The document discusses the critical role of equitable and secure access to land for rural poor livestock owners, emphasizing its importance in reducing vulnerability and fostering sustainable livestock development. It highlights various case studies from IFAD projects in Africa that address challenges related to land access, water management, and land degradation, while showcasing community-based approaches to improve livestock and crop production systems. The paper advocates for integrated development strategies that balance the needs of both crop farmers and livestock breeders to enhance food security and sustainable resource management.

1. Livestock
Thematic Papers
Tools for project design
Livestock and land
Equitable and secure access to land is a critical factor for the rural poor, especially livestock
owners, who depend on agriculture and animal-related activities for their livelihood. Having
secure access to land for agriculture and pastoral activities reduces their vulnerability and
enhances their opportunities to invest in land for agriculture and livestock activities. Indeed, it
contributes to the development of more equitable relations among sedentary groups (farmers)
and nomadic and semi-nomadic communities (livestock owners and pastoralists). Fostering
investments in sustainable livestock development as well as in equitable and secure access to
land for rural poverty reduction is recognized by the International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD)1 as a key goal to be achieved through its projects and programmes.
This thematic paper is based on the assumption that secure investments in livestock
infrastructure and assets can be encouraged by ensuring equitable and secure access to land, and
that this approach will help reduce rural poverty. To this end, it will identify experiences and
lessons learned regarding livestock and land-related issues, drawing on experiences from IFAD
development projects and programmes all over the world, with a special focus on Africa. It will
examine the following interrelated issues: livestock and access to land, access to reliable sources
of water, encroachment, land degradation, grazing and mobility. Case studies based on IFAD
experience and related to the above-mentioned dimensions will be analysed to illustrate
linkages between current theoretical approaches and activities in the field. Although one specific
case study will be presented in each paragraph, all provide information and examples relevant
to the other issues addressed in the paper. For the sake of clarity, each will be inserted in a
specific section to highlight one particular issue.
The paper will end by drawing general lessons and conclusions on the importance of taking
into account equitable and secure access to land together with livestock activities in agricultural
and rural development interventions.
1 See IFAD Strategic Framework 2007-2010 and IFAD policy “Promoting Equitable Access to
Land and Tenure Security for Rural Poverty Reduction”.

2. Livestock and land element to resource management, including
Land tenure and the different group decision-making for determining
uses of land access and use and management of
Access to land and land tenure security are at resources in common areas. In such
the heart of all rural societies and agricultural contexts, group identity plays a significant
economies. Land tenure comprises the rules role in managing access to land and
and norms governing how, when and where resources. Indeed, the right to access
people access land and other natural common property is based on forms of
resources. These rules and norms can be group membership, in particular ethnicity,
administered by statutory (formal) and village affiliation and residency.
customary (informal) systems. In this section,
the two systems will be described briefly to For these reasons, customary systems may not
highlight existing linkages with livestock- be recognized by state and legal authorities,
related activities.2 and there may be problems related to the
(a) Statutory laws3 refer to legislation and other adequate representation of the interests of all
legal instruments promulgated by official relevant community members.
authorities. The term is used to denote law However, evidence shows that it is possible
as made by the State, in contrast to for non-group members to negotiate access to
customary law, which derives from the resources although, in some cases, outsiders
customary institutions specific to are excluded from accessing common property
particular contexts and circumstances.4 In under all circumstances. Secure investments in
statutory systems, access to and use of livestock infrastructure and assets can be
natural resources are governed formally by encouraged by ensuring land tenure security.
the State and any dispute deriving from IFAD experience shows that land tenure
conflicting interests by various categories systems have influenced investment in
of stakeholders (pastoralists, farmers, croplands: following a comparison of
tenants) is also regulated by national laws. rangeland management options in various
(b) Customary systems are context-specific and countries, it was shown that, in rangelands,
diverse. They tend to balance individual and existing property rights systems were failing to
group rights and generally have a collective provide an appropriate balance between
Case study 1:
Development of Integrated Crop-Livestock Production Systems in Low
Rainfall Areas of Mashreq and Maghreb – IFAD Grant 385
In most countries with low-rainfall areas in the Mashreq and Maghreb regions, traditional local
institutions governing access to grazing lands have been disrupted, resulting in a system of open
access, with no regulatory mechanism to control the extent and intensity of grazing. In these areas,
small ruminants represent a source of income for farmers and nomadic or semi-nomadic herders.
