IUCN and partners launch new Knowledge Management Platform on Savannahs and Grasslands for Latin America

Latin American countries contain critical grassland and rangeland biodiversity. The region hosts more than 600 million hectares of grasslands, savannahs, and rangelands, forming some of the world’s most extensive and diverse grazing landscapes. These ecosystems range from the high-altitude Puna of the Andes, home to traditional camelid-based pastoralism, to the diverse Pampas, Campos, Chaco, Cerrado, Caatinga, Patagonian rangelands, and the dry corridors extending through Central America and Mexico, which together support exceptional biodiversity and millions of rural livelihoods. Pastoralism remains central to cultural identity and local economies, particularly in countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, and across Mesoamerica, where mobile herding and extensive grazing continue to shape landscapes and livelihoods. Similarly, ranching systems are key to rural economies throughout the region, with countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay advancing modern, sustainable silvopastoral systems.

Grasslands, savannahs, and rangelands of Latin America are facing heightened risks of degradation due to unsustainable intensification of livestock systems and conversion of grazing lands for agricultural purposes. While national approaches to tackling degradation are developing, enhanced regional collaboration is critical for transboundary action to combat the drivers of degradation. 

The Latin America Grasslands and Savannahs Knowledge Platform

"The Latin America Knowledge Community for Grassland and Savannahs platform arrives at a critical time, subsequent to several Resolutions passed by IUCN Members at the IUCN World Conservation Congress and in advance of UNCCD COP17,” said Dr. Grethel Aguilar, IUCN Director General. "This platform will help support Members and countries to achieve global commitments while ensuring these vital ecosystems are conserved for the sake of biodiversity, climate, and the local communities who rely on grasslands, savannahs, and rangelands for their livelihoods and wellbeing." 

"In South America, due to their direct link to important productive activities such as agriculture and livestock farming, grasslands and savannahs have historically received less attention in conservation, sustainable use, and ecosystem restoration efforts, despite the importance of the biodiversity and the ecosystem services these habitats support," said Gabriel Quijandria, Regional Director of the IUCN Regional Office for South America. "The modern world demands a reduction in the environmental footprint of consumption, and this requires defining improved management practices for grasslands and savannahs that explicitly incorporate the role of nature in ensuring long-term benefits for people and reducing negative environmental impacts. The establishment of the Latin American Grassland and Savanna Knowledge Community is an important step toward generating the evidence and knowledge necessary to build this new management model that ensures long-term human wellbeing."

In 2026, the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) will take place alongside the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP17), allowing grasslands, savannahs, rangelands, and their sustainable management to gain increased exposure. With global momentum on the protection of these important ecosystems building across the Rio Conventions, and with a particular focus on South-South knowledge exchange, the establishment of the Latin America Grasslands and Savannahs Knowledge Platform is timely and necessary. This community will strengthen collaboration among policymakers, scientists, local communities, and pastoralists as well as nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society organisations (CSOs).  

The platform aims to strengthen regional knowledge, collaboration, and action for the sustainable management of Latin America’s savannahs and grasslands. Its purpose is to integrate and systematise the diversity of existing experiences, fostering mutual learning and co-creation across sectors and territories. By highlighting the strategic value of these ecosystems for biodiversity, sustainable production, and climate resilience, the platform seeks to connect science, practice, and policy while strengthening technical and political capacities. It also prioritises social and gender inclusion, ensuring that Indigenous peoples, local communities, pastoralists, women, and youth are not only beneficiaries but active contributors and co-creators of knowledge. Ultimately, the platform aspires to generate political influence and coordination across local, national, and regional levels, reducing duplication and enhancing synergies.

To achieve these goals, the platform will undertake a set of concrete activities that translate these objectives into action. These include curating technical resources and case studies, facilitating webinars, exchanges, and communities of practice, and producing communication materials that elevate the importance of savannahs and grasslands. The platform will also support capacity-building efforts, providing training, methodological guidance, and technical support to practitioners and policymakers, while also promoting inclusion by supporting participatory processes that foreground Indigenous and local knowledge. Finally, it will host policy dialogues and coordinate spaces to foster alignment among institutions and countries, strengthening collective action for sustainable rangeland management across the region.

IUCN invites partners, Members, and practitioners from across the region to actively engage with the platform and help shape its continued growth. By fostering collaboration and shared learning, IUCN hopes to cultivate a strong, enduring community of practice dedicated to advancing the conservation and sustainable management of Latin America’s grasslands and savannahs.

A testament to the Union's commitment to conserving under-recognised grassland ecosystems

The launch of this platform comes on the heels of three important new commitments regarding rangelands, savannahs, and grasslands voted on and passed by IUCN Members at the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025. In October, IUCN Members adopted a Resolution on the “Conservation and sustainable management of rangelands and pastoralism.” This Resolution recognises the important role of rangelands in biodiversity conservation, climate action, and human wellbeing, and it declared IUCN’s support for the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) 2026. IUCN Members also adopted a Resolution on the “Protection of biomes and ecosystems threatened by native vegetation conversion,” which highlights the overwhelming conversion of native vegetation in grassland and rangeland ecosystems and urges IUCN Members to prioritise landscape-style management and more effective governance. Finally, IUCN Members adopted a Resolution on the “Protection and restoration of diverse native grasslands” that recognises the importance of grasslands for the wellbeing of the planet and the organisms and people inhabiting it, encouraging greater research on and conservation of these ecosystems.  

Beyond the platform, IUCN is a core partner in the BMUKN-IKI-funded project “Safeguarding overlooked Ecosystems: Protect, Manage and Restore Grasslands and Savannahs in Argentina, Colombia and Paraguay” alongside World Wildlife Fund (WWF),  Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina, Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Agri benchmark, national governments, research institutions, and local stakeholders in the project countries. Through this collaboration, IUCN leads work on global policies, knowledge sharing, and communication. The partnership supports protection, sustainable management, and restoration across the Humid Chaco, Orinoquía, Pampas, and Pantanal regions, helping ensure these ecosystems are better integrated into political agendas and resilient productive landscapes.

Grasslands, savannahs, and rangelands are essential to the wellbeing our planet and the human and non-human organisms that inhabit it. Entering 2026, under the IYRP, UNCCD COP17, and other Rio Conventions, IUCN will continue to build upon its projects and this new platform to ensure these ecosystems continue to provide lasting benefits for generations to come. 

The platform launch event is available to view online.