Effects of Ethiopia–Kenya border on pastoralists’ resource use

The international border between Ethiopia and Kenya does not consider the livelihood and customary practices of local people. The two countries have ethnic groups living in similar ecosystems, sharing similar livelihood systems, trans-clan and transboundary trade networks, and transboundary migratory patterns. Before colonial times, communities moved freely with their herds, but the creation of the colonial border restricted their mobility. The study “Effects of international boundary making on pastoralists’ transboundary environmental resource use in the Ethiopia–Kenya borderland” by Girma Defere et al. (published in 2022 in The Rangeland Journal 44(4), 203–212; doi:10.1071/RJ22051) examined the effects of the international boundary on cross-border environmental resource use.

The findings reveal that, although the border constrained pastoral mobility, the kinship relationships and customary institutions facilitated the pastoralists’ ability to gain access to cross-border environmental resources, to manage conflicts related to resource use and thus to support pastoral livelihoods.

The authors recommend strengthening cooperative relations between the two countries and territorial communities, as well as investing in pastoral livelihoods that allow cross-border mobility of the communities. This implies putting into action the Niamey Convention (2014) on African Union cross-border cooperation and the IGAD transhumance protocol (2021) to enhance free and safe movement of livestock across borders. They also recommend that stakeholders in transboundary situations should engage in joint rangeland management to prevent rangeland degradation.

As the published article is not Open Access, the lead author has made a pre-publication version available.

Posted on 26 March 2023 in Pastoralism & Natural Resources, Pastoralism & Peacebuilding, Pastoralism, Mobility & Land Tenure