TABLE of CONTENTS: The ecosystem's building blocks

8. Water cycle

9. Nutrient cycle

10. Energy flow

11. Ecological succession

The bespectacled crocodile by John Hall An illustrated manual for facilitating Holistic Management in pastoral communities.

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Introduction to the four blocks of the ecosystem (5 minutes)

                Bring the group over to a traditional hutt near the meeting place, and have them observe how it is constructed.

¨      The first things to be erected are the four corner pillars of the house.

¨      Why are they so important? (Answer: they give the house its shape and solidity.)

¨      Then have the group reflect on our environment. In the participants’ view, what are the most important pillars of our environment? (The group does not need to provide a correct answer at this point. Just asking the question is enough.)

Explain then that the next four training sessions will be devoted to the four “pillars” or “building blocks” of the ecosystem.

¨      Display the icon for the ecosystem (the four pillars of a house, as it happens), and indicate what it means.

Conclude the introduction by announcing that they will first study the water cycle.

PEDAGOGIC ANALYSIS

Desired situation:

¨      Community members can explain that, although they have no power over the amount of rainfall, they can enhance the effectiveness of the rain that they do get.

¨      Community members have a comprehensive understanding of the water cycle that takes into account, in addition to rainfall, what happens to this water at the level of the soil (e.g., percolation, runoff, evaporation, etc.).

¨      They are able to identify factors that determine the efficiency of the water cycle (denuded soil, hardpan, erosion, runoff, percolation, evaporation, etc.).

¨      They are able to manage their grazing lands in a way that improves the water cycle.

Current situation

¨      Herders are more concerned with the volume of precipitation than with where it goes, especially when it cannot penetrate the hard soil crust.

Disparity between current and desired situation

¨      Herders are not sufficiently aware that a given quantity of precipitation can be exploited in many ways depending on whether or not it enters into the soil (i.e., in the form of effective rain).

Objectives of the module

By the end of the session, participants shall be able to:

¨      describe the water cycle;

¨      explain how, although they cannot influence the quantity of rain, they can make increase its impact, effectively making it rain “more”;

¨      describe the factors influencing the water cycle;

¨      explain the relationship between “useful” water, percolation and the hard soil crust.

LOGISTICS

Target group:

The choice of target group is left up to the community and the outreach team. It is good for the entire community to be initiated into the basics of holistic management, although it is more efficient to work with a smaller group that is more directly involved. In the latter case, the target group shall be made up of at least the following:

¨      pastoral management committee;

¨      the community’s pastoral auxiliaries;

¨      herdsmen or herd guardians.

SARAR exercises used in the module:

Variation on unserialized posters (Srinavasan, p. 89)

Hands-on demonstration of percolation and run-off.

Graphic supports and demonstration material:

Folder # 08

¨      Arrows made of colored paper (about 10)

¨      Series of images pertaining to the "water cycle"

¨      A place, close to the meeting site, where the soil is compacted and where it will be possible to demonstrate water percolation

¨      Watering can

¨      hoe to loosen the soil

¨      generic icon for “ecosystem's building blocks” (four pillars of a house)

¨      specific icon for “water cycle”

Approximate duration of the module: 

                   1 hour      

IMPLEMENTATION

1.    Introduction (5 minutes)

Introduce the session by asking the following questions:

¨      Has the quantity of rain received by the village varied in recent years?

¨      Can one change the quantity of rain that falls? For example, can it be doubled?

¨      Since this is impossible, what can one do to take better advantage of the quantity of rain that is available?

Explain that the group will now study ways of better managing the limited amount of water available.

2. Structured exercise on the “water cycle" (10 minutes)

Put the series of random images pertaining to the "water cycle" down on the mat, in the midst of the participants.

Invite participants to study the series of images carefully for a few minutes, and then explain what they see. Help them to express themselves, if necessary, by asking questions such as the following:

¨      Of the three scenarios pictured (water soaking in, water running off, water evaporating) which one do they think is the most preferable ? Why ?

¨      When they look at the image of water rising back up to the sky, ask them what is really happening there.

¨      What is the difference between the two images that show clouds?

¨      How are clouds formed? What feeds them?

¨      Do plants take advantage of all the rain that falls ? If not, why not?

