Ecologist, Author, Teacher, and former Politician Allan Savory has dedicated his life formulating strategies to combat desertification and repair degraded ecosystems.

Growing up in Zimbabwe and working for the Game Department Allan witnessed large scale degradation of protected lands where people and animals had been removed. Similarly while working as a consultant for farmers and ranchers in Africa and the United States Alan observed similar damage being done as a result of overgrazing. The problem was perplexing and for years an answer eluded him. It was common knowledge that too much stock leads to overgrazing, pastures become exhausted and cannot recover. But with too little or no stock only select plants are grazed, unwanted species become dominant and grasses left ungrazed accumulate old material that blocks the sunlight to their growing points.

Allan looked to nature for the answer. He looks back to the function of African and North American Savanas. Places of abundance that sustained millions of animals since the dawn of time. In these systems, large herds moved in tightly packed formations as a defence against predators. As they moved they added dung and urine to the soil, their hooves broke compacted ground, leaving small pockets to collect seed, and old plant material was trampled back into the ground. This is the type of natural disturbance that builds soil and spurs new life and Allan concluded that if we could mimic this process then perhaps we could regenerate degraded lands across much of the world.

Allan was right and after decades of trial and error he had developed a comprehensive strategy for using animals to build soil health and address the desertification crisis. This is commonly known today as Holistic Planned Grazing where animals are grazed closer together and moved more frequently. Animals graze more intensively, they fertilize the soil and then they are removed allowing the pasture time to recover.