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A couple days ago someone mentioned communal lands with a specific interest in communal grazing lands and seeking some discussion on the issue. It is a good and important issue. However, it is more a sociological issue than technical issue. That is because the most productive forage grasses and legumes are indigenous to the tropics and thus most developing countries with communal grazing lands. Thus the carrying capacity of these lands could be greatly increased. It really gets tied up in what is often called the "tragedy of the commons". That is when each individual acting as the individual entrepreneur maximizes their returns to the resource by crowding as many animal on the area as they can. The animals naturally are in poor conditions and if maintained like that in the US and I assume UK and EU would result in fines and possible incarceration. Also, the land continually deteriorates as the vegetation shifts to the less palatable species and what remains is grazed down to the root so it can be easily eroded. However, from the individual farmer's perspective it make the best economic sense and use of the resource. The "tragedy of the commons" applies not only to grazing lands but to any communal resource including communal forest and community reforestation projects. I am not certain what you can do about because it basic human nature and under the circumstance good economics. Dick Tinsley ============================================================= To send a reply to this message that goes to all list members, make sure that you send your reply to <address removed> To unsubscribe from this list, send an email to "<address removed>", with the message body: unsubscribe science-and-technology <your-email-address>
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