Small ruminants in environmental conservation A. El Aich a,* , A. Waterhouse b a Departement des Productions Animales, Institut Agronomique et Veterinaire Hassan II, BP 6202, Rabat, Morocco b SAC, Hill and Mountain Research Centre, Auchincruive, Ayr, Scotland, UK Abstract This paper presents the main social and economic in¯uences of small ruminants on the environment as well as the impact of small ruminants on natural resources in two of the most dominant world farming systems, arid and temperate. The analysis of the arid system underlined the apparent incapacity of the land to support the numbers of domestic animals that caused most of the damage in addition to that accomplished through cultivation and gathering of wood species. The ecological integrity of these systems was weakened once the strategies behind their adaptation to arid and marginal areas (diversi®cation and mobility) were threatened. In addition, the transformation that these systems are going through (social, economical and political) has threatened the viability of these traditional systems. In temperate zones, there are concerns that both too little and too much grazing by small ruminants is leading to environmental degradation. There is a need to more fully understand the role that grazing plays in maintaining habitats and landscapes in favorable condition. Environmental concerns of small ruminant systems in intensive grassland systems are those of all intensive grassland systems, pollution from animal waste, from silage, and nitrate and phosphate discharge to water. # 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Small ruminants; Environment; Farming systems; Natural resources; Overgrazing 1. Introduction The world small ruminants population was 1.7 billion in 1993 (65% sheep and 35% goats) of which 42% were in Asia, 22% in Africa, 11% in Australia, 8% in Europe and 7% in South America (FAO, 1993). Population data for small ruminants showed a 10% total increase during the last 20 years, with higher ®gures in the more arid regions, 20% and 19% for Asia and Africa, respectively (FAO, 1993). Small rumi- nants distribution shows that almost 2/3 of the world goat and sheep population are on range lands, pastures and rough grazing represent around 70% and 62% of the land in Asia and Africa, respectively (FAO, 1993). Sheep and goats are opportunistic and have been always important sources of protein throughout the world. The utility of sheep and goats goes beyond obvious economic concerns. They convert low-quality resources to high quality protein and in the mean time, if well managed, they maintain and enhance the land- scape. The impact of small ruminants can be positive in the sense that they conserve the environment, or disas- trous if they degrade the environment. Negative impact leads in certain circumstances to deserti®ca- tion. Deserts created as a result of man's activities extend over 9 million km 2 (OECD, 1985). They are an integral part of the farming system and impact with the farm environment, both the socio-economical and the ecological environments. The objectives of this paper Small Ruminant Research 34 (1999) 271±287 *Corresponding author. 0921-4488/99/$ ± see front matter # 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII:S0921-4488(99)00079-6