The goal of the research programme was to develop productive and sustainable production systems
based on small ruminants within the framework of existing property rights. To this end, a preliminary
study on local property rights has been conducted on the following aspects: evaluation of property
rights, identification of links between property rights, resource use and productivity; comparative
analysis of institutions in rangeland management; assessment of community water property rights
and land property rights; and institutional options in rangeland improvement.
Although in some communities there may be conflicting interests and objectives (e.g. between crop
and livestock farmers regarding the use of marginal communal land, as in Iraq) in Morocco this has
not been the case. Here it has been easier to introduce the community approach in the barley
livestock system areas, where land is privately owned, than in the rangeland-livestock system, where
it is owned and used on a customary basis.
2 See also case studies 1, 4 and 6.
3 The International Institute for Environment and Development, Land Tenure Lexicon, available on:
www.iied.org/pubs/display.php?l=919&n=363&o=7411IIED&w=NR .
4 IFAD Learning Note No. 3.7: Land Tenure.
2

3. individual and community interests in the scarce water resources are common, especially
control and management of common pastures. in arid areas, both within and between
With reference to the use of land and communities. In these areas, livestock owners
livestock, the following three key issues will are often seen as a potential danger for two
be addressed: access to reliable sources of reasons: (i) they could take possession of
water, encroachment and land degradation. water points for their own livestock and (ii)
Needless to say, these are all closely animals journeying to water points could
interrelated as they look at the same issue destroy local vegetation and cause soil
from different perspectives. However, for the degradation (see case study 2).
sake of clarity here, each has been analysed in In an attempt to settle water conflicts,
a separate paragraph. governments are often asked to intervene in
order to provide and regulate access to and
Limited access to reliable sources of water5 control over sources of water.
Water-related tensions occur when resources IFAD experience shows that water
are scarce and access is limited. Water use by resources management increasingly requires
the livestock sector is not limited to drinking compromise and broad consensus if solutions
water, since water is also required for feed to problems are to be properly formulated
production and processing byproducts. and effectively implemented.
Livestock drink 20-50 litres per tropical Indeed, the nature of global water security
livestock unit per day, although drinking and has also been affected by climate change,
service water volumes vary greatly by species which has led to changes in rainfall patterns;
and breed, ambient temperature, water quality increased frequency and severity of flood and
and water content of feed, animal activity, droughts; changes in growing seasons and in
pregnancy and lactation (International Water water quality and quantity; and impact on
Management Institute). animal genetic breeds. In this context,
Limited access to reliable water sources development interventions could support
can create tensions and lead to conflicts as local communities in mitigating the effects of
the competing demands of private, climate change and provide both farmers and
agricultural and industrial uses for water pastoralists’ groups with effective tools to deal
increase pressure on resources. Conflicts over with emerging challenges together.7
Case study 2:
Gash Sustainable Livelihoods Regeneration Project in Sudan6 – IFAD
In The Sudan, interventions to increase access to reliable sources of water and to capture flood
waters have had positive effects on both pastoralists and farmers. In the GSLRP, a holistic approach
has been implemented in order to sustainably address the ongoing issues of land and water
governance. Approximately 40,000 tenants have access to irrigated land and more than
50 hafirs [water reservoirs] are being rehabilitated, taking into consideration hygienic outlets for
livestock water use as well as domestic water use. The local animal resources administration
estimates that about 30 per cent of project area herds have benefited from the water containment
reconstruction. Activities contributed to shortening the long journey to water points in many cases;
herds in the project area were not benefiting from high-yielding pasture because of water shortages.
Nomads previously grazed their animals around the limited water points, resulting in tremendous
overgrazing and soil erosion (about 30 per cent of these problems were solved as a result of the
project).
Throughout the intervention by the Government of The Sudan, ongoing disputes on the use of water
sources between local communities have been settled and GSLRP will be included in the country’s
land reform agenda as a successful pilot initiative in the land and water governance reform
programme.
