In the newly released episode of the IDS Between the Lines podcast, PASTRES affiliate Rashmi Singh interviews Professor Ian Scoones, editor of the recent PASTRES book: Pastoralism, Uncertainty and Development.
The book explores how pastoralists make productive use of variability and embrace uncertainty. This is essential to understanding how pastoral systems in marginal dryland and montane systems work.
In the podcast, Ian argues that learning lessons from pastoralists is important for all of us, as well as ensuring that development efforts are more effective across the world’s rangelands, where millions of pastoralists live. This podcast offers wider lessons for rethinking development policy and practice for today’s uncertain, turbulent world.
Rashmi and Ian delve into the conversations around the emergence of the PASTRES project and explore the history of Ian’s research, as well as his contributions to pastoral studies in the past decades. They discuss various theoretical turns and policies in the world of pastoralism and rangeland management across the globe, and Rashmi shares her own research journey on the pastoral communities, ecology, and policies of the Himalayan region in South Asia.
The two speakers cover a variety of important topics from the book, including uncertainty, mobility, visual methods, pandemics, climate change, and much more. They illuminate how pastoralists navigate through all these challenges with remarkable skill, despite the many problems they face.
This book is perfect for development studies students, policymakers, and individuals interested in the dynamic interplay of pastoral culture, environment, and policies.
Listen to the podcast and read the Open Access book via the links below.
Pastoralism, Uncertainty and Resilience - PASTRES 