenous-led conservation? Parks, 23(2), 7992. 10.2305/IUCN.CH.2017.PARKS-23-2HDJ.en
  45. Jonas, H., & Godio, M. J. (Eds.) (2020). Living convention (3rd ed., Vol. 1). Natural Justice.
  46. Kothari, A., Corrigan, C., Jonas, H., Neumann, A., & Shrumm, H. (Eds.) (2012). Recognising and supporting territories and areas conserved by Indigenous Peoples and local communities. CBD Technical Series No. 64.
  47. Krätli, S., & Schareika, N. (2010). Living off uncertainty: The intelligent animal production of dryland pastoralists. European Journal of Development Research, 22(5), 605622. 10.1057/ejdr.2010.41
  48. Maffi, L. (2005). Linguistic, cultural, and biological diversity. Annual Review of Anthropology, 34, 599617. 10.1146/annurev.anthro.34.081804.120437
  49. Maffi, L., & Woodley, E. (2010). Biocultural diversity conservation: A global sourcebook. Earthscan.
  50. Manzano, P. G., Burgas, D., Cadahía, L., Eronen, J. T., Fernández-Llamazares, Á., Bencherif, S., Holand, Ø., Seitsonen, O., Byambaa, B., Fortelius, M., Fernández-Giménez, M. E., Galvin, K. A., Cabeza, M., & Stenseth, N. C. (2021). Toward a holistic understanding of pastoralism. One Earth, 4(5), 651665. 10.1016/j.oneear.2021.04.012
  51. Manzano-Baena, P., & Salguero-Herrera, C. (2018). Mobile pastoralism in the Mediterranean: Arguments and evidence for policy reform and to combat climate change. Mediterranean Consortium for Nature and Culture.
  52. McGahey, D., Davies, J., Hagelberg, N., & Ouedraogo, R. (2014). Pastoralism and the green economy: A natural nexus? IUCN and UNEP.
  53. Moritz, M. (2016). Open property regimes. International Journal of the Commons, 10(2), 688708. 10.18352/ijc.719
  54. Moritz, M., Behnke, R., Beitl, C. M., Bird, R. B., Chiaravalloti, R. M., Clark, J. E., Crabtree, S. A., Downey, S. S., Hamilton, I., Phang, S. C., Scholte, P., & Wilson, J. F. (2018). Emergent sustainability in open property regimes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(51), 1285912867. 10.1073/pnas.1812028115
  55. Niamir-Fuller, M. (Ed.) (1999). Managing mobility in African rangelands: The legitimization of transhumance. Intermediate Technology Publications. 10.3362/9781780442761.000
  56. Nori, M., & Scoones, I. (2019). Pastoralism, uncertainty and resilience: Global lessons from the margins. Pastoralism, 9(1), 10. 10.1186/s13570-019-0146-8
  57. Ostrom, E. (1990). Governing the commons: The evolution of institutions for collective action. Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9780511807763
  58. Oteros-Rozas, E., González, J. A., Martín-López, B., López, C. A., & Montes, C. (2013). Resilience in transhumance social-ecological systems. Ecology and Society, 18(1), 33.
  59. Peluso, N. L., & Lund, C. (2011). New frontiers of land control: Introduction. The Journal of Peasant Studies, 38(4), 667681. 10.1080/03066150.2011.607692
  60. Postigo, J. C. (2021). The role of social institutions in indigenous Andean Pastoralists’ adaptation to climate-related water hazards. Climate and Development, 13(9), 780791. 10.1080/17565529.2020.1850409
  61. Postigo, J. C. (2013). Adaptation of Andean Herders to Political and Climatic Changes. In Lozny, L. (ed.), Continuity and Change in Cultural Adaptation to Mountain Environments. Studies in Human Ecology and Adaptation vol 7. Springer, New York, NY. 10.1007/978-1-4614-5702-2_9
  62. Reid, R. S., Fernández-Giménez, M. E., & Galvin, K. A. (2014). Dynamics and resilience of rangelands and pastoral peoples around the globe. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 39, 217242. 10.1146/annurev-environ-020713-163329
  63. Reyes-García, V., Benyei, P., & Calvet-Mir, L. (2020). Biocultural approaches to sustainability. Ecological Economics, 172, 106622.
  64. Scoones, I. (1995). Living with uncertainty: New directions in pastoral development in Africa. Intermediate Technology Publications. 10.3362/9781780445335.000
  65. Scoones, I. (2004). Climate change and the challenge of non-equilibrium thinking. IDS Bulletin, 35(3), 114119. 10.1111/j.1759-5436.2004.tb00144.x
  66. Scoones, I. (2021). Pastoralists and peasants: Perspectives on agrarian change. The Journal of Peasant Studies, 48(1), 147. 10.1080/03066150.2020.1802249
  67. Scoones, I. (2022). Livestock, climate and the politics of resources: A primer. Transnational Institute.
  68. Scott, J. C. (1998). Seeing like a state. Yale University Press.
  69. Sharifian, A., Fernández-Llamazares, Á., Wario, H., Molnár, Z., & Cabeza, M. (2022). Dynamics of pastoral traditional ecological knowledge: A global state-of-the-art review. Ecology and Society, 27(1), Article 14. 10.5751/ES-12918-270114
  70. Tauli-Corpuz, V., Alcorn, J., Molnar, A., Healy, C., & Barrow, E. (2020). Rights-based approaches to conservation. World Development, 130, 104923. 10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.104923
  71. Turner, M. D., McPeak, J., & Ayantunde, A. A. (2014). The role of livestock mobility in the livelihood strategies of rural peoples in semi-arid West Africa. Human Ecology, 42(2), 231247. 10.1007/s10745-013-9636-2
  72. Zanjani, L. V., Govan, H., Jonas, H. C., Karfakis, T., Mwamidi, D. M., Stewart, J., Walters, G., & Domínguez, P. (2023). Territories of life as key to global environmental sustainability. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 63, 101298. 10.1016/j.cosust.2023.101298
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/ijc.1623 | Journal eISSN: 1875-0281
Language: English
Page range: 252 - 267
Submitted on: Jul 17, 2025
Accepted on: May 16, 2026
Published on: Jul 29, 2026
Published by: Ubiquity Press
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

© 2026 Ali Razmkhah, Nina Aminzadeh Goharrizi, published by Ubiquity Press
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.