Holistic Management

 

Holistic Management is a decision-making framework for managing complexity primarily focused on agricultural systems and landscapes. It developed over 50 years ago through the work of Allan Savory, a biologist and former game ranger in Zimbabwe.

Savory realised that land degradation and desertification were caused not by an excess of grazing animals but by changes in their herding behaviour away from their natural patterns. This challenged the common belief that removing livestock would restore degraded landscapes.

Realising that nature is made up of integrated ‘wholes’, and that all things are connected, Savory undertook to show that:

  • the well-being of people, communities, and economies is inextricably linked to the health of the land they depend on, hence the need for a holistic approach, and

  • livestock grazing managed proactively to mimic wild herbivores’ natural behaviour can increase soil fertility, water infiltration and retention, biodiversity, and overall land productivity while still producing food and fibre.

Adopted by farmers worldwide, Holistic Management has since been implemented under various climatic and soil conditions on all continents. It considers the whole context of the farm, including economic, social and environmental factors and personal goals. It involves planning and decision-making processes to sustain ecosystems' health and functions, resulting in resilient, thriving businesses, families, and communities.

Ultimately, Holistic Management has proven its potential to rejuvenate landscapes, allowing farmers to realise their desired quality of life and well-being. This empowers individuals to impact their environment and their own lives positively.

Holistic Context

In Holistic Management, a holistic context refers to the situation or environment a land manager or decision-maker needs to consider. It includes all the relevant factors, both on and off the land, that influence or are influenced by the management decisions.

The holistic context has four key inseparable parts, outlined in this section.

By considering this entire holistic context, managers can make decisions that balance and harmonise the environmental, social, economic and personal dimensions. The idea is that all these elements are intricately linked, so addressing issues in just one part is ineffective. A holistic approach looks at how they interrelate as a whole.

The holistic context provides the complete picture a manager needs to work towards sustainable, regenerative land management while meeting their desired quality of life.

  • The natural resources like soil, water, plants, animals and their interactions.

  • The people involved - the land stewards, their families, employees, neighbors and local communities.

  • The money that comes in and goes out related to the land-based activities and enterprises.

  • The values, vision and goals of the decision-makers themselves - what they care about and want to achieve.

Ecosystem Processes

The land being managed is broadly defined as a whole and considered holistically through the lens of four key ecosystem processes:

  • the water cycle

  • the mineral cycle

  • energy flow

  • community dynamics.

These four processes are not isolated entities, but rather, they are intricately interconnected and interdependent. This understanding forms the basis of holistic management, which recognises that sustainably managing land requires considering and harmonising all four processes as an integrated whole.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Holistic Management uses an ongoing science-based monitoring and evaluation framework called Ecological Outcome Verification (EOV).

EOV assesses ecosystem health, functionality, and productivity changes over time by examining multiple leading and lagging indicators, including soil health, water retention, biodiversity, and vegetation cover. It is a qualitative and quantitative approach that measures the effectiveness of land management practices to assist land managers in achieving better-informed decisions.

Education & Extension

The following videos provide some of the context for Holistic Management. The first is a TED talk by Allan Savory, and the second is an overview video of Carbon Sync’s Holistic Management training.