Water tenure for food security, climate resilience & equity

Pastoralist water rights were given attention in the workshop on “Promoting water tenure for food security, climate resilience and equity” (report by Karolina Heck et al, 2022, 31pp) held by FAO and adelphi research in June 2022 in Berlin, Germany. The workshop aimed to increase knowledge and awareness about the role of water tenure in managing water resources and in its impacts on people’s food security and livelihoods. The workshop focused on: 1) Water tenure & food security; 2) Water tenure & social inclusion; and 3) Water tenure to increase climate resilience & mitigate conflicts. It highlighted the need for secure water tenure for sustainable development, especially for marginalised groups.

One of the case studies was on “Expansion of large-scale irrigated agriculture and implications for water tenure of pastoralists in the Awash River Basin, Ethiopia”. The commercial irrigation schemes on the Awash led to the loss of communal grazing and blocked pastoralists’ access to water points. The Ethiopian Government did not heed customary land and water tenure rights. The key question raised in the workshop was how to recognise customary water law within a formal system in order to overcome exclusion and improve legal security.

Posted on 14 October 2022 in Pastoralism & Natural Resources, Pastoralist Livelihoods & Nutrition