In his Ted talk, Allan Savory proposes the new idea of fighting climate change and stopping desertification. The speaker argues that desertification can be prevented by holistic and planned grazing. This transformation can lead to better outcomes in the fight against climate change (Savory, 2013). Despite the claims about the novelty of Savory’s argument, his idea is not new at the core. In recent years, more ecologists have looked at nomadism for answers to desertification and sustainable farming (Norman et al., 2022). For centuries, nomadic communities used these same techniques to survive in extreme environments with few natural resources and preserve these environments. The nomads had to be very careful in how they used the land because if they devastated it one year, the land would not provide grass for the animals the next year. Contrary to general belief, the nomads produced crops for their animals, leaving behind the seeds after moving to the next pasture in the complicated migration patterns to avoid desertification. This approach maintained the grasslands and overall environment healthy, affirming parts of Savory’s argument.
When considering Savory’s argument, it is extremely important to account for the nomadic experience and lifestyle. The main critique of Savory is that grazing animals will not prevent climate change and reduce the carbon output to zero, as methane emitted by animals will offset the effect. However, this critique fails to look at more complicated aspects of planned grazing through the lens of the nomads.
Planned grazing can only be a specific solution to desertification in certain regions, as sustaining the current settled population is impossible solely on planned grazing. Nomadic communities were small and led certain lifestyles because of the unpredictable nature of pastoralism and the harsh environment. Nomadism may not apply to mild climates and regions, as it was born out of necessity to survive in extreme conditions and, thus, is specific to this region. The population and demands for meat may also need to shrink to adapt to this technique, along with the lifestyle change. In other words, nomads left a minimal impact on the environment because of their numbers and lifestyle. However, if it were scaled to accommodate the current demands of the modern settled population, it would only exacerbate climate change. Therefore, planned grazing cannot be a general solution to climate change but can be applied locally to treat desertification.
References
Norman, L. M., Lal, R., Wohl, E., Fairfax, E., Gellis, A., & Pollock, M. M. (2022). Natural infrastructure in dryland streams (NIDS) can establish regenerative wetland sinks that reverse desertification and strengthen climate resilience. Science of the Total Environment, 157738.
Savory, A. (2013). How to fight desertification and reverse climate change. TED Talk.