The paper provides an overview of the ruminant(1) livestock systems in the mountainous regions of Latin America and how they relate to the agro-ecosystems in which they are found. Information is provided on cattle, sheep and goat systems and the important domestic and wild camelid species found from the Mexican highlands to the southern tip of the continent. The socio-economic situation in which these livestock systems are found is dynamic, and changes have been particularly rapid in the last 30 years. These changes relate to increases in human populations, large scale rural to urban human migration, improved market access and in some areas mechanisation. This background is used to examine how resource management strategies that involve ruminant species in mountainous regions change in response to the socio-economic environment in which they are found. The analysis is illustrated with examples from Bolivia, Peru and Mexico. The question is raised as to how changes in resource management can be facilitated so that impacts on the rural economy, the environment and rural poverty are either neutral or positive. While some impacts can be seen others require further investigation such as how land rights and land laws need to be adapted so that livestock producers are encouraged and given incentives to invest in land. A clear role is identified for the livestock and socio-economic scientists to examine technical, social, economic and institutional solutions that facilitate changes in resource management in a dynamic world.
