Andean mutual breeding, multifunctional services and pastoral strategies against drought in the Argentine Puna Grasslands

Abstract

Current debates about multifunctional pastoral systems in the drylands of the world have great importance in facing climate change that leads to longer and more severe droughts, increased temperatures, and changes in rainfall, among other phenomena in arid or desert areas. There are different dynamics and pastoralist processes all over the world. Let's take for example the situation in the European Union, where shepherds are seen as economic agents that produce high-quality food and that play an important role in the conservation of the environment (Tchakerian, 2008; Charbonnier, 2012). Their flocks, herds, and territories are subsidized in order to promote the occupation of rural areas, to enhance their popularity and support, to foster local identity, as well as improve conservation of landscapes. On the contrary, in Argentina, the shepherds that live in areas not suitable for agriculture, located in the vast national area representing the Argentine arid diagonal, are considered responsible for so-called anthropic phenomena of desertification (Quiroga Mendiola, 2013). We propose in this paper to question this assessment, by highlighting the main aspects of multifunctional-service pastoralism, especially in coping with periods of prolonged drought. We also seek to foster dialogue through the approach of “pastoralism multifunctional services” in the Southern Andes, with a new approach to “Andean mutual breeding” based on the complete integration of natural and social systems.