5 For further details, see InnoWat publication Water and livestock for rural livelihoods available on
www.ifad.org/english/water/innowat/topic/Topic_2web.pdf
6 For further details visit: www.ifad.org/english/operations/pn/sdn/i630sd/index.htm
7 For further details, see IFAD thematic paper on livestock and climate change.
3

4. Case study 3:
Integrated management of pastoral land and the pastoral units approach in
Senegal – IFAD
Extensive livestock farming as practised in the Ferlo region is based on herd mobility and the
exploitation of natural resources that are being degraded year by year as a result of climatic
fluctuations and the herders’ lack of organization. Herders have long suffered from the absence of a
discussion and coordination framework, a situation that has led to an overly individualistic spirit.
The collaborative approach developed for the management of pastoral land consists of seeking
synergies between the IFAD-financed investment project in Senegal, PRODAM, and herders and
actors involved in natural resource management.
The approach is based on the study of local people’s practices in pastoral natural resource use and
implementation of a participatory management model involving all the actors concerned: herders,
local communities, technical experts and government authorities. It is based on the following
principles:
- Ensuring protection of existing natural resources and rehabilitation of degraded areas to increase
their productivity;
- Making local people effectively responsible for implementing programmes drawn up with them,
and involving them in sustainable natural resource management.
Inparticular, a number of initiatives have been implemented, including:
- Construction or rehabilitation of wells and associated structures;
- Construction of firebreaks;
- Establishment of pastoral management plans;
- Organization of herders and creation of management committees for infrastructure installed;
- Implementation of a major programme of capacity-building (literacy, training), support and advice;
and
- Establishment of a pastoral unit umbrella organization.
This approach could be replicated in all areas with collaborative management of pastoral land to
improve people’s living conditions, since it is based on traditional practices with regard to the use of
natural resources. To ensure success, all management documents, including digital maps, have been
translated into the national language and are accessible to herding communities.
Encroachment involving different land users (see case studies
The term refers to situations in which the use 3, 6 and 7) can reduce conflicts among
of rangeland or pastureland for crop farming pastoralists and sedentary communities. In
is favoured, at the expense of pastoralism. In this context, pastoralist organizations play a
such contexts, farming areas have encroached leading role in advocating for pastoralists’
on pastoralists’ lands. land rights, particularly in building the
The rural poor may rely on livestock to capacities of pastoralists to organize
improve their diet and food security, earn themselves and to represent their own
cash for basic requirements or investments, interests at local, national and regional levels.
and accumulate animals as savings for To this end, the following two different
emergencies and/or as symbols of wealth. categories of pastoralist organizations could
Although livestock is often the most be clearly identified:
important income generator for farm families, • Pastoralist organizations: different types
encroachment leads to crop cultivation being of herders’ organizations operating at the
preferred to pasture. This may cause conflicts local and national levels, ranging from
to emerge among farmers and herders. The committees to associations and
focus should be placed on the entire federations. They carry out various
integrated farming system: food and cash interrelated functions and often have a
crops, livestock and value-added processing. primary aim of defending and securing
Participatory development approaches pastoralists’ land rights.8
8 For further details on IFAD’s experience with pastoralist organizations, see:
www.ifad.org/lrkm/theme/po.htm
4

5. Case study 4:
Gash Barka Livestock and Agricultural Development Project in Eritrea – IFAD
The Gash Barka project area covers 27 per cent of the country’s total land area and supports
investments in livestock and crop production enterprises, benefiting a total of 16,000 households.
The main stakeholders in Gash Barka include pastoralists, agro-pastoralists, army ex-combatants,
investors and elites, returnees and immigrants from the highlands. In these areas, the encroachment
of commercial farming into areas formerly used for grazing creates problems for pastoralists who
increasingly find their traditional grazing areas diminished and their access to dry season water
points along the riverbeds blocked by newly cultivated land. The situation is chronic along the Barka
river to the west of Akordat, where banana plantations have proliferated in recent years. There is no
precedent for registering grazing land for range management, though this may be legally possible
and could be one way of formalizing land use patterns in certain areas.
