Grasslands and Climate Change 2026

Context: The United Nations has declared 2026 as the International Year for Rangelands and Pastoralists, renewing global attention on grasslands.

• Recent climate negotiations continue to prioritise forests, prompting debate on why grasslands must be integrated into national climate plans and NDCs.

About Grasslands and Climate Change 2026:

What are grasslands?

• Grasslands are open ecosystems dominated by grasses, with few or no trees, found across savannahs, steppes, prairies, and rangelands.
• They cover ~40% of Earth’s land surface and support pastoral livelihoods, wildlife, and soil-based carbon storage.

Why grasslands matter in climate action?

• Stable carbon sinks through underground sequestration: Nearly 90% of grassland carbon is stored below ground in deep root systems, protecting it from surface disturbances unlike forest biomass.

E.g. Stanford University (2025) found grassland soil carbon uptake rose by 8% under higher CO₂, while forest soils showed no comparable gain.

• Fire resilience and carbon permanence: Forest fires release most stored carbon instantly, whereas grassland fires leave soil carbon intact, allowing rapid ecological recovery.

E.g. Western US prairie studies (2024–25) show grasslands remain net carbon sinks even under frequent fire regimes.

• Natural climate cooling via albedo effect: Grasslands reflect more solar radiation than dark forest canopies, reducing local heat absorption and surface warming.

E.g. IPBES Land Report (2025) highlights grasslands’ cooling role in semi-arid climate zones.

• Hydrological regulation and drought buffering: Dense grass roots act as sponges, improving groundwater recharge and reducing runoff during extreme rainfall events.

E.g. Senegal’s National Adaptation Plan (2025) restored 2 million hectares of grasslands in the Ferlo Reserve to curb drought–flood cycles.

Global policy bias: forests over grasslands

• Forest-centric climate finance architecture: Global climate funds disproportionately target forests, sidelining grasslands despite comparable mitigation potential.
  E.g. COP30 (Belém, Brazil) focused heavily on forests through the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF).
• Institutional silos across UN conventions: Climate (UNFCCC), biodiversity (CBD), and desertification (UNCCD) operate separately, fragmenting grassland governance.

E.g. Grasslands receive stronger recognition under UNCCD COP16 (Saudi Arabia) than under UNFCCC negotiations.

• Exclusion from Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs): Most countries mention forests explicitly in NDCs while ignoring grasslands as carbon sinks.

E.g. India’s NDC targets 2.5–3 billion tonnes CO₂ sink via forests, omitting grasslands.

• Misclassification as “wastelands”: Productive grasslands are officially labelled as degraded land, legitimising conversion.

E.g. India’s Wasteland Atlas historically included grazing commons and savannah ecosystems.

Implications of declining grasslands:

• Accelerated biodiversity loss: Open-habitat species face “extinction by afforestation” when trees replace grasslands.

E.g. Brazil’s Cerrado loses grassland area twice as fast as the Amazon, threatening endemic fauna.

• Weakened climate resilience: Degraded grasslands increase vulnerability to desertification and flash floods.

E.g. Australia’s desert rangelands (2024–25) show rising flood–drought volatility due to invasive buffel grass.

• Loss of pollination services: Grasslands support pollinators critical to global food systems.

E.g. FAO estimates grassland-dependent pollinators support ~35% of global crop production.

• Displacement of pastoral and indigenous communities: Conversion restricts mobility and traditional livelihoods.

E.g. Charanka Solar Park, Gujarat (2025) displaced semi-nomadic herders by fencing grassland commons.

The way forward:

• Recognise grasslands as Open Natural Ecosystems (ONEs): Shift policy language from “wastelands” to ecologically valuable systems.

E.g. India (2026) moving toward ONE classification in land-use planning.

• Integrate grasslands into NDCs: Explicit inclusion unlocks climate finance and policy priority.

E.g. Brazilian researchers (2025) urged inclusion of Cerrado grasslands in national NDC updates.

• Adopt ecosystem-based climate planning: Balance forests, grasslands, wetlands, and mangroves in mitigation strategies.

E.g. WWF–IUCN report (COP30) recommended cross-biome carbon accounting.

• Secure community land rights and governance: Indigenous stewardship improves ecological outcomes.

E.g. Indigenous Desert Alliance (Australia) uses cultural burning to protect desert grasslands.

• Incentivise sustainable grazing and PES models: Reward soil carbon enhancement through pastoral practices.