Enhance Sustainable Grazing and Wetland Management in Arid and SemiArid Ecosystems Osmond Mugweni Fo

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Enhance Sustainable Grazing and Wetland
Management in Arid and Semi-Arid
Ecosystems(Osmond Mugweni Founder, Principal
Researcher Executive Director, Njeremoto
Biodiversity Institute (Msc, Bsc, Dip Agric, LEAD
and ASHOKA Fellow)Girish Patil MBA Student,
University of Maryland )Site
http//www.njeremoto.org

• Sept, 2007

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Topics

• Institute Overview
• Project Objectives
• Key Participants
• Project Timeline

Website URL http//www.njeremoto.org
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Institute Overview
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Project Objectives
This project is exploring and evolving new
technology for arid semi-arid rangelands
management as well as empowering and capacitating
humans with skills and tools to sustainably
manage the ecosystem while ensuring sustainable
livelihoods for the present and future
generations. The project also helps to further
the development of Njeremoto institutes
capabilities and infrastructure. Opportunity
exists on vast areas of degraded land to utilize
animals (domestic and wildlife) to heal the land,
improve water cycles and build biodiversity,
while enhancing food security, reducing poverty,
and establish ecological stability at a landscape
scale hence positively changing peoples lives.
This is the only known option for intensification
of Arid Semi-Arid Rangelands Productivity.

• Research Areas
• Time controlled grazing, overgrazing, rest and
  animal impact in brittle environments
• Tropical savannahs function, when compared with
  research efforts directed in fields such as
  tropical rain-forest or studies on desert
  environments wet humid western systems
• Sustainable rangelands and wetland utilization
  and management
• Ecological and cultural tourism
• Agro-processing
• Intensification of arid semi arid rangelands
  productivity and stability

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Key Participants
The demonstration and training, done at the
center influences human aspects such as quality
of life and the environment in Zimbabwe and other
Southern African countries.
Local Communities
MSc and PhD student from international and local
institutes will research, monitor and document
the changes and impact on the ecological,
socio-cultural and economic systems. Hence
result in paradigm shift at higher institute of
learning
Arid Semi-Arid Rural Communities and Producers
are trained initially at the Institute and later
at satellite communities through farmer-to-farmer
exchange visits in Zimbabwe and other Southern
African Countries
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Project Timeline and Budget in Euro
Jan 2008 Dec 2008 866 559 Euro
Jan 2009 Dec 2009 674 489 Euro
Jan 2010 Dec 2010 374 489 Euro

• Activities
• Acquire Seed money for the Institute.
• Develop and implement 20 Hector wetland by
  building fences and acquiring appropriate
  equipment for the institute
• Develop and maintain rangeland management units
  at institute .
• Develop and Maintain Orchard and Irrigation.
• Conduct research, document local practises and
  bio diversity
• Conduct fund raising tours
• Manage interns
• End result
• Build Training Agro-processing
• Infrastructure at Institute
• Establish baseline for flora, fauna diversity.
• Compile reports and evaluate research findings.