Impact of conflict on pastoral resilience in the Horn

A study in 2012 by RECONCILE (Resource Conflict Institute) for FAO, “Impact of conflict on pastoralist communities’ resilience in the Horn of Africa”, shows how conflict affects the opportunistic use of range resources by pastoralists. Because conflict renders certain strategic rangelands inaccessible, pressures on the accessible resources increase, leading to their overuse and degradation, thereby undermining livelihood security and causing even more conflict. The Ethiopian case analyses conflicts among the Borana, Garre, Guji and Konso in the southern lowlands. The Kenyan case analyses conflict in the dry-season grazing area around Kisima Hamsini/Kom at the convergence of Samburu East, Wajir, Isiolo and Marsabit Districts, where access is claimed by Borana, Samburu, Rendile and Somali pastoralists. The Ugandan case analyses conflict along the border between Katakwi District in Teso and Napak District in Karamoja. The conflicts and their impacts, plus the ill-advised and often non-consultative, top-down interventions by governments and other development actors, undermine the confidence of communities in the future of pastoralism as a livelihood and land-use system. Development interventions in these areas must be planned in a manner that is sensitive to the realities of conflict.

Posted on 27 August 2012 in Pastoralism & Natural Resources, Pastoralism, Mobility & Land Tenure, Pastoralist Livelihoods & Nutrition