3. Recreating the water cycle (10 minutes)

Put the images and the arrows back down on the mat in the middle of the group and in no particular order, and then ask participants to study the images again. This time, they are to arrange them, using the arrows, in a way that shows what actually happens in nature. (see illustration above)

If necessary, ask the following questions:

¨      What relationships can one see among the images? (Allow the group enough time to come up with an answer.)

¨      Refer back to the discussion at the beginning of the session: if the quantity of rain cannot be increased, can one do something to better utilize the water that actually does fall to earth?

¨      How could one improve the situation, given the fact that one cannot make it rain more?

¨      What happens to the water that soaks into the ground? (Answer: it becomes available to plants, it replenishes the water table and, hence, the wells.)

4. Hands-on demonstration (10 minutes)

This exercise illustrates the type of soil treatment that can help to better exploit rain by making it more effective.

¨      Lead the group to a spot of ground previously selected for this purpose, and gather participants around it in a circle.

¨      The demonstration consists of showing that water behaves differently depending on whether the soil is loose (after having been worked with a tool) or has a hard crust;

¨      Pour identical amounts of water on two spots. The water poured onto loosened soil obviously sinks in quickly, whereas the water poured onto the hard crust remains on the surface or trickles away.

¨      Ask participants to explain what they see and to comment on it.

5.    Processing and lessons learned (10 minutes)

Ask participants the following questions:

¨      Based on what the group has just seen, what happens on the grazing area when it rains? Does the water soak in, or does it run off?

¨      Given this observation, and knowing that it is better if water can soak in, what is the disadvantage of compacted soils covered by a hard crust?

¨      Has the level of the village’s water table varied over the past few years? Has it gone up or down? How can this be explained?

6.    Conclusions / Applications (10 minutes)

¨      What conclusions can one draw from this demonstration and from the discussion of the water cycle ?

¨      Isn’t it obvious, in the end, that a faulty water cycle (i.e., one in which a large portion of rain is lost to run-off) can be just as serious a problem as a drought?

7.    Application and transition to the next session (5 minutes)

§         How can these ideas be applied to the landscape around us?

ü      Is the idea new to participants, or did they already know it?

ü      If it was already known, was the knowledge applied? If so, how?

ü      Why is this lesson important?

§         Agree with the group on an icon/symbol that will stand for the “water cycle” for the rest of the training program: e.g., a small gray cloud over green vegetation.

§         In order to encourage the group to start thinking about how to get water to penetrate instead of running off, make it clear that this will be studied later, but that we first need to study the “health” of the soil, which will constitute the second building block of the ecosystem: i.e., the “nutrient cycle.”

NOTE TO THE FACILITATOR

q       In this module, it is important to identify in advance the spot where the demonstration will be conducted so that the demonstration is as convincing as possible.

q       Prior to the session, you have to check that the five images and five arrows for the “water cycle” are available, since the group will need a complete set.

q       For field demonstration, you need a local team member to help by selecting the demonstration site and to ensure that the required material is available.

PEDAGOGIC ANALYSIS

Desired situation:

¨      Herders are familiar with the cyclical nature of nutrient circulation (for mineral and organic matter) in the soil.

¨      They are capable of managing their grazing areas in a way that enhances the cycle of mineral and organic matter.

Current situation

¨      Aside from manure, (the value of which is recognized by farmers), most herders are unaware of the importance of the cycle of mineral and organic matter in terms of soil fertility and grazing land productivity.

¨      They have a simplistic notion of soil fertility (i.e., soils are either sterile or fertile.)

Disparity between current and desired situation

¨      Absence of a dynamic perception of soil fertility.

Objectives of the module

By the end of the session, participants shall be able to:

¨      explain the nutrient cycle;

¨      explain the relationship existing between soil fertility and the nutrient cycle;

¨      distinguish between a good nutrient cycle and a faulty one.

LOGISTICS

Target group:

The choice of target group is left up to the community and the outreach team. In the latter case, the target group shall consist of at least the following :

¨                  pastoral management committee;

¨                  the community’s pastoral auxiliaries;

¨                  herdsmen or herd guardians.

SARAR exercise utilized in the module:

Variation on unserialized posters (Srinavasan, p.89)

Nutrient cycle structured exercise

Graphic supports and demonstration materials

Folder # 9

¨      Arrows made of colored paper (about 10)

¨      Series of unserialized posters on the "nutrient cycle"

¨      Specific icon for the "nutrient cycle" (pile of cow manure)

Approximate duration of the module:         

                   45 minutes

IMPLEMENTATION

1. Introduction (5 minutes)

                If some time has elapsed since the preceding session, have participants summarize the most important things they retained from the study of the first building block of the ecosystem, i.e., the water cycle.

