Conditions and changing capacity. Grasslands today support some of the highest livestock densities in Africa, but much of this dry area is classified as strongly or extremely degraded. Worldwide, 55 percent of all grasslands are considered susceptible drylands, and one-fifth of those are now degraded by human activity.

Data quality. Soil degradation can be determined globally, but assessment often relies on expert opinion, and the scale of the data is too coarse to apply to national policies. Data on livestock density in grasslands include global and some regional coverage, but only for domestic animals. We still lack corresponding studies of vegetation, soil condition, management practices, and long-term resilience. Data on meat production are available globally, but meat produced from livestock raised in feedlots cannot be separated from meat produced from range-fed livestock.