Background

Mobility has been a core-adaptation mechanism in pastoral livelihood system and a crucial aspect of risk management in the harsh and unpredict- able environments within the IGAD region. A vast area of the IGAD region consist of arid lands seasonally occupied by pastoralist communities whose livelihood is dependent on their livestock and ability to move across borders to access pasture and water. Horn of Africa hosts the largest grouping of pastoralists in the world. However, restriction of mobility of transhu- mancecommunities and their livestock, conflicts and stricter cross-border control and defective tenure policies pose threats to sustainability of pastoral livelihoods. In order to address these challenges IGAD is promoting orderly cross-bor- der mobility and migration through establish- ment of an IGAD protocol on transhumance. This program is funded underthe European Union Emergency Trust Fund framework for stability and addressing the root causes of irregu- lar migration and displaced persons in Africa.IG- AD’s specialized institution for pastoral areas and livestock development (ICPALD) is leading this process of developing a protocol on transhumance that will facilitate formal free and safe livestock cross-border mobility in the region.