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Pastoralists have a unique relationship of mutual dependency with their livestock and their environment; the uniqueness of this relationship distinguishes them from other livestock keepers. They depend highly on the environment where they develop their livelihood, that they make productive through highly adapted animals, but at the same time the quality of this environment depends on how well they take care of it, which in turns depends on complex social regulations and on large-scale mobility. The way they keep their animals forms part of their daily life and of a complex culture. Pastoralism is widely understood as an extensive livestock production system in the rangelands, with mobility as one of its distinguishing characteristics. Mobility enables the pastoralists to inhabit lands that are considered otherwise marginal, scattered and unproductive Relying on common property resources, reducing risks and increasing resilience greatly increases the productivity of herds in the highly heterogeneous landscapes that pastoralists make their living on. Concentrations of pastoralist populations can thus be found in areas with extreme temperatures, highly variable rainfall and difficult environments that are largely unsuitable for agriculture. For centuries, pastoralists achieved a social, cultural, environmental and economic balance in these unpredictable ecosystems by developing highly adaptable and sustainable livestock production systems.
