Holistic Management, Third Edition: A Commonsense Revolution to Restore Our EnvironmentFossil fuels and livestock grazing are often targeted as major culprits behind climate change and desertification. But Allan Savory, cofounder of the Savory Institute, begs to differ. The bigger problem, he warns, is our mismanagement of resources. Livestock grazing is not the problem; it’s how we graze livestock. If we don’t change the way we approach land management, irreparable harm from climate change could continue long after we replace fossil fuels with environmentally benign energy sources. Holistic management is a systems-thinking approach for managing resources developed by Savory decades ago after observing the devastation of desertification in his native Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Properly managed livestock are key to restoring the world’s grassland soils, the major sink for atmospheric carbon, and minimizing the most damaging impacts on humans and the natural world. This book updates Savory's paradigm-changing vision for reversing desertification, stemming the loss of biodiversity, eliminating fundamental causes of human impoverishment throughout the world, and climate change. Reorganized chapters make it easier for readers to understand the framework for Holistic Management and the four key insights that underlie it. New color photographs showcase before-and-after examples of land restored by livestock. This long-anticipated new edition is written for new generations of ranchers, farmers, eco- and social entrepreneurs, and development professionals working to address global environmental and social degradation. It offers new hope that a sustainable future for humankind and the world we depend on is within reach. |
Contents
Four Key Insights | 14 |
The Holistic Context | 70 |
The Ecosystem That Sustains Us All | 94 |
The Tools We Use To Manage Our Ecosystem | 158 |
Holistic Decision Making | 260 |
Guidelines For Using The Management Tools | 326 |
Procedures And Processes Unique to Holistic Management | 410 |
Completing The Feedback Loop | 482 |
Other editions - View all
Holistic Management, Third Edition: A Commonsense Revolution to Restore Our ... Allan Savory No preview available - 2016 |
Holistic Management: A Commonsense Revolution to Restore Our Environment Allan Savory,Jody TH=Butterfield No preview available - 2016 |
Common terms and phrases
actions Africa agriculture animal impact areas biodiversity biological communities brittle environments brittleness scale brush burning cattle cause chapter community dynamics complex context checks costs create croplands crops damage decision desertification developed dollars energy flow ensure enterprise environmental farm farmers feed fencing Figure fire forage forest four ecosystem processes future resource base grass plants grassland gross profit growing season growth hectares herd effect holistic context Holistic Financial Planning Holistic Management framework Holistic Planned Grazing human increase insects land livestock living organisms living soil marginal reaction microorganisms millions mineral cycle monitoring monocultures move nonbrittle environments numbers nutrients overgrazing paddock partial rest perennial grasses populations predators problem production rainfall ranch ranchers recovery periods roots soil cover soil surface species stock density sustain tend tool total rest trampling trees tsetse fly vegetation water cycle weak link weakest link whole wildlife woody plants Zimbabwe