As a follow-up to the preceding exercise (on the water cycle), introduce the notion of soil fertility by asking questions such as the following:

¨      Do plants develop just as well in sand as they do in good soil ? If not, why not ?

¨      Is water the only factor affecting a field’s productivity ? If not, what other factors might play a role ?

¨      Other ?

2. Images of the nutrient cycle (mineral and organic matter) (20 minutes)

¨      Since you are going to focus on the role of organic and mineral matter, take care to employ the appropriate vernacular terms (see Annex # 5) and ensure that the group understands what you are talking about.

¨      Place the stack of random images on the “nutrient cycle” in the middle of the group; ask participants to study these images carefully for a few minutes and to discuss, amongst themselves, the relationships they see between them.

¨      Next, as was done with the water cycle, have them arrange these images on the mat, using the arrows to depict a sequence that seems logical to them, thus illustrating the relationships that might exist among them. (See illustration above)

¨      Have the group present the results of their organizing the images;

¨      In wirking through with the particitants, take care that the relationships existing between all elements in the cycle are clear before proceding.

3. Processing: the value of organic and mineral matter (10 minutes)

                Ask participants to reflect on the value of organic and mineral matter, using their familiarity with the value of manure as a point of departure.

Develop the analysis further by asking questions such as the following on the value of plant litter (i.e., the remains of dried and crushed vegetation) left on the ground after livestock has passed through.

¨      Do the members of the group who engage in farming use manure ? How and why ?

¨      What is, therefore, the benefit of manure to plants?

¨      Is the same true of plant litter (i.e., remnants of dead plants trampled by livestock)?

¨      What else to they use? (Fertilizer, etc.) How? Why isn’t it used more regularly?

4. Utilization: assimilation of nutrients by plants (10 minutes)

Once the value of mineral and organic matter has been established, you might guide the group into a reflection on the process by means of which plants absorb and utilize useful organic matter from the soil. The following questions may be asked :

¨      How do plants use the nutrients in manure and these dead plants?

¨      How can plants derive the benefit of this organic matter if the soil is hard and dry? (This is an allusion to the discussion of the previously-studied compacted soils.)

¨      If necessary, mention the existence and function of insects and soil bacteria.

¨      What are some indicators that the nutrient cycle is functioning well, or poorly? Where is the obstruction occurring?

5. Brainstorming (10 minutes)

At this point, ask members of the group to suggest ways to encourage the transformation (i.e., the decomposition) of plant litter so that it can be as useful as possible for plant growth. The following responses will probably be offered:

¨      Plowing or turning of soils;

¨      grinding of crop residues;

¨      rain (if participants mention rain, remind them of the previous discussion about what one can do if the amount of rain cannot be increased);

¨      trampling by livestock.

6. Transition to subsequent modules

¨      Which of the actions just envisaged might be applicable immediately ?

¨      Without going into too much detail, ask how one might encourage livestock to trample plant litter so that it would become part of the soil’s organic matter.

¨      Agree with the group on a symbol or icon that will stand for the “nutrient cycle” for the remainder of the training program. (A picture of a small pile of cow manure on the ground will suffice. )

¨      Finally, explain that they now have two of the four pillars needed to build, or strengthen, their ecosystem. Inform also that, although less time will be spent on the following pillar, i.e., solar energy, it is just as important as the others in terms of the solidity of the whole system.

NOTES TO THE FACILITATOR

q       As was true of the preceding exercise on the water cycle, logical arrangement of the random images illustrating the nutrient cycle requires that the group possess a good capacity for observation and abstraction.

q       Participants perform the exercise very attentively and finish with a burst of enthusiasm once they finally manage to show, by means of the arrows, how the cycle’s elements fit together.

As was done for the preceding module, make sure in advance of the session that the three images and the three arrows that are to be arranged in a sequence by the group, are available.

PEDAGOGIC ANALYSIS

Desired situation:

¨      Herders are perfectly aware that, in addition to soil and rain, grazing land productivity depends upon the sun.

¨      They therefore try to enhance the exploitation of energy flow by increasing the density of vegetation and by augmenting the proportion of the plants likely to collect a large amount of light, and to remain longer in their vegetative stage.

