December online conversation – myths about data
Our next online conversation will explore the myth that ‘more data means better rangeland management’. The event is on Thursday 3 December from 11:00 – 12:30 (UK time).
Our speakers are Mike Davies (Social Carbon), Ryan Unks (UAB/CONDJUST) and Masresha Taye (African Development Bank).
The discussion will be co-chaired by Dan Brockington (ICTA-UAB) and Adrian Nel (UKZN).
We warmly invite anyone with an interest in rangelands, pastoralism and myths about them, to join, share your stories and rethink how we ‘see’ rangelands and pastoralism.
Think pieces
2 November 2026 Linda Pappagallo & Ryan Unks
Myth: ‘More data means better rangeland management’
There is a widespread assumption that more, greater precision, or higher resolution data will lead to better rangeland management. But the myths behind the demand for ‘more data’ should be carefully examined.
7 October 2026
Green Desertification – Perspectives on the Tunisian Steppe
The myth that healthy ecosystems are green persists around the world – including in Tunisia, where arid lands are wrongly viewed as ‘degraded’.
29 September 2026
Myth: ‘Consultation = Participation’
Labelling a programme or project participatory is a common way to signal its virtuous aims – but too often, aims and decisions are set by experts, external actors or powerful stakeholders.
4 August 2026 Amber Huff , Kevin Kirkman & Maria Vorontsova
Myth: Fire is the enemy
Fires play a crucial role in maintaining thriving grasslands around the world. So why is fire so often portrayed as a wholly destructive force?
1 June 2026 Jeremy Allouche & Linda Pappagallo
Myth: ‘Healthy ecosystems are green’
The idea that ‘green’ ecosystems are automatically more healthy is based on a long history of assumptions about nature.
31 May 2026 Linda Pappagallo
Podcast: Deserts, Saharanism and ‘green’ landscape myths
An interview with Brahim El Guabli about the origins and legacy of bias against deserts in colonial science and culture, and the myth of the default ‘green’ landscape.
10 May 2026 Pablo Manzano
The misunderstood relation between biodiversity and pastoralism
We should question deep rooted assumptions about how pastoralists, livestock and wildlife can co-exist.
28 April 2026 Linda Pappagallo
Myth: ‘People and livestock are bad for biodiversity’
Beyond myths based on stories of lost Paradise or a romantic wilderness, there are diverse ways of seeing the relationships between humans, livestock and wildlife.
8 April 2026 Amber Huff
Myth: Carbon is Carbon
There is a powerful myth at the heart of global carbon markets: the deceptively simple idea that ‘carbon is carbon’.
2 March 2026 Linda Pappagallo
Myth: Pastoralists need more markets to thrive
The myth that pastoralists simply need ‘more markets’ to thrive rests on a set of deeply rooted assumptions about markets and animal husbandry.
2 February 2026 Linda Pappagallo
Myth: Mobility drives conflict
Bias against mobile livelihoods has a long history, through colonial regimes into modern development thinking. But mobility can be a vital tool for connection and resilience.
9 January 2026 Amber Huff
Myth: The tragedy of the commons is inevitable
As the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists calls attention to the global diversity, importance, and governance of the world’s rangelands, the myth of the tragedy of the commons is particularly relevant and illustrative of the power and dangers of universalising and reductive myths.
27 December 2025 Amber Huff & Linda Pappagallo
Rethinking what we think we know about rangelands and pastoralism
In this introductory blog on ‘rangeland myths’ we emphasise the need to rethink what we think we know about rangelands and pastoralism in ways that are open to diverse perspectives, experience and knowledges.
Updates and events - exploring rangeland myths in 2026
In 2026 the REPAiR Project is hosting a series of activities and events to explore ‘rangeland myths’ in global perspective. We offer an open invitation to get involved, share your experiences and stories, and help us to rethink what we think we know about rangelands and pastoralism.
Recordings of talks by our guest speakers are available afterwards as podcast episodes.
Monthly themes for 2026
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January – The tragedy of the commons is inevitable
Think piece – Myth: The tragedy of the commons is inevitable, by Amber Huff
Online conversation – 22 January at 11am GMT. Details on Eventbrite
Podcast: Short talks by Amber Huff and Frank Matose
February – Mobility drives conflict and insecurity
Think piece – Myth: Mobility drives conflict, by Linda Pappagallo
Online conversation – 26 February at 11am GMT. Details on Eventbrite
Podcast: Introduction by Linda Pappagallo and talk by Teklehaymanot Weldemichel
March – Pastoralists need more markets to thrive
Think piece – Myth: Pastoralists need more markets to thrive, by Linda Pappagallo
Online conversation – 26 March at 11am GMT. View on Eventbrite.
Podcast: Introduction by Linda Pappagallo, talks by Timothy Gibbs and Ṣeun Williams, and comments by Ilse Köhler-Rollefson and Lars Otto Naess
April – Carbon is carbon
Think piece – Myth: Carbon is Carbon, by Amber Huff
Online conversation – 23 April at 11am (UK time). View on Eventbrite
Podcast: Talks by Amber Huff, Saverio Krätli, Meenal Tatpati and Ruan de Wet
May – People and livestock are bad for biodiversity
Think piece – Myth: People and livestock are bad for biodiversity, by Linda Pappagallo
Think piece – The misunderstood relation between biodiversity and pastoralism, by Pablo Manzano
Online conversation – 28 May. View on Eventbrite
Podcast: Talks by John Harold, Munib Khanyari and Pablo Manzano
June – Healthy ecosystems are always ‘green’!
Think piece – Myth: Healthy ecosystems are green, by Jeremy Allouche and Linda Pappagallo
Blog – Green Desertification – Perspectives on the Tunisian Steppe, by Ali Hanafi, Irène Carpentier and Hassen Ouerghemmi
Podcast episode – Deserts, Saharanism and ‘green’ landscape myths, interview with Brahim El Guabli
Online conversation – 17 June. View on Eventbrite
Podcast – Discussion and talks: Linda Pappagallo, Igshaan Samuels, Brahim El Guabli, Mmoto Masubelele and Jeremy Allouche
August – Fire is the enemy
Think piece – Myth: Fire is the enemy, by Amber Huff, Kevin Kirkman and Maria Vorontsova
Online conversation – 25 August. View on Eventbrite
Podcast – Introduction by Amber Huff and talks by Elliot Convery-Fisher and Kevin Kirkman
October – Consultation equals participation
Think piece – Myth: Consultation equals Participation, by Linda Pappagallo, Olivia Crowe and Amber Huff
Online conversation – 23 October, with Fozia Noor (Somali Women Pastoralists Network / IYRP Gender & Pastoralism Working Group), Kholosa Magudu and Nosiseko Mtati (Meat Naturally Africa), plus Local Field Officers from MNA. View on Eventbrite
December – More data means better rangeland management
Think piece – Myth: More data means better rangeland management, by Linda Pappagallo and Ryan Unks
Online conversation – 3 December, with Mike Davies (Social Carbon), Ryan Unks (UAB/CONDJUST) and Masresha Taye (African Development Bank) as guest speakers. Our co-chairs for this discussion will be Dan Brockington (ICTA-UAB) and Adrian Nel (UKZN). View on Eventbrite
Send an email to Dr Linda Pappagallo or [email protected] for more information or to get involved – or sign up to the newsletter to receive regular updates.
Global survey on rangeland myths
What forms do myths take in different contexts, places, policies and spaces of debate? How are they used and by whom? What challenges and alternative stories exist, and how can they be amplified? Take our short survey in English, French, Spanish or Italian to share your knowledge and experiences of rangeland myths.