Anusree studied the Holocene paleoecology of the Banni grasslands for her PhD in an attempt to explain the various drivers of ecosystem changes over the past several millennia. She used soil cores and multiple proxies including pollen, stable isotopes, charcoal, herbivore dung and fungal spores towards reconstructing vegetation, climate, fire events and patterns of herbivory over the very long term.

Pillai, A. A., Anoop, A., Sankaran, M., Sanyal, P., Jha, D. K., & Ratnam, J., 2017. Mid-late Holocene vegetation response to climatic drivers and biotic disturbances in the Banni grasslands of western India. Palaeogeography, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology, 485, 869-878.

Pillai, A. A., Anoop, A., Prasad, V., Manoj, M. C., Varghese, S., Sankaran, M., & Ratnam, J., 2018. Multi-proxy evidence for an arid shift in the climate and vegetation of the Banni grasslands of western India during the mid-to late-Holocene. The Holocene, 28(7), 1057-1070.

Basu, S., Sanyal, P., Pillai, A. A., & Ambili, A., 2019. Response of grassland ecosystem to monsoonal precipitation variability during the Mid-Late Holocene: Inferences based on molecular isotopic records from Banni grassland, western India. PloS one, 14(4), e0212743.

Banni has been significantly transformed in the past few decades by Prosopis juliflora, an introduced nitrogen-fixing tree that has invaded almost half of the Banni. To some, this exemplifies successful ‘wasteland reclamation.’ But P. juliflora has replaced native trees and grassland, altered habitats for birds and animals, and reduced grazing areas for livestock. P. juliflora has also spawned a parallel charcoal economy, profoundly affecting pastoralists’ livelihoods and cultures. In the process, it has created trade-offs between charcoal-based livelihoods and pastoralist livelihoods, between carbon converted to charcoal and carbon sequestered, and between livestock and wildlife. This project, funded by USAID’s programme on Partnership for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER), aims to develop a predictive understanding of the P. juliflora spread with climate change and to evaluate the extent to which it is possible to remove P. juliflora and restore Banni’s grasslands. The project addresses questions such as whether it is ecologically feasible to restore these grasslands or whether P. juliflora has transformed them irreversibly; also, whether it is socio-economically feasible to completely restore grasslands, or whether charcoal-based livelihoods are here to stay. To this end, the project is also developing a systems dynamics model of the Banni that could serve as a decision support tool to share with stakeholders to evaluate alternative management options and their implications for the ecological and socioeconomic resilience of Banni. Click here for more details.

Arid and semi-arid grasslands have often been seen as wastelands, and nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoralists as backward, in need of being brought into the mainstream. Development interventions have often resulted in sedentarisation and rangeland fragmentation in different parts of the world. On the other hand, there is a growing knowledge base that argues in support of pastoral mobility, from an adaptive and ecological standpoint. Recent debates around social justice and common property institutions, have resulted in pastoral mobility being introduced back into rangeland management policies. Turner (2011) calls this the New Pastoral Development Paradigm. So far, these ideas have not been effective on the ground, which demands in-depth studies that explain possible reasons for its failure. By understanding the functioning of various actors present in the Banni, Ovee intends to centrally engage with the concerns relating to the ineffectiveness of the new rangeland development paradigm. After years of state control, these grasslands have become opened to a multitude of actors and interests. NGOs, who are the main actors now, envision these landscapes as a commons. Amidst increasing agriculture, resorts, dairy units, chemical industries, and tourism festivals in the landscape, a main question asked in this study is, is it possible to treat Banni as a commons?

“Novel ecosystems” is a framework that takes into account the novel state of the transformed system, and the novel benefits it might offer, so as to develop alternative management plans. This framework recognizes that transformed systems are viewed with value-based filters, and thus allows for a recognition of socio-economic barriers, in addition to ecological barriers, in any restoration to a former state. Ramya uses this framework in Banni where the introduced Prosopis juliflora, has transformed the landscape ecologically, socio-economically and culturally. With the hypothesis that Banni is now a novel ecosystem as a result of this invasion, her main objective is to understand the socioeconomic impacts of this invasion on all communities of the Banni, towards the development of an inclusive management plan for Banni.