Current situation

¨      Herders are generally unaware of the role of the sun (e.g., in photosynthesis). They think of the sun only as a source of heat and light.

¨      Herders think that rain is enough to make things grow.

Disparity between current and desired situation

¨      Lack of awareness of the role of photosynthesis

¨      Lack of awareness of the importance of the density and composition of flora for grazing land productivity.

Objectives of the module

By the end of the session, participants shall be able to:

¨      explain the role of soil, water and sun in fodder production;

¨      explain the relationship between plant density and efficient exploitation of solar energy.

LOGISTICS

Target group:

The choice of target group is left up to the community and the outreach team. In the latter case, the target group shall consist of at least the following :

¨                  pastoral management committee;

¨                  the community’s pastoral auxiliaries;

¨                  herdsmen or herd guardians.

SARAR exercise utilized in the module

Variations on unserialized posters (Srinavasan, p. 89)

Energy flow exercise

Graphic supports:

Folder #10

Approximate duration of the module:

30 minutes

IMPLEMENTATION

1.    Reference to cycles of water and mineral matter

Place the images representing the water cycle on the mat and have the group reconstruct the cycle as they did during the previous session. Repeat the exercise with the nutrient cycle. Capitalize on remarks about the sun that may have been made previously.

·        In addition to water and nutrients, what do plants need to develop? (Answer: sunlight)

·        What is the sun’s role?

2.    Images of energy flow

Give images pertaining to energy flow to participants and have them arrange them however they like.

The objective now is to establish parallels between the lessons derived from the water cycle, the nutrient cycle and energy flow, by asking questions such as the following:

·        Can one influence the amount of rain that falls? (Answer: no)

·        Can one influence the amount of sunshine that the village gets? (Answer: no)

·        What ways did we think of to take better advantage of the water that does fall? (Answer: loosening the soil surface so that plants derive maximum benefit from the available water)

·        How, then, can one take best advantage of sunlight? (Answer: by treating vegetation properly so that plants can multiply and thus take advantage of this free resource.)

3.    Conclusion/proverbs

Agree with the group on the symbol or icon that will stand for “energy flow” for the remainder of the outreach cycle. (A picture of a sun with rays emanating from it will suffice.)

To conclude, ask the following questions :

·        What conclusions can one draw from our discussion of energy flow?

Do you know of any proverbs that illustrate these ideas?

PEDAGOGIC ANALYSIS

Desired situation:

¨      The herder is familiar with the fact that the activation of ecological succession (i.e., successive waves of plants and animals) in the direction of greater diversity brings about greater environmental stability;

¨      The herder is aware that ecological succession can be influenced in the direction of greater diversity (i.e., of flora and fauna), and is willing to take advantage of it.

Current situation

¨      Herders adopt a fatalistic attitude towards the deterioration and impoverishment of ecological succession.

¨      Herders generally attribute this deterioration to adverse climatic conditions.

¨      They generally see ecological succession as a one-way process leading inexorably to environmental degradation and desertification.

Disparity between current and desired situation

¨      Herders are convinced that they have no power to rectify the process of deterioration that they observe around them.

¨      Herders are unaware of, or ignore, the relationship between ecological succession, biodiversity, stability and sustainability.

Objectives of the module

By the end of the session, participants shall be able to:

¨      Define the concepts of succession, biodiversity and ecological stability;

¨      Explain the relationships between succession and biodiversity, on the one hand, and between biodiversity and ecological stability, on the other;

¨      Explain how, depending on circumstances, biodiversity can evolve in one direction (e.g., towards impoverishment) or the other (e.g., towards enrichment).

LOGISTICS

Target group:

The choice of the target group is left up to the community and the outreach team. In this case, the target group should include at least the following:

¨      Pastoral management committee;

¨      The community’s pastoral auxiliaries

¨      Herders or herd guardians.

SARAR exercises utilized by the module:

Unserialized posters (Srinivasan, p. 89)

Brainstorming

Graphical support and demonstration materials:

Folder # 11

¨      About ten sheets of colored paper;

¨      Series of unserialized posters on “ecological succession”;

¨      About twenty small flags or, if these are unavailable, sheets of A4 paper, preferably colored;

¨      Icon representing "ecological succession" (a stylized rabbit.)

