The Overlooked Guardians, Why Grasslands Deserve a Central Place in Global Climate and Biodiversity Strategy

The Overlooked Guardians, Why Grasslands Deserve a Central Place in Global Climate and Biodiversity Strategy

In the global climate dialogue, a towering bias persists. When we envision carbon sinks, our collective imagination conjures dense, verdant forests—the Amazon, the Congo, the boreal taiga. This “forest-first” paradigm has dominated policy, funding, and public perception for decades, crystallized in initiatives like REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation). Yet, beneath this canopy-centric narrative, an entire biome of critical ecological and climatic importance is being systematically neglected: the world’s grasslands, savannas, and rangelands. From the vast Cerrado of Brazil to the desert grasslands of Australia and the seasonal pastures of India, these open ecosystems are not barren wastelands awaiting conversion but are complex, carbon-rich, and biodiverse landscapes whose protection is paramount to achieving global climate and sustainability goals. As the United Nations prepares to declare 2026 the “International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists,” it is time to fundamentally reshape our environmental priorities and integrate grasslands into the very heart of national and international climate action plans.

The Ecological and Climatic Power of Grasslands

Grasslands, encompassing savannas, steppes, prairies, and rangelands, cover approximately 40% of the Earth’s terrestrial surface, excluding Greenland and Antarctica. They are not merely empty spaces between forests; they are dynamic ecosystems teeming with life and serving indispensable functions:

1. Massive Carbon Stocks: While forests store carbon primarily in above-ground biomass (trees), grasslands are masters of below-ground carbon sequestration. Their extensive root systems, some reaching meters deep, deposit enormous amounts of organic carbon into the soil. When healthy, grassland soils are among the planet’s most significant carbon reservoirs. Disturbingly, when degraded or converted to agriculture, they can release this stored carbon rapidly, contributing to atmospheric CO2 levels.

2. Biodiversity Hotspots: Grasslands support a unique and adapted array of biodiversity. The Brazilian Cerrado, for instance, is the world’s most biodiverse savanna, home to 5% of the planet’s species. These ecosystems support iconic wildlife, from wildebeest in the Serengeti to bustards in the Indian subcontinent, and host a plethora of endemic plant species.

3. Hydrological Regulators: Grasslands play a critical role in the water cycle. Their deep, porous soils facilitate groundwater recharge and regulate river flow. The Cerrado is known as Brazil’s “water tank,” feeding eight of the country’s twelve major river systems, including tributaries that sustain the Amazon. Degrading grasslands threatens continental water security.

4. Cultural and Livelihood Foundations: For millennia, grasslands have sustained pastoralist and indigenous communities who have developed sophisticated, sustainable land-management practices. Their cultures, economies, and identities are intrinsically linked to these landscapes.

Despite these vital services, grasslands are in a state of silent crisis. They are one of the most threatened biomes globally, suffering rapid loss due to agricultural expansion (particularly for soy and cattle), afforestation projects that plant non-native trees, mining, invasive species, and policies that suppress traditional fire and grazing regimes. This conversion is not only a biodiversity catastrophe but also a major, under-reported source of greenhouse gas emissions.

The Policy Blind Spot: Why Grasslands Are Left Behind

The marginalization of grasslands in forums like the UNFCCC COP is systemic. As highlighted in the source material, the 2022 open letter in Science by an international group of scientists urged climate negotiators to broaden their focus beyond forests, noting that savannas are potentially better carbon sinks. Yet, three years later, little has changed. COP30 in Belém, Brazil, while advancing the vital Tropical Forest Forever Facility, again underscored the “glaring disparity” in a global agenda that “favours forests alone.”

Several factors explain this blind spot:

• The Carbon Accounting Challenge: Measuring and verifying carbon in grassland soils is more complex and costly than measuring tree biomass, making it less attractive for carbon-offset markets designed for simplicity.

• The “Empty Land” Myth: Grasslands are often politically and economically perceived as “idle” or “wasteland,” prime for development or conversion. India’s official “Wasteland Atlas,” as noted, frequently categorizes grasslands as available for other uses.

• Institutional Silos: Within the UN system, climate, biodiversity, and desertification are handled by separate conventions (UNFCCC, CBD, UNCCD). Grasslands, which sit at the intersection of all three issues, fall through the cracks. The UNFCCC focuses narrowly on carbon, while the CBD and UNCCD have made better, but under-resourced, efforts to recognize grasslands.

• Powerful Agribusiness Lobbies: The conversion of grasslands, particularly in South America and North America, is driven by immensely powerful agricultural interests. Their political influence often outweighs that of pastoralist and indigenous communities.