• Initiatives to support pastoralists’ adequate plant nutrition, timely planting and
organizations: multi-stakeholder proper plant densities, as well as sufficient
associations supporting local and national moisture and protection against insects, pests
pastoralist associations, promoting and plant and animal diseases. Multiple
debates and exchanges on the main cropping systems integrating cereals and root
challenges faced by pastoralists, and tuber crops with grain legumes
advocating for land rights and providing (groundnuts, cowpeas, pigeon peas, soybeans,
training to pastoralists on specific issues dry beans and chickpeas) and with livestock-
(e.g. ensuring land rights to nomadic related investment activities are necessary to
pastoralists by training paralegal define a sustainable development strategy.
pastoralists as in the example of the In such contexts, an integrated
Mbororo Social and Cultural development approach is needed that
Development Association in Cameroon9). combines increases in crop production and
investments in animal-related activities: the
Indeed, participatory approaches make a first can provide feed and forage for expanded
positive contribution to the development of livestock operations for milk, egg, meat and
land improvement practices, particularly other enterprises that can substantially
investments in livestock and water increase smallholder incomes.
infrastructure. In these circumstances, IFAD experience shows that a holistic
collaborative management approaches are approach that includes investments in
needed to enhance the natural resource while cropping and farming systems together with
avoiding conflicts on its use: soil investments in livestock and range
conservation, water harvesting and drip management practices leads to sustainable
irrigation, rotations with legume crops and development and avoids conflicts around
nitrogen-fixing tree species and mixed crop- access to natural resources. Moreover, in an
livestock systems should be combined.10 attempt to reduce risks and the overall
IFAD experience shows that focusing vulnerability of the rural poor, development
investments on only one type of activity - strategies should take into account both
farming systems, cropping or livestock farmers’ and livestock breeders’ needs,
activities, inevitably leads to conflicts among avoiding the current trend of farming areas
land users with adverse effects on the encroaching on pastoralists’ lands.
management of natural resources, food
security and income generation for all Land degradation and livestock
community members. Optimal yield and Land degradation leads to soil erosion, an
productivity cannot be achieved without insidious degradation process that can quickly
9 For further information, see case study 8 at www.landcoalition.org/pdf/08_CSD_16_CP.pdf
10 For further details, see IFAD thematic paper on integrated livestock/crop farming systems.
5

6. lead to a downward spiral in vegetation cover, pastures; (ii) use of soil conservation methods
especially with the warmer and drier and silvopastoralism together with controlled
conditions expected in the future. Causes of livestock exclusion from sensitive areas; and
soil infertility include a shortage of manure, (iii) payment schemes for environmental
tillage practices, continuously cropping the services in livestock-based land use to help
same land, limited crop rotation, reduce and reverse land degradation.
indiscriminate cutting of trees, burning of crop Indeed, the high spatial variability of soil
residues and bush fires. depth and bulk density are relatively easy to
Various types of land degradation can map with aerial photographs and satellite
occur as a result of water and wind erosion, imagery, and therefore appropriate training can
chemical and physical deterioration or a quickly provide the skills necessary to identify
combination thereof (Food and Agriculture critical variables. In an attempt to ensure
Organization of the United Nations – FAO, sustainable impact and active involvement by
Land and Water Digital Media Series No. local populations, training is needed to enable
2011). The most common causes of land the rural poor to develop such practices.
degradation are deforestation, overgrazing,
agricultural activities (improper agricultural Grazing
management), overexploitation of vegetation Since livestock is the major user of primary
and industrial activities (mainly pollution). production in arid and semi-arid regions, land
Among them, pastoralism is often degradation has commonly been attributed to
considered to be the main cause; there is a grazing. However, the degradation of land and
common belief that grazing inevitably causes plant cover as a result of unsustainable grazing
losses in soil fertility. Losses in soil fertility are pressures is often a consequence of complex
often presumed to be related to herd size, so interactions between climate change;
that bigger herds are thought to cause the most inappropriate resource management practices,
damage to land. However, the World Initiative policies and regulations; lack of enforcement
for Sustainable Pastoralism (WISP)12 underlines and political dominance of groups or
the role of pastoralism as an environmentally individuals (IFAD, 1998). The shift to
important practice that makes a positive sustainable alternatives ideally involves giving
contribution to land conservation. Recent more control to indigenous people or to those
studies13 show that where pastoral mobility with traditional rights.
and local decision-making institutions are Pastoralists often graze their animals on
constrained, land degradation often occurs, as land that is owned by the State, but whose
well as losses in biodiversity. On the other use is actually governed by complex
hand, where pastoral mobility is protected and interactions between customary institutions
customary institutions still function, land and rules and national laws. In this context,
degradation is avoided and sustainable land tenure laws and traditional rules become
development is maintained. important to protect pastoralists’ rights when
IFAD experience shows that soil erosion is pastoral land is sought by outsiders for
higher in contexts of inappropriate policies pasture or other uses.15 In arid regions, land
and inadequate livestock management. and water rights must be dealt with together,
Accordingly, FAO (2006) produced a report in as pastoralists may have to compete with
collaboration with the multi-institutional farmers growing crops or urban dwellers.
