Supporting pastoral mobility in East and West Africa

About this project

Background 

Livestock mobility allows millions of pastoralists to lead productive lives in areas few other producers can exploit. It is critical for livelihoods, trade, and for coping with climate change. In several parts of Africa there are important efforts underway to facilitate livestock mobility and to remove the obstacles that constrain the inherent flexibility of pastoral systems.

In several parts of Africa there are innovative local initiatives to facilitate and protect livestock mobility. But very little of this experience has yet been documented or shared in ways that can inform future policy and practice.

Location 

Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia and Somaliland.

Aims 

This one-year project will draw together the lessons from these initiatives in order to increase understanding about the importance of livestock mobility in drylands. In so doing it will lay the foundations for a longer-term programme of work to enhance livestock mobility in East and West Africa and thus promote the sustainability of pastoral and agro-pastoral livelihoods.

If livestock mobility is to be enhanced in the long term, we believe that the following core issues need attention as part of this project

  • greater political will: more informed and positive attitudes towards pastoralism, and a greater understanding of its economic benefits
  • stronger pastoral civil society organisations which can articulate and defend their members’ interests, and engage with government in the design and implementation of policies
  • a more efficient legal and administrative system based on principles of negotiation and reciprocity with other groups
  • resiliant livelihoods and better market integration to ensure pastoral communities can respond to climate change and meet the rising demands for livestock and products
  • greater consensus about the importance of livestock mobility and the most appropriate strategies to secure it

Partners 

SOS Sahel International UK

Contact 

Su Fei Tan sufei.tan@iied.org

Funded by 

Howard G. Buffett Foundation