The livelihoods of pastoralists revolve around their indigenous livestock. Combining high

production with disease resistance using genetic engineering is a biotechnological intervention

hailed by some as a promising avenue to mitigate food insecurity and poverty. Considerable

human and financial resources have already been devoted to exploring this option. However, the

challenges are enormous. It is unlikely that such livestock would survive in the harsh ecosystems

Adrian Cullis from FAO Ethiopia reflects on the recent conference in Addis Ababa on the future of pastoralism in Africa. The event's fundamental take home message is that "there is a future for pastoralism in Africa." However, it looks like there will be different futures and different forms of pastoralism - with winners and losers. He also outlines the work FAO does in this area, and comments on some issues like gender and productivity issues (of rangelands, of livestock) that received insufficient attention in the meeting.

Esto es un Compedio Para Responsables de Politicas "Revertir la degradación de la tierra"

This Issue Paper No.3 is part of the series Making Rangelands Secure, a learning initiative supported by ILC, IFAD, RECONCILE, IUCN-WISP and Procasur. The Making Rangelands Secure Initiative has been established by a group of organisations seeking to improve security of rights to rangelands. The initiative seeks to identify, communicate and build good practice on making rangelands secure for local rangeland users. 

Pastoralism is one of the dominant economies of the Sahel and is by far the main economy on the fringes of the Sahara, a zone of which recently some areas have become unstable. It is estimated that about 50 million people rely on pastoralism for their livelihoods in the Sahel and the Saharan fringes, and most of them are poor. However, the Northern parts of the Sahel and the Sahara have seen a rapid recrudescence of trafficking and other illegal activities. Some areas are now home to extremist groups, several of which are involved in terrorist activities.

This rangelands management framework is a product of a rapid pastoralist-led rangeland health assessment that was conducted in three sampled districts of Karamoja; Moroto, Napak and Kotido.

The technical guide on improving the governance of pastoral lands is designed for several audiences including government and non-government actors. It covers specific challenges of pastoral tenure that are unique to pastoralism and considers how these different facets of pastoralist tenure (issues of the commons; free, prior and informed consent (FPIC); gender etc.) can be combined in a coherent approach to securing pastoral lands.

Pastoralism is a livelihood strategy and a system of mobile livestock production that makes wide-ranging use of grazing lands in arid and semi-arid environment that doesn’t uphold sustainable crop cultivation. The freedom of mobility over outsized land for seasonal pastures is indispensable to pastoralist production primarily in order to convert the pastures residues into human food. The people and livestock in pastoral communities may move to avoid various natural and/or social hazards, to avert competition with others, or to seek more favourable conditions.