Livestock, Environment and Development A huge variety of grazing styles exists, ranging
(LEAD) Initiative14 suggesting the three from simply releasing animals from an overnight
following remedies: (i) controlling access and corral or shed to wander freely in communal
removing obstacles to mobility on common pastures (e.g. Tunisia-El Jaffara) to transporting
11 Full document available at: ftp://ftp.fao.org/agl/agll/docs/landdegradationassessment.doc
12 This is a global initiative that supports the empowerment of pastoralists to sustainably manage dryland
resources. It is a catalytic partnership that promotes pastoralism as an effective and efficient land use and
production system for the drylands of the world.
13 See: www.iucn.org/wisp/
14 LEAD is a multi-institutional initiative of FAO formed to promote ecologically sustainable livestock
production systems. Further info: www.virtualcentre.org/
15 See also section on encroachment herein.
6

7. Case study 5:
Leasehold Forestry and Livestock Programme in Nepal – IFAD
The overall goal of the project is to achieve a sustained reduction in poverty among the 44,300 poor
households that are allocated leasehold forestry plots in the 22 districts, through increased forest
products and livestock yields. The programme involves leasing degraded forest land to local
households under 40-year renewable leases, providing them with secure tenure and the confidence
to develop and improve the land by investing in livestock and rangeland infrastructure. Two
expected outcomes are: (i) increasing land productivity and soil fertility and (ii) developing
innovative risk management strategies through alternative income-generation activities and drought
strategies.
To this end, land tenure rights have been extended to local leasehold forestry groups by providing
each group with certificates indicating the portion of allocated land. Once land ownership has been
ensured, the following set of six activities has been carried out to achieve the above-mentioned
objectives: (i) distribution of a package of vegetable seed and soil conservation materials (e.g. set
of gabion boxes); (ii) allocation of vegetable seeds including beans, chillies, cucumber, snake
gourds and others; (iii) orientation training for forest guards; (iv) land development and conflict
management training for livestock and forestry staff; (v) production and delivery of leasehold
forestry calendars to enable groups to effectively plan their activities (rangeland activities, meetings,
and savings and credit payments); and (vi) training in animal health at the district level.
Indeed, forage availability even during the dry season has been guaranteed as well as increased
green cover on leasehold plots. Conflict management training courses have been provided to
rangers and livestock technicians.
Participants rehabilitate the land by banning grazing and by stall-feeding their livestock. They also
use and sell forest products such as timber, fuel wood and fodder. The leases have given poor rural
people long-term land tenure security and provided incentives to regenerate, protect and manage
degraded forest areas under their use, while offering them consistent benefits in terms of improved
livelihoods.
As of today, environmental degradation has been reversed at most sites in the project area. Ground
cover increased from 32 per cent to 50 per cent after a single growing season, eventually reaching
100 per cent coverage.
animals to rented pastures many kilometres for land degradation, based on the
from the owner’s farm, or long-distance assumption of a positive correlation between
seasonal migrations to summer pastures. land degradation and so-called overgrazing.17
However, they all involve the following The term refers to the almost universal
three main elements (Thornes, 2007): tendency to blame poor pastoral
(a) An origin: this could be a farm, an communities for causing erosion by
overnight pasture or even a village: a ”overgrazing” as a result of ”overstocking”
place where the livestock usually spend (Thornes, 2007). The concept is then related
the night; to the definition of ”carrying capacity”,
(b) A route to the grazing grounds: such supposedly to provide a safe stocking rate
routes often form a complex network beyond which catastrophic erosion will
supplied with forage field or water points; always occurs. Poor communities are
these were created by royal decree in penalized for exceeding the carrying capacity.
