Final answer:
Improvement in rangelands has been slow due to challenges from climate change, overgrazing, and land ownership issues, coupled with the high costs and resources needed for transitioning to sustainable practices.
Step-by-step explanation:
The progress in improving rangeland has been slow due to a combination of environmental, economic, and social challenges. Climate change is leading to more erratic and reduced rainfall, making it difficult for pastoralists to sustain their herds. In areas like Botswana, elite groups of herders have taken control of the land, marginalizing small herders. Overgrazing of common lands, without anybody held responsible, exacerbates the issue, as seen historically in Oxford and more recently in nomadic lands in Africa. The tragedy of the commons, where individual herders benefit from adding more animals without considering the collective damage, continues to be a major hindrance to rangeland recovery.
Efforts to improve rangelands require an understanding of the land's carrying capacity and the adoption of sustainable practices. Satellite imagery from Africa in the 1970s showed stark differences between overgrazed nomadic land and the controlled, private lands where rotation of grazing and fallow periods allowed for land regeneration. Education, resources, and adaptation to climate change, like the practices at the Van Vleck Ranch in California, are essential for rangeland improvement. However, the high costs of transitioning to more sedentary forms of ranching, the lack of land ownership among pastoralists, and pressures from land development and conservation goals continue to challenge these improvements.