Presentation short abstract

Applying an epistemic justice lens, I examine how dominant narratives that attribute rangeland degradation to pastoralism persist despite uncertainties and counter-evidence, revealing how some ways of knowing are privileged and how resulting policy interventions produce significant justice concerns.

Presentation long abstract

This presentation examines how different epistemic communities construct evidence and interpret pastoralism’s role in rangeland degradation in Namaqualand’s Succulent Karoo. Given that approximately 80% of South Africa consists of rangelands, much of it under communal tenure, debates about degradation have significant implications for pastoralist land rights and livelihoods. Drawing on a database of 170 publications used to construct a co-authorship network, alongside an in-depth discourse analysis, the study shows how longstanding narratives- especially “tragedy of the commons” framings- retain authority even where there is little empirical evidence of widespread degradation, and where rainfall-driven, non-equilibrium dynamics are emphasised instead. The endurance of these narratives produces a misfit between evidence and interventions, shaping practices such as grazing restrictions, conservation zoning, and restoration initiatives- often with profound justice implications. Using epistemic justice theory (Fricker, 2017; Fraser, 2005), the analysis illustrates how degradation debates function as sites where knowledge hierarchies shape cultural, material and political injustices. It demonstrates how dominant epistemic practices privilege particular scientific models while marginalising pastoralists’ knowledge- grounded in mobility, drought response, and fine-grained landscape assessment that frequently challenges equilibrium-based assumptions but remains undervalued in policy arenas. The research also highlights promising interdisciplinary approaches that centre herders’ knowledge, contextualise degradation within complex environmental and social histories, and make uncertainties explicit. The epistemic justice lens offers new perspectives on why degradation narratives endure and what is needed for more inclusive rangeland science and conservation. This contribution speaks directly to the panels focus on the “big stories” guiding land-use interventions and emerging counter-narratives.