Spain and Italy.16 It is commonly stated that any removal of
(c) A common grazing area: shared by several vegetation by whatever means results in an
communities (e.g. paddock). increase in soil erosion, and that when plant
cover falls below 30 per cent erosion has
Regardless of their grazing style, pastoralists catastrophic consequences. However,
are commonly considered to be responsible overgrazing depends largely on socio-
16 Often identifiable on Google Earth by the severity of erosion near staging posts. There is even a
European Society of green lanes and in England and Scotland some are many centuries old.
17 Scoones, 1996.
7

8. Case study 6:
IFAD Project for the Promotion of Local Initiative for Development in Aguié,
Niger, with a land tenure component coordinated by the ILC Secretariat in
the Village of Dan Saga
PPILDA is an IFAD-funded project approved in 2002 with the aim of improving standards by
promoting local initiatives while emphasizing sustainable uses of the natural resource base. The
project set out to train local people grouped in committees to carry out a detailed census of all
villagers and their assets through full villager involvement. Villagers are asked to define their
activities, map their land and develop their own definitions and classifications of poverty.
In the department of Aguié where PPILDA is active, the village of Dan Saga has been selected to
conduct a specific pilot activity for solving land-related issues and conflicts. The objective of this
pilot activity, coordinated and supported by the ILC, is to test and analyse a methodology for
securing land rights at the village level, and to test a mechanism that is sustainable and can be
replicated on a larger scale in the framework of existing land policy in the Niger (Code Rural).
Working towards the specific objectives of securing the beneficiaries’ productive capital and
learning about the true land tenure situation in the village, the PPILDA team, in partnership with
local government, traditional authorities and representatives of the beneficiaries, have achieved
the following:
- A complete participatory territorial mapping and cadastre of the Dan Saga village (1,271 fields
in total). The mapping also included thematic maps by sex, surface area, ethnic group, use, and
types of land acquisition and transactions. The maps clearly define the location and boundaries
of pastoral areas such as livestock corridors, pastoral wells and grazing areas. Their clarity helps
to solve and prevent conflicts between farmers and herders.
- Issuance of 1,271 land titles to 879 villagers, including 135 women.
- Training of animators in the village to conduct surveying and territorial mapping and to inform
people of their legal rights in relation to land.
Local committees meet regularly to update records by documenting the participation of each
individual in project activities. The information gathered is then entered into large registers that list,
among other things, the villagers’ names, status, household composition, the amount of land they
cultivate, the livestock they own, and how they rank themselves in terms of poverty. The result is
an exhaustive record of all the inhabitants of 22 villages in the Maradi region in southern Niger, a
total of 27,000 people.
economic circumstances as well as biophysical organizations recognized under national laws
causes. Since it is a very dynamic concept, and the possibility of recognizing the
what is considered overgrazing one year may authority of traditional leadership.
not be the next year, or even in the same
season. Recent investigations (Thornes, 2007) Mobility
of historical circumstances reveal other Pastoral and agro-pastoral communities differ
interesting points: blaming overgrazing from other rural groups because of the central
without an in-depth analysis of the specific importance of livestock products and income
context could lead to a misidentification of in their livelihoods. Unlike breeders or
the true cause of land degradation. livestock-keeping farmers, pastoral herds
Based on the above-mentioned move through places according to the season;
assumptions, pastoralists are often also, they feed on natural forage rather than
marginalized. Laws become more and more cultivated fodder and pasturage.18
important to provide them with a legal basis Pastoral production systems, and
to access and control their lands and natural particularly food security and livelihoods, are
resources. However, laws and tenure systems under serious threat from various man-made
are often complex and may differ among the and natural risks (B. Yemane, 2003), such as
adjacent countries through which pastoralists the following:
move during the year. Two key related issues • Expansion of sedentary agriculture;
to be addressed are the types of local • Expansion of agricultural projects;
8

9. • Expansion of wildlife parks inside residences or spend the night at a
rangeland; considerable distance from their homes with
• Emergence and expansion of agro- all or part of their herds.
pastoralism; Sedentary communities often believe that
• Encroachment of unwanted plant species; such mobility is evidence of disorganized
and lives because of the innate incompetence of
• Conflicts over rangeland resources. herders; hence the need to impose policies to
settle them down, often in unsuitable places.
