Maintaining pastoralism is crucial for achieving the EU’s objectives on environment, climate and biodiversity protection within the EU Green Deal, such as territorial cohesion of the Lisbon’s Treaty. More widely, pastoralism contributes to several of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

However, the continuation of pastoralism is facing various threats. Therefore, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) calls on the European Commission to develop an Action Plan to promote and better support European pastoralism.

At global level, the United Nations (UN) are being encouraged to officially designate 2026 as the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) to further support these ecosystems and livelihoods. This proposal is to be adopted by the 42nd session of the FAO Conference in July 2021 and will be submitted to the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September 2021.

What are the contributions of pastoralism to achieving the EU Green Deal? How does it support food security and encourage the resilience of rural communities? What is the impact of EU policies on pastoralism in countries in the Global South?

Organised around the echo of the questions above, this event is organised by the CoR with the support of Yolda Initiative, Euromontana and the IYRP Regional Support Group for Europe. The event will aim at providing a platform for a well-informed dialogue and for raising suggestions on the content of a future EU Action Plan for Pastoralism, including actions to support the UN designation of an IYRP.

Marie Clotteau, Director of Euromontana, will moderate a high-level panel discussion on “How can we strengthen the EU and international efforts towards an EU Action Plan for Pastoralism and a United Nations International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists?”

Programme and registration

The conference will be held online via the Interactio platform with interpretation in English, French and Spanish. The draft programme and registration form are available on the event webpage. Please note that registration closes on Wednesday 9th June 2021.