Under the theme: “Rangelands: Recognize. Respect. Restore.”

Position Paper titled:
Rangelands Under Occupation in the West Bank – Palestine

by: Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Palestinian rangelands in the West Bank are undergoing rapid and accelerating degradation driven by the interaction between climate change and occupation-related restrictions. While climate change is intensifying drought frequency, rising temperatures, and vegetation stress across the Eastern Mediterranean, the situation in Palestine is significantly worsened by structural barriers including settlement expansion, grazing outposts, land confiscation, movement restrictions, and the forced displacement of pastoral communities.

Rangelands covering an estimated 1.5–1.7 million dunums are central to pastoral livelihoods, biodiversity conservation, and ecosystem stability. However, approximately 786,000 dunums (around 14% of the West Bank) are now under effective control through Israeli settlement grazing outposts, severely restricting Palestinian access to traditional grazing areas.

Since 2023, more than 5,600 Palestinians from pastoral communities have been displaced, and at least 38 communities have been fully depopulated. In early 2026 alone, 1,697 Palestinians were displaced, highlighting an escalating trend of land access denial and forced displacement.

This position paper argues that rangeland degradation in the West Bank is not only an environmental phenomenon but a politically driven process of land transformation, where climate stress interacts with structural occupation-related constraints, accelerating desertification and ecosystem collapse.

1. PALESTINIAN RANGELANDS: ECOLOGICAL AND LIVELIHOOD FOUNDATION

Palestinian rangelands are mainly concentrated in the Jordan Valley, eastern slopes, and semi-arid highlands. These ecosystems provide essential environmental services, including soil conservation, biodiversity protection, groundwater recharge, and carbon storage. For generations, pastoral communities have sustained these landscapes through seasonal mobility and adaptive grazing systems that maintained ecological balance in fragile dryland environments.

2. SETTLEMENT EXPANSION AND GRAZING OUTPOSTS

The expansion of Israeli settlements and grazing outposts has fundamentally transformed rangeland governance. According to Peace Now and Kerem Navot (2025), settler grazing outposts now control approximately 786,000 dunums, equivalent to 14% of the West Bank. Although physically small, these outposts extend control over vast surrounding grazing territories and systematically restrict Palestinian pastoral access, fragmenting continuous rangeland systems into isolated and inaccessible zones.

3. FORCED DISPLACEMENT OF PASTORAL COMMUNITIES

According to OCHA (2023–2026), more than 5,600 Palestinians have been displaced from rural and Bedouin communities due to settler violence and access restrictions. At least 38 communities have been fully emptied, particularly in the Jordan Valley and eastern slopes. In early 2026 alone, 1,697 people were displaced, reflecting an intensifying pattern of forced removal linked to the loss of access to grazing lands and water resources.

4. CLIMATE CHANGE AS A MULTIPLIER OF VULNERABILITY

Climate change is intensifying environmental stress through rising temperatures, declining rainfall, prolonged droughts, and increased evapotranspiration. However, in functional pastoral systems, these pressures are typically mitigated through mobility and adaptive grazing strategies. In the West Bank, these adaptive mechanisms are severely constrained, making climate change a risk multiplier rather than a standalone driver, accelerating land degradation and ecosystem collapse.

5. ECOLOGICAL DEGRADATION AND DESERTIFICATION

Restricted access to rangelands creates a dual ecological crisis. In inaccessible areas, vegetation biomass accumulates, increasing wildfire risk and reducing biodiversity. In accessible areas, overgrazing leads to soil compaction, erosion, and declining productivity. This dual dynamic accelerates desertification processes.

At the same time, settlement infrastructure, bypass roads, and closed military zones fragment the landscape, disrupting ecological connectivity, wildlife movement, and natural regeneration processes, further weakening ecosystem resilience.

6. SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS

Rangeland degradation directly undermines pastoral livelihoods and rural economies. Livestock production is increasingly dependent on purchased feed, raising production costs and reducing herd sizes. This leads to declining incomes, weakened food systems, and increased rural vulnerability, making rangeland loss both an environmental and development crisis.

7. DESERTIFICATION AS A POLITICAL–ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESS

Desertification in the West Bank results from the interaction between climate change and structural political constraints, including land confiscation, settlement expansion, grazing outposts, forced displacement, restricted access to water and land, and the breakdown of traditional pastoral governance systems. These combined pressures generate a reinforcing feedback loop of ecological decline and livelihood erosion.

8. POLICY IMPLICATIONS

This situation represents a clear case of environmental injustice with direct implications for the UNCCD framework, the Sustainable Development Goals, and global climate adaptation strategies. Without addressing structural barriers to land access and mobility, climate adaptation interventions will remain insufficient to halt rangeland degradation.

9. POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

Urgent action is required to ensure Palestinian access to traditional grazing lands, halt the expansion of settlement grazing outposts, protect pastoral communities from violence and displacement, and integrate rangeland restoration into climate adaptation and land degradation neutrality frameworks. Community-based rangeland governance and ecological monitoring systems should be strengthened, and pastoral communities must be formally recognized as key stewards of dryland ecosystems.

Palestinian rangelands are at a critical tipping point where climate change and occupation-related pressures converge. While climate change intensifies environmental stress, the primary driver of degradation is the restriction of access and mobility essential for sustainable pastoral systems. Restoring these ecosystems requires restoring rights, access, and ecological stewardship to pastoral communities.

KEY REFERENCES

Peace Now & Kerem Navot (2025); OCHA oPt (2023–2026); Yesh Din (2025); OHCHR (2024–2026); ARIJ–POICA (2022–2023); B’Tselem; FAO; UNCCD; UNEP.