Climate change, particularly rising Herders are viewed as people who escape
temperatures and increasing rainfall government administration, as potential
variability, is affecting different regions, threats to security and as tax evaders, so that
locations and population groups.19 national policies have been implemented in
This paragraph analyses the rationale of an attempt to sedentarize nomadic and
mobility for pastoralists and the effects of transhumant populations. Nomads have been
climate change on pastoralists. encouraged to settle near towns and centres to
Rationale for mobility:20 By keeping track give them access to basic services such as
of resources, pastoralists are able to make health and education. These policies,
optimal use of available resources and match combined with uncontrolled water
livestock numbers to pastures each year. This development, have led to degradation around
reduces the risks of overgrazing and land their settlements and exacerbated the effects
degradation, which are associated mainly with of drought. In other cases, pastoralists have
sedentary forms of livestock-rearing. been driven towards establishing and
Mobility patterns range from purely developing reciprocal and interdependent
nomadic (opportunistic, no fixed base), relations with sedentary communities in order
through various forms of transhumance (set to benefit from local facilities. In all these
migratory routes on a seasonal basis) and cases, the main challenge is to provide
levels of agro-pastoralism (attachment to sustainable services to a society that is
seasonal crop production) to more sedentary constantly on the move.
patterns (ranching). Each demands a different Throughout Africa, governments are
kind of involvement by household and herd currently investing in land titling activities in
members. Mobility enables herders to raise the belief that these programmes can provide
several livestock species at once (cattle, sheep, higher security levels to achieve higher levels of
goats), thereby making optimal use of the production and protect resources from
range of pastures available (grasslands, destruction. Mobility is also constrained within
shrubs, trees). each state by district boundaries, game parks,
Based on this assumption, mobility21 and nature reserves and/or quarantine zones.
seasonal movements are essential for IFAD experience in East Africa shows that
pastoralists as rainfall and temperature result a key issue underpinning livestock and
in marked spatial and temporal variations in rangelands development plans is the
grazing resources. Freedom of mobility over conflicting interaction between nomadic and
large tracts of land is essential to pastoralist sedentary groups (often between agro-
production.22 Agro-pastoralists occupy areas pastoralists and crop farmers) with different
where the human population is moderately development needs and strategies. IFAD’s
dense and their livestock normally spend the approach focuses on involving all land users,
night in the vicinity of the household’s pastoralists and farmers, in planning a
permanent residence. On the other hand, common comprehensive rangeland strategy.
pastoralists occupy areas with low human As highlighted in the specific case of the
density and will either frequently move their United Republic of Tanzania, the provision of
18 Mobile livelihoods, patchy resources and shifting rights: approaching pastoral territories (ILC, 2007).
19 www.ifad.org/climate/ and www.ipcc.ch .
20 Hesse, C and Thébaud, B. (2006) Will Pastoral Legislation Disempower Pastoralists in the Sahel?
and IFAD thematic paper on livestock (DRAFT).
21 The Dana Declaration on Mobile Peoples, 2002 www.iucn.org/themes/ceesp/dana.htm.
22 World Initiative for Sustainable Pastoralism http://www.iucn.org/.
9

10. Case study 7:
Agricultural Sector Development Programme
Livestock: Support for Pastoral and Agro-Pastoral Development in the United
Republic of Tanzania – IFAD
The programme area is characterized by inadequate public reforms and insufficient capacity among
service providers to respond to the needs of rural people, both pastoralists and sedentary
communities. Among livestock keepers, pastoralists account for about 20 per cent, namely the
Maasai and the Mangate, while the other 80 per cent are agro-pastoralists combining crop farming
with livestock. The programme area is characterized by conflicts between pastoralists and
sedentary communities over access to grazing land and livestock water resources, due to
unsustainable use and inadequate management of rangelands. Locally-based dispute resolution
procedures and improved management and use of land and natural resources are needed to settle
disputes among competing interest groups, in particular for rangelands and livestock water
resources. Women on both the mainland and the islands gain access to land through marriage and
can inherit under Islamic law for themselves or on behalf of their children under customary law.
