Mobile pastoralism contributes substantially to food security, livelihoods and economic prosperity, and can increase resilience to climate change; but policymakers, donors and the public at large tend not to appreciate its benefits.
Policy narratives portray pastoralism as an outdated practice, and the media stories that help shape policy processes and public opinion often contribute to these false portrayals. An IIED study analysed the content of stories from media outlets in Kenya, China and India, and surveyed journalists in each country. It identified significant knowledge gaps and inter-country differences in how journalists perceive and portray pastoralists and pastoralism. The analysis also found that media outlets in these countries under-report climate change, the economic value of pastoralism and the links between pastoralist mobility and resilience.
Journalists, researchers and pastoralist communities need to work together to improve media coverage of pastoralism, and by doing so highlight pastoralism’s potential contribution to sustainable development in a changing climate.
Organization: International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)
Topic: Climate change, Value addition
Language: English
Type of document: Technical, Policies and legislation
Geographical coverage: Global
The global narratives that have dominated agricultural policy are built on crisis scenarios around meeting projected food demand, now complicated by global climate change and food price spikes. The role given to drylands and pastoralism in these narratives shows little consistency, except for characterising them as lacking in some way, for example: unproductive, resource scarce, fragile, marginal, remote, using resources that are uninteresting for other uses.
A closer look reveals pastoralism’s many positives. The increasing recognition that pastoralist systems in the drylands can work with environmental variability, rather than against it, opens up an alternative storyline for global food security under climate change.
Organization: International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)
Topic: Economy
Language: English
Type of document: Technical, Policies and legislation
Geographical coverage: Global
The N’djamena Declaration, adopted by Ministers responsible for livestock and security from a number of African countries, calls upon the Sahelian, West African, Central African, North African and international communities to unite in a spirit of peace, tolerance and sharing, in order to promote peace and sustainable development for the Saharo-Sahelian areas. Only by supporting pastoralism, regional stability can be maintained.
Year of publication: 2013Organization: Individual authors
Topic: Participation
Language: العربية, English, Français
Type of document: Policies and legislation
Geographical coverage: North Africa, West Africa, Central Africa
Le présent guide vise à contribuer à la mise en œuvre réussie des programmes définis par la Politique Nationale de Développement durable de l'Elevage (PNDEL) et notamment le Programme de sécurisation des zones d'intensification des productions animales.
De manière spécifique, le guide méthodologique ambitionne de mettre à la disposition des acteurs un outil opérationnel de réalisation et de gestion durable des zones pastorales et des pistes à bétail en suivant un processus approprié dans la conduite des opérations d'identification, d'aménagement, de sécurisation et de valorisation des espaces pastoraux et des pistes à bétail.
Ces objectifs sont déclinés en quatre (4) grands axes : l’identification des zones pastorales et des pistes à bétail ; l'aménagement des zones pastorales ; la sécurisation des zones pastorales et des pistes à bétail ; et la valorisation des zones pastorales et des pistes à bétail.
Par ailleurs, la stratégie de mise en œuvre du guide traite successivement des principes de la mise en œuvre, de la diffusion du guide et de la formation des utilisateurs, du financement, du suivi-évaluation et formule des recommandations.
Year of publication: 2013Organization: Individual authors, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Topic: Economy, Environmental services, Resilience
Language: Français
Type of document: Technical
Geographical coverage: West Africa
This study calculates the economic benefits and opportunity costs of three alternative agricultural systems – pastoral livestock production versus cotton and sugar cane estates on the banks of the Awash River in north-eastern Ethiopia. These traditional pastoral grazing areas were converted into large-scale irrigated cotton and sugar plantations in the 1960s. The findings suggest that pastoralism is a surer investment in the longer term resilience and economic stability of Ethiopia’s dry lowlands.
Year of publication: 2013Organization: International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)
Topic: Economy
Language: English
Type of document: Scientific
Geographical coverage: Eastern Africa
Child labour in pastoralist communities is a complex issue. Many families rely on their children to herd their livestock. They recognize the importance of education, but education systems in pastoral areas are limited, of poor quality and often not suited to pastoral way of life. While herding, children can be exposed to loneliness, physical and mental burdens and dangerous environments. This study has a special focus on child (herding) activities with regard to livestock in pastoralist communities and lists solutions to prevent child labour.
View also the 4-page brief of the study.
Year of publication: 2013Organization: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Topic: Gender and youth
Language: English
Type of document: Technical, Scientific
Geographical coverage: Global
This brief analyses policies on conflict management and peace-building in the Greater Horn of Africa region (Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda). It lists key priorities for interventions including developing and implementing integrated peace building and security frameworks, reforming local governance in pastoral areas, strengthening state–citizen relations and developing a common vision and a long-term strategy to support pastoralist development.
Year of publication: 2013Organization: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Topic: Conflict
Language: English
Type of document: Policies and legislation
Geographical coverage: Eastern Africa
The Pastoralist Field School approach is an adaptation of the innovative, participatory and interactive learning approach; Farmer Field Schools.
Pastoralist Field Schools are essentially schools without walls that introduce new technological innovations while building on indigenous knowledge. Through experiential and participatory learning techniques applied in a group setting, with regular meetings over a longer time period, pastoralists learn how to analyse their situation and make informed decisions about their livelihood practices and resource use strategies. The approach empowers pastoralists rather than advising them on what to do.
This training manual is designed to be used by master trainers during the training of facilitators.
Year of publication: 2013Organization: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Topic: Organization, Social services
Language: English
Type of document: Technical
Geographical coverage: West Africa, Central Africa, Eastern Africa, Global