Pastoralism remains vital to the livelihoods of millions, providing food, income, and cultural identity across diverse regions. Yet it is rapidly transforming under the combined pressures of climate change, socio-economic shifts, and changing human-nonhuman relationships. Climate variability, including altered rainfall and temperatures, is affecting pasture productivity and mobility patterns. Simultaneously, migration, changing labour expectations, and market integration are reshaping labour organisation and intergenerational knowledge transmission.
These ecological and social changes are tightly interwoven with the lives of livestock, wildlife, and landscapes, creating complex multispecies dynamics that influence pastoral decision-making and resilience strategies. Understanding these intersecting pressures is essential for supporting sustainable pastoral livelihoods and the rich ecological and cultural systems they sustain.


Themes
We welcome original abstracts that address one or more of the following themes:​
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Climate Change
Explorations of how climate variability and extreme climatic events influence rangeland dynamics, pastoral management practices, and local adaptations and responses.
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Mobility & Labour Dynamics
Investigations into pastoral mobility and labour-hiring mechanisms in the context of broader socio-economic transformations and market influences.
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Multispecies Entanglements
Studies that foreground human–animal–landscape relations, embodied ecologies, the ethical dimensions of multispecies interactions, and the knowledge systems that sustain pastoral lifeworlds.

Submission Details
We encourage interdisciplinary work that bridges social sciences, ecological sciences, animal studies, humanities, and creative practices. Submissions from early-career researchers, community scholars, and practitioners are especially welcome.
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Please upload abstracts of 250–300 words by 20 March 2026 (extended deadline). Abstracts should include a clear statement of purpose, methodology, expected contribution, and relevance to one or more of the conference themes.
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Note: Selected abstracts will be invited to develop full conference papers, with the intention of publishing an edited book that showcases the latest scholarly and applied work on pastoralism in India and related contexts.
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