The Sustainable Rangeland Roundtable (SRR):
• Focused
on identification of social, ecological, and economic indicators of Rangeland
Sustainability..
• Promotes understanding among diverse interest groups, and private and public organizations and agencies.
• Includes representatives from non-governmental organizations, public and private land management professionals, rangeland scientists, and university researchers.
• Meets frequently to identify and develop indicators
and models of Rangeland Sustainability.
• Welcomes new participants and stakeholders interested in Sustainable Rangelands.
VISION STATEMENT
We envision a future in which:
Rangelands
in the United States (1) provide a desired
mix of economic, ecological, and social
benefits
to current and future generations; and (2)
Criteria and indicators for monitoring
and assessing
the economic, social, and ecological
sustainability of rangelands are widely
accepted and used.
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WHAT WE DO
Mission Statement: The SRR will promote social, ecological, and economic sustainability of rangelands through the development and widespread use of the criteria and indicators for rangeland assessments, and by providing a forum for dialogue on sustainability of rangelands.
In April 1999, the USDA Forest Service hosted the Rangelands Criteria and Indicators (C & I) for Sustainability Workshop to discuss sustainability of rangelands and decide whether the C&I would be an appropriate means of measuring progress towards this goal. The 1999 Sustainability Workshop set the stage for the meeting process to begin. For more information on the specific meetings, go to the meetings page.
CRITERIA & INDICATORS
Without an effective way to accurately monitor social, ecological and economic aspects of rangeland sustainability, it is difficult to measure progress toward sustainability. In recent years federal land management agencies have been criticized for a lack of consistent, standardized indicators for reporting the status of rangelands. We need consistent, national baseline information to provide a common language and standards for assessment and planning that will lead to proper and effective decision making. A comprehensive set of "Criteria and Indicators" should provide this tool.
The SRR has identified a set of Criteria and Indicators (C&I). Click here to see the latest list of SRR Core Criteria and Indicators.
SRR GUIDING PRINCIPLES
1.) Collectively, indicators should guide monitoring efforts to measure rangeland sustainability in the U.S. at the national scale. Where possible, indicators should guide monitoring efforts to measure rangeland sustainability at multiple scales.
2.) Ensure that the indicators employ the appropriate temporal and spatial scales for assessing the criteria.
3.) Collectively, criteria and indicators will address social, ecological, and economic aspects of sustainability.
4.) Use a criteria and indicator framework as a common language and operational framework for defining and assessing sustainability. Begin by considering the criteria and indicator framework of the RSF.
5.) Review and consider, as appropriate, other indicator initiatives.
6.) There are numerous policy questions related to rangelands. We will focus on the vision-mission agreed to by the SRR.
7.) The Roundtable process will feature outreach to stakeholders, open dialogue, and respect for differing opinions.
8.) The SRR will be supportive of and compatible with improved on-the-ground management of rangelands.
ORGANIZATIONAL FRAMEWORK
The Roundtable has decided to undertake activities beyond the creation, development, and dissemination of the Sustainable Rangelands Criteria and Indicators. The following four goal statements outline the framework for future roundtable work:
Goal #1 : Promote Paradigms and Practices for Sustainable Rangeland Assessment and Management
Goal #2 : Facilitate the Development of a Multi-Agency Assessment of the Status and Trends of the Ecological, Social, and Economic Aspects of Rangeland Sustainability
Goal #3 : Promote Integrated Ecological, Economic, and Social Research for Rangeland Sustainability
Goal # 4 : Effectively Communicate and Coordinate with Stakeholders and Others Interested and Involved in Sustainable Rangeland Management
A modified organizational framework is necessary address these goals. The SRR organizational structure was recommended and adopted.
Organizational Governance
Secretariat —composed of Roundtable Manager (aka Principal Investigator), Staff (Coordinator--aka Project Analyst—and Webmaster), to support and manage the process of the Roundtable (finances, publications, website, meeting preparation and implementation). Facilitator works with Secretariat to organize and manage meetings of the Roundtable. The Secretariat for SRR has two-way communication with the Roundtable which in turn has two-way communication with the external community of interest in rangelands sustainability.
Roundtable —composed of all participants to further strategic plan goals, objectives, tactics; to discuss and educate; gain “sense of the whole” by sharing experiences and work in progress
Standing Work Groups —corresponding to goals in the strategic plan to organize and undertake the work of the Roundtable (mostly offline, but able to meet periodically with secretariat support) chaired by leaders willing to commit time and accept responsibility for accountability. Work Groups should develop charters to set the boundaries of their work effort corresponding to the goal/objective/tactics of the strategic plan. Goal group chairs will be appointed by the round table manager.
Temporary Work Groups —addressing issues important to the furtherance of the Roundtable necessitating concentrated effort to achieve an objective or tactic of the strategic plan chaired by leaders willing to commit time and accept responsibility for accountability
Meetings of the Roundtable will be held two or three times annually to maintain continuity. Work Groups meet at their own frequency and in the context of Roundtable meetings to share products and receive input. The Delphi process will also be used to garner input and feedback.
Sponsorship
Entities financially sponsoring the SRR will be able to influence the process through the mandates associated with their contributions and through their participation in the Roundtable and Work Groups and the development of the strategic plan.
DEFINITIONS
Rangeland: Areas dominated by self-propagating vegetation comprised predominantly of grasses, grass-likes, forbs, shrubs, and dispersed trees.
Sustainable Development (Brundtland Definition): Development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Includes the economic, social, and ecological realms.
The above definition was first expressed by the Brundtland Commission in its 1987 report, Our Common Future. It infers two key objectives for the United States: (1) an innovative, resource-efficient economy that delivers a desired quality of life, and (2) a healthy natural environment. Sustainable management refers to strategic management approaches taken by national governments, not management of local rangelands.
Development: Using and developing resources in order for people to meet their social and economic needs.
Sustainable Rangeland Management: Management of rangeland ecosystems to provide a desired mix of benefits to the present generation without compromising their ability to provide benefits for future generations.
Criterion: A category of conditions or processes that is an explicit goal of sustainable development or by which sustainable development can be assessed. A criterion is too general in scope to monitor directly, but can be characterized by a set of indicators that can be monitored over time.
A category of capacity, the maintenance of which, is an explicit goal by which sustainable development can be assessed.
Indicator: A variable that can be assessed in relation to a criterion. It should describe attributes of the criterion in an objectively verifiable and unambiguous manner as practicable, and is capable of being estimated periodically in order to detect trends.
Scale: (1) Dimensions in time and space. Note: A dependency between temporal and spatial scales is well recognized in ecology. (2) A progressive classification of ecological and socio-economic systems. (3) In hierarchy theory, scale is the period of time or space over which signals regarding a system are smoothed in order to give a message. Signals come from data that are limited by the grain and extent (spatial and temporal sampling universe).
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