Oil, Gas, and Mineral Industry Role in Rangeland Restoration: A systematic review

Boubaker Dhehibi, Asma Souissi, A. Derek Baker, Fiona Flintan, Abdrahmane Wane, Burkat S. (2/6/2025). Oil, Gas, and Mineral Industry Role in Rangeland Restoration: A systematic review.

The rapid expansion of unconventional oil and gas development in the oil-gas-mineral (OGM) states has been controversial because of numerous environmental and social impacts. OGM industries have existed on rangelands for many years with various impacts depending upon the scope of operations and level of professional management (Walsh and Rose 2022; Allred et al. 2015; Chomphosy et al. 2021). In the last decades, energy production has become the largest user of rangelands in several parts of the OGM produced countries, occupying large areas and becoming the largest driver of land-use change (Kreuter et al. 2016). Although emerging energy resources, such as wind and solar, are growing rapidly due to the new advanced technologies, fossil fuel production continues and is predicted to expand in the future (Covert et al. 2016). This will have significant increases in damages to rangelands in terms of reduction of biodiversity, loses in vegetation, increase in carbon emissions, disruption on the natural ecological process, reduction and contamination of ground water, and decrease on the ecosystem services – the potential benefits that natural rangelands provide to humanity. In the frame of STELARR (Sustainable Investments for Large-scale Rangeland Restoration) project, this paper aims to give a comprehensive overview on the role this industry could play on rangeland restoration in the West Asia and Middle East (WAME) region and what is expected from it in terms of sustainable business practices and what roles the OGM countries-governments are to play given that are currently confronted by overlapping rangeland-oriented demands from ecologists and industry.