Pastoralism & Natural Resources (page 63)
Dealing with crisis in the Horn
In view of the recent crisis in the Horn of Africa, the February 2012 special feature of the journal Humanitarian Exchange published by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) argues for a review of the entire aid system. This needs to be focused on longer-term programmes that build resilience and thus reduce the risk of crisis and […]
Boran use lIvestock-based indicators to assess rangeland quality
In Marsabit Central District in northern Kenya, a study of Borana herders’ indigenous monitoring and assessment of rangeland quality found that the herders have considerable ecological knowledge, which focuses on livestock-based indicators at the level of classified landscapes. The herders’ personal experiences and social memory provided an environmental history of grazing landscapes and perceptions of […]
Rangeland Observatory created
The International Land Coalition (ILC) believes that fair and effective monitoring of the ongoing conversion and fragmentation of rangeland ecosystems is needed in order to gain a thorough understanding of the trends and their implications. Monitoring should also lead to informed and participatory decision-making on land use and investments in rangelands, and on the trade-offs […]
Dryland opportunities for people and ecosystems
Dryland opportunities: a new paradigm for people, ecosystems and development (ca 100pp) by Mike Mortimore et al (2009) presents recent insights into climate dynamics in drylands and the role of uncertainty, risk and resilience, setting the debate in the context of rapid global change – of climate, economy and geopolitics. It emphasises adaptive potentials, dryland […]
Livestock, wildlife & other biodiversity in Kenya
Studies since 1995 of cattle and wild grazing animals on savanna rangeland in Laikipia, Kenya, have led to better understanding of competition and coexistence between these two groups of herbivores and how they affect biodiversity. By 2011 the research revealed, among other things, that: 1) the pastoral practice of keeping livestock overnight in corrals (“bomas”) […]