One of the project objectives is to link improved land tenure security to sustainable land
management by supporting: (i) the registration of village land; (ii) conflict resolution between
competing land users, in particular pastoralists and sedentary communities; and (iii) the
development of village land-use management plans that include the recognition of usage rights and
responsibilities of pastoralists from outside of the village area, including their rights of way and
access to pastures and water. Building on existing customary practices, participatory
methodologies will be adopted. International and national technical assistance will be employed to
develop methods, and capacity will be built at district and village levels. At village level, the project
will support village land committees (for land administration) and village land councils (for dispute
resolution), and will ensure participation by all land users (in particular marginalized groups such as
pastoralists, small-scale livestock holders and women).
The approach will be piloted in 96 villages on the mainland and 38 villages on the islands.
Information on land policy and associated law will be disseminated within districts and villages.
charkos dams could be considered as a rangelands are also characterized by species
possible sustainable solution in order to diversity to optimize different range resources
manage emerging disputes over grazing lands and properly conserve the ecosystem. More
and water. attention ought to be paid to indigenous
Changing climate patterns will have environmental knowledge, which contributes
significant consequences for many to conserving biodiversity and preserving
pastoralists, increasing resource variability species and habitats. This makes pastoralism
while reshaping overall availability. essential to the ecological health of dryland
Accordingly, mitigation and adaptation23 environments.
strategies are promoted by governments and They have played and continue to play an
development institutions with the aim of important role in maintaining the rich range
alleviating the effect of climate change. In this of biodiversity of pastoral lands.
context, pastoralists and local communities
may play a key role thanks to their in-depth
knowledge of the complex ecological Conclusions
dynamics of their surroundings: they are often This paper has argued that a holistic approach
the best detectors of environmental change. focused on the cross-cutting issues related to
They own a diverse array of indigenous equitable and secure access to land and
livestock, selected on the basis of survival and livestock is key to promoting sustainable
productivity and well adapted to the agricultural development strategies.
surrounding climatic conditions. Their Conclusions drawn from IFAD experience,
23 www.ipcc.ch. Working Group II Report: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability and Working Group III
Report: Mitigation of Climate Change.
10

11. presented here through a selected number of order to increase access to reliable sources of
interrelated case studies, are of practical natural resources with positive effects on both
relevance to actors at international, regional pastoralists and farmers.
and local levels aiming to foster agricultural In closing, the following strategic issues
and rural development with reference to both need to be addressed and taken into account
farming and pastoral systems. over time in sustainable rural development
One key issue highlighted in this paper is interventions:
that land tenure security and investments in • Analysis of trade-offs between supporting
livestock-related assets are not mutually agricultural practices to enhance local
exclusive. Investments in livestock productivity and absolute production
infrastructure can be encouraged by ensuring levels including livestock-related activities,
secure access to land and vice versa. equity and equality of access.
IFAD experience24 shows that conflicts • Ensuring equitable land access to
between nomadic or semi-nomadic and nomadic, semi-nomadic and sedentary
sedentary communities could be avoided communities, including women, youth
through the implementation of participatory and indigenous people.
approaches involving all interest groups. • Promoting the participation of
Pastoralists often live in marginalized pastoralists and ensuring the inclusion of
areas with low potential for crop cultivation their views in land policy decisions at
due to variable rainfall conditions, dry land appropriate local, national and
and highly variable temperatures. Accordingly, international forums through pastoralists’
they have developed endogenous adaptation organizations.
strategies to conduct their activities while • Linking land reform with rural poverty
maintaining ecological balance. Current reduction- failure to address these issues
development strategies can build on undermines the impact of other
traditional knowledge in order to achieve investments in other areas, especially the
sustainable impact. livestock and rangeland sector.
Finding a balance among pastures, livestock • Scaling up participatory methodologies
and crops is a key issue to be addressed in for securing land rights in order to avoid
every sustainable development programme. possible conflicts among land users is
Investments in livestock infrastructure and essential. Linking land tenure security to
agricultural activities can be promoted by participatory methodologies for land use
ensuring equitable and secure access to land. planning and sustainable land
As demonstrated by IFAD experience,25 it is management is a key approach for scaling
possible to develop comprehensive strategies in up greater land tenure security.
Acknowledgments
This paper has benefited from inputs and materials provided by: Barbara Codispoti (ILC), Michael Taylor (ILC) and
Prof. John Thornes. Responsibility for its arguments remains entirely with the authors, and the views expressed do not
necessarily reflect the position of the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
24 See case studies 1, 3, 4 and 6.
25 See case studies 2 and 5.
11

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