Transhumance Program

The IGAD Protocol on Transhumance

This calls for proactive governance of transhumance to ensure better utilization of the socioeconomic benefits of the pastoral system by IGAD countries. There is an intricate balance that must be met to sustain the fragile yet adaptive pastoral ecosystem on water, pasture, peace and disease control. Within the phase I project, “Towards Free Movement of persons and Transhumance in the IGAD Region”, funded by the EU though the European Union Trust Fund (EUTF), the IGAD Member States adopted a Transhumance Protocol that will facilitate formal livestock cross-border mobility in the region. The need for the transhumance protocol in the IGAD region is premised on the understanding that migration in search of pastures and water is paramount to the very survival of pastoralist communities. The Protocol is a calculated response to allow free, safe and orderly cross-border movement of herders and their livestock to access water, pasture and other resources in their neighbouring countries, while committing Governments to invest adequate resources in pastoral regions. With continued support from the EU through the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI), IGAD/ICPALD is now supporting its Member States to ratify and domesticate the Protocol on Transhumance towards operationalization of the Protocol and its Implementation Road Map. The project is part of the larger program “Towards Free Movement of persons and Transhumance in the IGAD Region – Phase II”.