Pastoral institutions for managing natural resources

Pastoralists have adapted to the uncertainty of their environment in many ways, but a key feature is their strong social organisation. They have developed complex customary institutions to enable flexibility and opportunism in managing and using natural resources, in order to allow mobility and to enable pastoralist societies to withstand extreme pressures. Their customary institutions are integral to their social safety nets and shared claims over productive assets. The policy paper “Pastoral institutions for managing natural resources and landscapes” (WISP 2007) examines the multiple forces exerting pressure on pastoralists, focused on groups in eastern Africa, and highlights policy changes needed to ensure their survival.

Posted on 11 August 2012 in Pastoralism & Natural Resources, Pastoralism, Mobility & Land Tenure, Pastoralism, Policy & Power