Colombia’s pathway to a more sustainable cattle sector: A spatial multi-criteria analysis

Increasing global population and rising consumption are placing unprecedent demands on agriculture and natural resources. In South America, the livestock industry is heavily impacting the environment, but also delivers important socioeconomic benefits to rural populations. Recently, there has been strong debate on how to define land suitability for cattle grazing and priority areas for intensified production, limited production, or conservation. We present a conceptual framework that evaluates land use performance in terms of productivity and environmental impacts, and apply this framework using a spatially explicit approach and multi-criteria analysis for cattle grazing systems in Colombia. Our study provides a national perspective of the current land use situation for the cattle sector, and defines areas where cattle grazing should be promoted, restricted, or excluded. Results indicate that up to 42% of the total area under cattle grazing land use show important biophysical constraints that limit their suitability. Furthermore, our productivity analysis indicates that 60% of national rangeland has low stocking rates (<0.5 AU ha-1), and only 13% of rangeland has high stocking rates (>1 AU ha-1). Current grazing areas that should be excluded, according to biophysical limitations and low productivity, are mostly concentrated in the Andean, Caribbean and Pacific regions, while grazing areas identified for restricted production are mainly located in the Andean and Caribbean Regions. This study provides the first spatially explicit, multi-criteria analysis of land suitability for cattle grazing systems at national level, which can be used to inform improved land planning and management at regional and municipal levels.