In semi-arid south-western Niger, climatic variability, low productivity, poverty and institutional constraints limit the scope of agricultural production to meet the rising needs of the growing human population. The integration of crop and livestock production activities has long been seen as the most promising means for intensifying agriculture and improving productivity and food security. Livestock play key roles in mediating soil fertility through excreting manure and grazing crop residues and distant pastures.

Watershed management involves the integrated management of a multitude of resources such as crop land, pastures, forests and water to each of which a multitude of often conflicting interests relate. These interests arise from stakeholders inside as well as outside the watershed. The identification and negotiation of these interests therefore is an important element in watershed management.

This field manual provides guidance to support, mapping, planning and management in rangelands. It is based on experiences in Tanzania, but the tools presented can be useful for other contexts too.