FS 3.223: Mountain Transhumance under social-ecological transformations

In the last decades, Mountain transhumance has become in focus of researchers, governments and institutions as a sustainable and resilient way of food production, that can be an important contributing factor to the necessary transition towards sustainable food production. But transhumance, as most of the livestock farming systems, is facing numerous challenges associated with the ongoing social-ecological transformations (driven by climate change, demographic change, globalization, change in consume patterns, new technologies, etc.). In this Focus Session we aim to compare case studies from different continents, focusing in how in each context, transhumance is targeting the mentioned challenges, like water shortage, increasing temperatures, land ownership, intergenerational renewal, competition with other (economic) activities, changes in the animal and pasture managements, among others. Additionally, a book entitled “Past, Current, and Future Challenges/Changes in Mountain Transhumance” will be published by the HIGHLANDS.3 Project by the end of the first semester of 2025, approximately three months before IMC 2025. The book will include about twenty case studies of transhumance, featuring three to five each from Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Europe. We invite scientists from different disciplines and practitioners to share their research and experiences in this transdisciplinary session.