AWARD YEAR
2015
CATEGORY
Community
GOALS
Life On Land
KEYWORDS
desertification, agriculture, biomimicry
COUNTRY
United States of America
DESIGNED BY
Allan Savory, Savory Institute
WEBSITE
http://www.savoryinstitute.com/
HOLISTIC PLANNED GRAZING / HOLISTIC MANAGEMENT
A systems thinking approach to prevent desertification that was originally developed by Allan Savory
Holistic Management results in ecologically regenerative, economically viable and socially sound management of the world’s grasslands. The Savory Institute, through community-based Savory Hubs, empowers people to properly manage livestock to heal the land. This approach has 4 main principles: -Nature functions as a holistic community with a mutualistic relationship between people, animals and the land. If any of the keystone species is removed, it would have unexpected and wide ranging negative impacts on other areas of the environment. -Any agricultural planning system must be flexible enough to adapt to nature’s complexity, since all environments are different and have constantly changing local conditions. -Animal husbandry using domestic species can be used as a substitute for lost keystone species, mimicking nature. -It is crucial to understand how long to use the land for agriculture and how long to rest.