This neglect has dire consequences. In Australia, desert grasslands are reeling from climate-induced dry spells and floods, compounded by invasive buffel grass, which fuels more intense wildfires. In Brazil, the Cerrado is being cleared at nearly twice the rate of the Amazon rainforest, driven by agribusiness expansion. This loss not only releases carbon and destroys species but also jeopardizes the hydrological cycle that sustains the Amazon itself, as Congresswoman Dandara Tonantzin powerfully stated: “Without the Cerrado, there is no Amazon.”

A Path Forward: Integration, Rights, and Redefinition

Protecting the world’s grasslands requires a paradigm shift in environmental governance, moving from isolated, biome-specific actions to integrated, rights-based, and cross-convention strategies. The roadmap for this shift involves several interconnected steps:

1. Mainstream Grasslands into National Climate Commitments (NDCs):
The most immediate and impactful action is for nations to explicitly include grassland protection and restoration in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. As the joint WWF/IUCN report at COP30 urged, grasslands must be recognized as crucial carbon sinks. India’s NDC, for example, aims to create an “additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.” This target, as the ATREE white paper suggests, should be reinterpreted to encompass “forest and tree cover” within a broader “natural ecosystem” framework that includes grassland and savanna restoration. This would prevent misguided afforestation of open ecosystems, which can actually reduce biodiversity and local water tables.

2. Bridge the UN Convention Silos:
The 1992 Rio Conventions (UNFCCC, CBD, UNCCD) were a historic step but have operated in parallel for too long. The solution lies in adopting an Ecosystem-Based Approach (EBA) across all three. As the Brazilian policy brief recommended, the UNFCCC should formally adopt the EBA, enabling the integrated conservation of open ecosystems. The UNCCD’s COP16 resolution on rangelands is a positive model. Future COPs must create formal joint work programmes and unified funding mechanisms that recognize the intertwined fates of climate stability, biodiversity, and land health. The 2026 International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists must be leveraged as a catalyst for this institutional synergy.

3. Secure Indigenous and Community Land Rights:
Grassland protection is inextricably linked to social justice. As Samantha Murray of Australia’s Indigenous Desert Alliance and Brazil’s Dandara Tonantzin emphasize, indigenous and local communities are not just inhabitants but the most effective stewards of these landscapes. Their knowledge of controlled burning, rotational grazing, and species management is a science honed over generations. Legal recognition of territorial rights and secure land tenure is the foundational step. Empowering communities through participatory resource management and integrating their knowledge into national policies is not an add-on but a prerequisite for success.

4. Reform Domestic Governance and Perception:
National governments must dismantle internal silos mirroring the UN’s. In India, the 18 ministries with competing interests in grasslands—from Environment to Rural Development (publisher of the “Wasteland Atlas”)—must align under a unified, ecosystem-based policy framework. Public awareness campaigns are needed to shift the perception of grasslands from “wastelands” to “wealthlands”—vital sources of carbon storage, water, food, and culture.

5. Redirect Finance and Create Grassland-Specific Mechanisms:
The billions pledged for forest conservation must be matched by dedicated, accessible funding for grassland protection and sustainable pastoralism. New financial instruments, such as payments for ecosystem services (PES) for carbon sequestration and water regulation in grasslands, must be developed. The agribusiness and fossil fuel lobbies, which currently drive policy, must be countered with robust, science-based advocacy from coalitions of scientists, NGOs, and grassroots communities.

Conclusion: From Oversight to Oversight

The climate and biodiversity emergencies demand that we use every tool in our ecological arsenal. Ignoring grasslands is akin to fighting a fire with half a hose. These ecosystems offer a powerful, synergistic solution: protecting them secures carbon, conserves unique species, safeguards water for billions, and upholds the rights and wisdom of traditional communities.

The upcoming International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists in 2026 is a pivotal opportunity. It must be more than a symbolic gesture; it must launch a decade of concerted action to rewrite the rules of global environmental governance. By integrating grasslands into NDCs, breaking down UN silos, centering indigenous leadership, and reforming national policies, we can transform these overlooked landscapes from casualties of progress into cornerstones of planetary resilience.

The choice is between continuing a fragmented, forest-only approach that dooms vast swathes of the planet and embracing a holistic vision that recognizes the indispensable value of all ecosystems. The grass, as it were, is not greener on the other side—it is essential right here, beneath our feet, waiting for its rightful place in the plan for our future.

Five Questions & Answers on Grasslands and Climate Policy

Q1: If grasslands are such good carbon sinks, why are they consistently overlooked in climate talks like COP?
A1: Several interrelated factors contribute to this oversight:

• Measurement Complexity: Forest carbon is relatively easy to measure and monitor via satellite imagery (tracking tree cover loss). Grassland carbon is stored primarily in soil organic matter, which requires ground-level sampling and is harder to verify for international carbon markets, making it less attractive for offset schemes.

