IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature

Thematic Group Lead
Tatyana Bragina, naurzum@mail.ru

The steppes of the Northern Hemisphere are among the largest terrestrial biomes, supporting a rich flora and fauna, and providing invaluable ecosystem services. Holarctic steppes are the homeland of millions of humans; meat, milk, wool, grain, and a range of other agricultural products and goods come from these regions. There are also less material values; steppes are source of cultural symbols and spiritual experience; and steppes are at the heart of many civilizations in Eurasia and North America.

Today, most of the Northern Hemisphere’s grasslands are already lost; virgin steppes were converted to crop lands, settlements, mining sites, industrial areas, etc. The few remnants of these grasslands are under the pressure of livestock grazing and other agricultural use. Levels of human impact differ between regions such as the Central Plains of North America and Central Asia, but pressure still is generally high. For that reason, IUCN has recognized temperate grasslands as one of the most threatened biomes of all.

Global climate change as well as agricultural land degradation and reduction of productivity are aggravating the losses of steppe ecosystems, leading to deteriorating livelihoods of millions of people.

The IUCN/CEM Global Thematic Group "Holarctic Steppes" (HSG) aims at an improved management of ecosystems such as:
• Forest-steppes of plains and mountain regions
• Temperate steppes at all elevations
• Temperate and subtropical prairies
• Semi-arid grasslands surrounding the drylands of Northern Hemisphere
• West- and Central-European extra-zonal and secondary steppes
• Agricultural lands with importance for steppe biodiversity

The main goal of the Holarctic Steppe Group is to improve management and conservation of steppe ecosystems, and to harmonize this with the needs of the human society ("Golden Steppe Chain Initiative"). Therefore we seek to raise awareness on wise use of steppe ecosystem worldwide, and to mainstream this in both international and national conservation agendas.