Deserts, 'Saharanism' and the myth of green landscapes (with Brahim El Guabli)

Myth: 'Healthy ecosystems are green'

This episode of the REPAiR Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/repair-a-podcast-about-rangelands/id1798767594] is the sixth in a series that explores myths about rangelands and the ideas behind them, and what alternative stories and ideas can be found. This time, we’re talking about the myth that ‘Healthy ecosystems are green’. This episode includes part of a recorded online discussion that took place on 17 June 2026. The event is introduced by Linda Pappagallo, coordinator of the Rangeland Myths initiative. Our guest speakers were Igshaan Samuels, Brahim El Guabli and Mmoto Masubelele, and the discussion was co-chaired by Jeremy Allouche and Linda Pappagallo. Igshaan Samuels is co-chair of the Global Coordinating Group of the UN-designated International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists in 2026. He is a specialist researcher on Rangeland Ecology and Pastoralism for the Agricultural Research Council in South Africa. Brahim El Guabli is Associate Professor of Arabic Studies and Comparative Literature at Williams College, USA, and author of the book ‘Desert Imaginations: A History of Saharanism and Its Radical Consequences’. Mmoto Masubelele (South Africa National Parks) is a plant ecologist and sustainability strategist dedicated to landscape restoration, climate resilience, and biodiversity monitoring. Links Rangeland Myths (REPAiR Project series) [https://repairproject.org/rangeland-myths/] Myth: ‘Healthy ecosystems are green’ [https://repairproject.org/blog-archive/myth-healthy-ecosystems-are-green/] - think piece by Jeremy Allouche and Linda Pappagallo Podcast: Deserts, Saharanism and ‘green’ landscape myths [https://repairproject.org/blog-archive/podcast-deserts-saharanism-and-green-landscape-myths/] - podcast episode with Brahim El Guabli and Linda Pappagallo International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists [https://iyrp.info/] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit repairproject.substack.com [https://repairproject.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Myth: People and livestock are bad for biodiversity

This episode of the REPAiR Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/repair-a-podcast-about-rangelands/id1798767594] is the fifth in a series that explores myths about rangelands and the ideas behind them, and what alternative stories and ideas can be found. This time, we’re talking about the myth that ‘people and livestock are bad for biodiversity’. This episode includes part of a recorded online discussion that took place on 28 May 2026. The event is introduced by Linda Pappagallo, coordinator of the Rangeland Myths initiative. Our guest speakers are John Harold, Farm Partnership Manager at Plantlife International based in the UK; Munib Khanyari, a post-doctoral researcher with CONDJUST at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, whose work focuses on pastoralism and wildlife conservation in the Himalayas; and Pablo Manzano, an Ikerbasque Fellow at the Basque Centre for Climate Change in Bilbao, Spain, who researches pastoralist socio-ecosystems and compares their environmental benefits and impacts with the ones of wildlife-dominated grazed ecosystems. We are grateful to Rashmi Singh and Francis Massé for chairing the discussion that followed. Links Rangeland Myths (REPAiR Project series) [https://repairproject.org/rangeland-myths/] Myth: People and livestock are bad for biodiversity [https://repairproject.org/blog-archive/myth-people-and-livestock-are-bad-for-biodiversity/], think piece by Linda Pappagallo International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists [https://iyrp.info/] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit repairproject.substack.com [https://repairproject.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Deserts, 'Saharanism' and the myth of green landscapes (with Brahim El Guabli)

This month, the REPAiR Project’s ‘Rangeland Myths’ series explores the myth that ‘Healthy ecosystems are green’. Our programme includes an online discussion on 17 June 2026. In this episode, Linda Pappagallo explores aspects of this myth with Brahim El Guabli — an Amazigh scholar and associate professor of Arabic studies and comparative literature at Williams College. Brahim will be one of the speakers at our event.  Brahim’s work moves fluidly across languages, timescales, disciplines, and geographies, bringing them into conversation in ways that challenge established assumptions and open new avenues for thought. His most recent book, Desert Imaginations: A History of Saharanism and its Radical Consequences, examines how many societies have come to imagine deserts through what he calls ‘Saharanism’: an ideological framework that portrays deserts as empty and available for exploitation. In doing so, Saharanism invites us to rethink not only deserts themselves, but also the cultural and political assumptions that shape our understanding of landscapes more broadly. Links Desert Imaginations [https://www.ucpress.edu/books/desert-imaginations/paper] - book by Brahim El Guabli Myth: ‘Healthy ecosystems are green’ [https://repairproject.org/blog-archive/myth-healthy-ecosystems-are-green/] - think piece by Jeremy Allouche and Linda Pappagallo Exploring rangeland myths: Healthy ecosystems are green [https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/exploring-rangeland-myths-healthy-ecosystems-are-green-tickets-1990568134876] - online event on 17 June 2026 Rangeland Myths [https://repairproject.org/rangeland-myths/] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit repairproject.substack.com [https://repairproject.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Myth: 'Carbon is Carbon'

This episode of the REPAiR Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/repair-a-podcast-about-rangelands/id1798767594] is the fourth in a series that explores myths about rangelands and the ideas behind them, and what alternative stories and ideas can be found. This time, we’re talking about the myth that ‘carbon is carbon’. This episode includes part of a recorded online discussion that took place on 23 April 2026. The event is co-chaired and introduced by Amber Huff, principal investigator of the REPAiR Project. Our guest speakers are Saverio Krätli, freelance researcher on pastoralism and editor of the journal Nomadic Peoples; Meenal Tatpati, a lawyer and researcher who works on forest and wildlife conservation policies in India; and Ruan de Wet, a rangeland ecologist and currently technical director at Meat Naturally Africa, a social enterprise working on rangeland restoration on communal rangelands in South Africa, and a partner in the REPAiR Project. (The event was also co-chaired by Charis Enns of the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester, whose work includes understanding flaws and biases in Earth Observation tools, datasets and analyses.)  This event is part of our engagement with the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, taking place for the whole of 2026. Artwork: Tim Zocco Links Rangeland Myths (REPAiR Project series) [https://repairproject.org/rangeland-myths/] Think-piece by Amber Huff: ‘Myth: carbon is carbon’ [https://repairproject.org/blog-archive/myth-carbon-is-carbon/] International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists [https://iyrp.info/] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit repairproject.substack.com [https://repairproject.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Myth: 'Pastoralists need more markets to thrive'

This episode of the REPAiR Podcast [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/repair-a-podcast-about-rangelands/id1798767594] is the third in a series that explores myths about rangelands and the ideas behind them, and what alternative stories and ideas can be found. This time, we’re talking about the myth that pastoralists need ‘more markets’ to thrive. The event is introduced by Linda Pappagallo, coordinator of the REPAiR Project’s Rangeland Myths initiative. Our guest speakers were two historians: Timothy Gibbs (Paris Nanterre University), who shares insights on markets in South Africa, and Oluwaṣeun Williams (University College Dublin), who discusses the history of the livestock trade in Nigeria. You’ll also hear some reactions from Ilse Köhler-Rollefson, vet, writer and researcher on camels and pastoralism; and Lars Otto Naess, who works on climate adaptation and resilience at the Institute of Development Studies. This event is part of our engagement with the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, taking place for the whole of 2026. Artwork: Tim Zocco Links Rangeland Myths (REPAiR Project series) [https://repairproject.org/rangeland-myths/] Think-piece by Linda Pappagallo on market myths [https://repairproject.org/Blog/myth-pastoralists-need-more-markets-to-thrive/] International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists [https://iyrp.info/] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit repairproject.substack.com [https://repairproject.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]