• Historical and Cultural Bias: The “forest-first” narrative is deeply entrenched in environmentalism, often equating trees with environmental health. Grasslands are mistakenly perceived as “empty” or degraded land.

• Institutional Fragmentation: Within the UN, grasslands fall between the mandates of the climate (UNFCCC), biodiversity (CBD), and desertification (UNCCD) conventions, with no single body championing them holistically.

• Economic Pressures: The conversion of grasslands to agriculture, especially for soy, beef, and biofuels, is a powerful economic driver. The lobbying power of agribusiness often outweighs the voices of pastoralist and conservation communities in policy debates.

Q2: How does the degradation of grasslands like the Cerrado in Brazil actually threaten the Amazon rainforest?
A2: The Cerrado and the Amazon are ecologically interlocked in a “hydrological symbiotic relationship.” The Cerrado’s deep, sandy soils act as a gigantic sponge and water tower. It absorbs rainfall and slowly releases it through thousands of springs and streams that feed major rivers, including those that flow into the Amazon Basin. When the Cerrado is cleared for agriculture, the land loses its ability to absorb water, leading to increased surface runoff, soil erosion, and decreased groundwater recharge. This disrupts the hydrological cycle, potentially reducing moisture transported to the Amazon. The Amazon relies on this recycled rainfall from its eastern flank to maintain its internal climate. Degrading the Cerrado thus threatens the rainfall patterns that sustain the rainforest, making both biomes more vulnerable to droughts and fires.

Q3: What is the “Ecosystem-Based Approach” (EBA), and how would it help protect grasslands?
A3: The Ecosystem-Based Approach (EBA) is a holistic strategy for integrated land management that considers entire ecosystems—including people, biodiversity, and ecological processes—rather than focusing on single species, sectors, or issues. For grasslands, adopting an EBA within and across the UN conventions would mean:

• Breaking Silos: UNFCCC, CBD, and UNCCD would develop joint policies and funding streams that recognize grasslands as assets for climate mitigation (carbon sink), adaptation (drought resilience), biodiversity conservation, and combating land degradation simultaneously.

• National Policy Integration: Countries would develop cross-ministerial strategies for grasslands, aligning agricultural, environmental, and rural development policies to promote sustainable use rather than conversion.

• Focus on Function: It shifts the goal from simply preserving area to maintaining the ecosystem’s functions: carbon sequestration, water regulation, and supporting livelihoods. This makes the case for protection stronger and more multifaceted.

Q4: How do indigenous and pastoralist communities contribute to grassland health, and what threatens their role?
A4: These communities are not passive residents but active ecosystem engineers. Their practices are critical for health:

• Controlled Fire: Prevents the buildup of excessive dry vegetation that leads to catastrophic wildfires, promotes nutrient cycling, and maintains open habitats for grass-dependent species.

• Rotational Grazing: Mimics natural herbivore movements, preventing overgrazing in any one area, promoting plant diversity, and stimulating grass growth and root depth (enhancing carbon storage).

• Invasive Species Management: Local knowledge is key to identifying and controlling threats like Australia’s buffel grass.
  Their role is threatened by: Land Tenure Insecurity: Lack of formal land titles leaves them vulnerable to displacement by agribusiness or conservation projects. Policy Marginalization: Government policies often favor sedentary agriculture over pastoralism and suppress traditional fire use, labeling it as “destructive.” Economic Pressure: Global market forces make large-scale conversion more profitable than sustainable pastoralism in the short term.

Q5: What concrete steps can a country like India take to better protect and integrate its grasslands into climate action?
A5:

1. Revise the NDC: Amend the national climate pledge to explicitly include grassland and savanna restoration and protection as part of its carbon sink target, moving beyond a purely “forest and tree cover” metric.

2. Reform the “Wasteland Atlas”: The Ministry of Rural Development must collaborate with the Environment Ministry to reclassify grasslands based on their ecological value, removing them from the “wasteland” category that earmarks them for conversion.

3. Create a Cross-Ministerial Grassland Task Force: Unite the 18 competing ministries under a common, ecosystem-based policy framework with clear conservation and sustainable-use goals.

4. Secure Community Rights: Legally recognize and protect the grazing rights and management authority of pastoralist communities (like the Gujjars, Dhangars, etc.) over common grassland areas.

5. Develop a National Grassland Carbon Programme: Invest in research to accurately measure soil carbon stocks and create a Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) scheme that compensates communities for maintaining and enhancing carbon sequestration through traditional practices.