Approximate duration of the module:

                   1 hour              

IMPLEMENTATION

1.    Introduction: description of the environment (5 minutes)

Remind the group first that they shall now deal with the fourth and last “pillar” of the ecosystem: “ecological succession”.

Ask the participants (and particular older individuals) to take a couple of minutes in silence to try to recall what their environment looked like as far back as they can remember.

¨      Ask them next to observe what the same environment looks like now;

¨      Put the stack of unserialized posters on “ecological succession” down on the mat, in the middle of the group;

¨      Explain that this time, the idea will not be to reconstruct a cycle, but instead to determine how the various stages of deterioration succeeded each other over time;

¨      This succession can represent either the situation as it was earlier around the village along with the current situation, or the current situation around the village, along with the landscape that they would like to see in the future;

¨      For the former situation, place the green sheet on the left, to represent the landscape as it was in the past, and the yellow sheet on the right, to represent the currently degraded landscape;

¨      For the latter situation, place the yellow sheet on the left, to represent the landscape as it is today, and the green sheet on the right, to represent the landscape they would like to see in the future.

¨      Then ask the group to select images and classify them in order of increasing degradation, or improving rehabilitation, as they wish.

2. Brainstorming: disappearance of species (20 minutes)

Ask participants to name species (of animals or plants) that used to exist around their village, but that have disappeared.

.

¨      Each time the name of a vanished species meets with the group’s approval, give one participant (not necessarily the one who named the species) a small flag or sheet of colored paper.

¨      The point of the exercise is to get the group to realize how many species have disappeared. Thus, only the names of species that have not yet been mentioned will be accepted.

¨      Ask participants to raise their hands once they feel that the list is complete.

¨      Ask someone to count up the number of vanished species identified, and to tell it to the group.

3. Analysis: consequences of a lack of biodiversity (20 minutes)

Observe a moment of silence to underline the importance and seriousness of what has just been done, and then ask the group to comment on the results of the exercise . (Make this sharing of observations fairly brief, and be careful that it does not degenerate into a lamentation session.)

Next, ask the group the following question: what are the consequences of this loss of biodiversity? Participants may, for example, put forward such ideas as the following:

¨      Increasing scarcity of plants of good nutritional quality for livestock;

¨      Increased risk of food shortages in the event of drought;

¨      The population is less well nourished (due to the disappearance of game);

¨      People must travel increasing distances to find water;

¨      Degradation of grazing lands, lack of pasturage;

¨      People must travel increasing distances to find firewood;

¨      Production (in terms of livestock and agriculture) is increasingly variable from one year to the next;

¨      What are the consequences of the loss of biodiversity? (Answer: Migration of villagers towards cities, for example.)

4. Generalizations and conclusions (15 minutes):

In order to prevent the group from concluding that all environmental deterioration is only due to lack of water, ask the following questions:

¨      What practices led to this deterioration?

¨      What will happen if this resource degradation continues at its current pace?

¨      Would it be possible to reconstitute the landscape as it existed in the past?

¨      Are village resources used in a way that takes the need for environmental stability into account?

¨      Given the insights that the group has acquired since the beginning of the training session, are there things that could be done differently?

Finally, come to an agreement with the group on an icon that can represent “ecological succession” for the rest of the training. Since herders have informed us that a sign of rehabilitation of vegetation was the reappearance of rabbits on pasturelands, a drawing of a rabbit may be appropriate.

5.    Finalization of the instructional unit on the ecosystem’s building blocks (5 minutes)

Ask participants to summarized what they have learned about the four pillars, or building blocks, of the ecosystem that they have studied during the latest training sessions.

¨      What are the most important ideas that they have retained?

¨      Why is it important to take all four blocks into consideration at once?

¨      What would happen if one neglected one of the blocks (just as when termites destroy one of the pillars of a dwelling) ?;

¨      Remind participants that they will repeatedly refer back to these four building blocks of the ecosystem, and that it is therefore essential that they understand what they consist of.

NOTES TO THE FACILITATOR

q       The brainstorming exercise aimed at identifying vanished species provokes a high level of participation and a lot of enthusiasm.

q       It is a good idea to let the group have free rein in this, and to conduct the final counting of vanished species with a certain solemnity, since the frustration felt by the participation at this juncture can prove important for their subsequent commitment to community activities aimed at correcting this situation and re-establishing biodiversity.