A second set of free downloads of hard-to-obtain documents on the rangelands of Central Somalia is now available. This installment includes survey and research results produced by the Central Rangelands Development Project https://storiesofeastafrica.com/reports-by-somalia-crdp/. Reports by other agencies will follow in future texts.
REPORTS BY RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH, LONDON.
This announces the availability of free downloads for the first set of hard-to-obtain reports on the rangelands of Central Somalia. https://storiesofeastafrica.com/reports-on-the-rangelands-of-central-somalia/
This post includes surveys and maps carried out in 1979 by Resource Management and Research (RMR), London. Reports by other agencies will follow in future posts.
(Featured image: Dr. Tom Thurow and Somalia National University students collecting rangeland composition data on the coastal plains of Central Somalia.)
Because Its rangelands are Somalia’s primary natural resource, a considerable amount of research has been carried out over the last several decades to determine their productive potential and how they may best be managed. Unfortunately, much of the resulting information was not widely published and is, therefore, now difficult to obtain. This post is the first of several to at least partially remedy this situation by making available digital copies of relevant publications and reports for free downloads
Featured image: Eleusine jaegeri, a large tussock grass, dominates the highland grasslands of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. It is unpalatable except when young. Consequently, grazing pressure is confined to an underlying mat of palatable grasses (Andropogon, Cynodon, Digitaria, Sporobolus) which is kept low by constant usage.
Several months ago I made digital copies of the Range Management Handbook of Kenya available online. The response was so positive that I’ve decided to continue with other difficult-to-obtain publications on eastern Africa’s rangelands. Today I’m happy to announce the online availability of several digitized publications on the rangelands of Tanzania!
During the mid 1960’s and 70’s I was involved in, among other things, surveys of vegetation in Tanzania. Whenever possible, I also obtained copies of other surveys and studies, six of which I have digitized. Published between 1967 and 1978, they are now out of print and hard to obtain. Nonetheless, they may still have some value, be that for planning, instructional, research, or historical purposes.
If you find these useful, please do let me know!
Also, if you have paper copies of additional publications on the rangelands of Tanzania and would like me to digitize them and make them available, please send me an email.
Featured image: Production risk due to lack of rainfall in Marsabit District
Now available for free downloads: digitized copies of the 22 reports (3 volumes) comprising the Range Management Handbook of Kenya.
For information on rangeland resources, climatology, livestock diseases, constraints facing range development, and much more, go to the sidebar and click on Range Management Handbook of Kenya. Alternatively, click on storiesofeastafrica.com/range-management-handbook-of-kenya/
Some examples of newly available reports / maps appear below.
District-wide maps provide inventories of natural resources and their ecological status
Environmental degradation is ongoing in the rangelands of East Africa. This guide shows how to identify and monitor soil erosion in arid and semi-arid lands.
Camels, which typify arid rangelands, have, in recent years, also become a presence in semi-arid rangelands. See this report for tips on how to manage them.