Managing prosopis to improve pastoral livelihoods in the Horn

Regional Conference on managing Prosopis juliflora for better (agro-)pastoral Livelihoods in the Horn of Africa, 1–2 May 2014, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Prosopis juliflora is an aggressive invasive species that threatens the environment and livelihoods in arid and semi-arid areas in the Horn of Africa, including Ethiopia, Sudan, Djibouti, Kenya, Eritrea and Somalia. As examples, in Ethiopia’s Afar Region, over 1 million ha are already invaded and prosopis continues to spread rapidly across both pastoral and crop land, and in the Turkana and Marsabit areas in Kenya, prosopis is leading to severe losses in land and ecological functions. On behalf of BMZ (German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Ethiopia’s Mekele University, GIZ (German Agency for International Cooperation) and UNESCO-IHE (Institute for Water Education) held a regional conference on Prosopis juliflora in the Horn of Africa in early May 2014. This brought together prosopis researchers and academics from various backgrounds, policymakers and development practitioners to learn about the background, drivers and impacts of prosopis invasion in the region, to share knowledge and experiences on prosopis eradication and management, and to discuss how prosopis can be better managed to reduce degradation and to improve (agro-)pastoral livelihoods and food security. The presentations can be found here: http://agriwaterpedia.info/wiki/Regional_Conference_on_Managing_Prosopis_Juliflora_for_better_(agro-)pastoral_Livelihoods_in_the_Horn_of_Africa

 

Posted on 5 June 2014 in Pastoralism & Natural Resources, Pastoralist Livelihoods & Nutrition