This study is focussed on assessing the impact of landscape changes -- specifically Prosopis juliflora invasion, agriculture and free-ranging dog population -- on the predator, prey, and scavenger guild in the arid landscape of western India. The carnivore community of the landscape is mainly composed of four species of wild canids, the Indian fox, Vulpes bengalensis, the desert fox, Vulpes vulpes pusilla, the golden jackal, Canis aureus, and the Indian wolf, Canis lupus. For the mesocarnivore guild, rodents are the main prey community in the landscape. Resident and migratory species of vultures form the major scavenger guild in the study area. Apart from changing land-cover through invasive species and agriculture expansion, a major change in the landscape occurred during the 1990s when a 99% decline of Gyps vulture populations was reported across the country. It has been hypothesized that this massive decline has allowed the population of free-ranging domestic dogs to grow exponentially, with attendant risks of disease transmission.

Baseline vegetation monitoring of the dynamic Banni landscape has been one of RAMBLE’s major goals from the start. This has involved annual documentation and analysis of herbaceous and woody vegetation. For this, numerous fixed transects located over the Banni are used to enumerate the vegetation diversity and abundance using the point intercept method. Detailed measurements of woody vegetation, particularly Prosopis juliflora are also carried out alongside.

With support from the Axis Bank Foundation, Sahjeevan is working closely with panchayat-level Community Forest Management Committees to clear Prosopis juliflora from a portion of the Banni as part of an effort aimed at restoring the Banni grassland. The project is also supporting work aimed at restoring lands that have been encroached upon for purposes of cultivation. Sahjeevan and RAMBLE staff is involved with monitoring a range of vegetation parameters (biomass, diversity, species richness) in response to these interventions.

Many schools and colleges from various parts of the country have participated in education and outreach programmes undertaken in collaboration with RAMBLE. These are largely structured around orienting urban school children to the cultural, economic and ecological dimensions of pastoral lives. This is not a structured programme so far, but there is an ongoing discussion of what one might look like. RAMBLE currently hosts the Salim Mama Course on Pastoral Ecosystems aimed at youth interested in working on pastoralism.

Salim Node was a respected agyavan - a pastoralist leader who broght togther not just the local community but other actors who supported the land rights movement in Banni. He could engage with people effortlessly, often showcasing deep knowledge and understanding of the livestock, grass species, and wildlife in the landscape. Salim Mama Course in Pastoral Ecology, named in his memory, aims to involve the local youth in forming a holistic understanding of the landscape so that they can undertake their own projects.

Any individual in the age group 18 - 25 may participate in this six month long course, although it primarily targets the youth of Banni and MSc (Environmental Science) students of Kutch University. 

The objective of the course is to help students understand the connections between pastoralism and pastoral ecosystems, and better develop the necessary skills to work actively on issues related to pastoralism. The course is offered twice a year and will be managed by Sahjeevan with support from the Earth Science Department of Kutch University. Sahjeevan, CfP staff, ATREE, and Kutch University faculty, along with a variety of guest faculty will teach the course. Sahjeevan will invite pastoral Bhagia’s (knowledge bearers), conservation biologists, sociologists and legal experts to help design and teach the course. 

As part of this course, students will get to use the ongoing implementation of the grassland restoration by Community Forest Management Committees as an opportunity to learn planning, implementation, monitoring, and research. They will also be taken for learning exposures outside the Banni. That pastoral and MSc students are learning together will provide valuable cross-cultural learning opportunities. 

The hope is that over a two-year period, each Community Forest Management Committee will send 2-3 youth to participate in the course, and that over time these will become the key functionaries of their respective CMFCs. In time, the course may be offered to youth from pastoral communities in other parts of the country.