Transhumance Program [Towards Free Movement of Persons and Transhumance in the IGAD Region – Phase II]

Rationale

The IGAD region is characterized by over 70% arid and semiarid landscapes, particularly in the border areas. The border communities in the region have evolved livelihood systems such as pastoralism and agro-pastoralism that are suited to such ASAL conditions. The pastoral livelihood system is increasingly suffering existential threat owing to the changing climate conditions and mobility restriction. The pastoralist way of life is defined by mobility as transhumant communities move with their livestock mainly to access water and pasture. Mobility is a core-adaptation mechanism in pastoral livelihood system and a crucial aspect of risk management in the harsh and unpredictable changing environments. The combined effects of climate change, cross-border ethnic conflicts, restriction of cross-border mobility, defective land tenure systems that compromise communal land ownership and other land competing rights pose threats to sustainability of pastoral livelihoods.

Livestock constitutes a major economic, social and cultural facet of life for over 250 million people of the IGAD region. The region has over 520 million livestock of which more than 242 million (35%) are small ruminants. Majority of these animals are reared under a pastoral system that requires ‘seasonal migration’ between feeding and watering grounds. Evidence shows that transhumance contributes 6-10% of the GDP of these economies. Transhumance is a net contributor to the economies of the IGAD Region and not just a taker.

In the 21st century, transhumant communities are not only living in a ‘shrinking’ world characterized by the re-emergence of walls and other barriers; but also, a world where cross-border mobility is increasingly being perceived as a security threat. Pastoral communities in this region are increasingly finding themselves in crosshairs of negative perceptions as both an environmental and a national security threat.  Pastoral communities in the IGAD region are assailed from all sides by population growth pressure, exploration of mineral and fossil fuel deposits in rangelands, in addition to climate change and destructive environmental management practices. Never has the need to safeguard access to natural resources by pastoralists been more urgent than now.

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”.

Project Objectives

The project will achieve the following results:

1. Support and facilitation of Member States to ratify the IGAD Protocol on Transhumance;
2. Facilitate and support the Member States to domesticate the IGAD Protocol on Transhumance into national laws;
3. Establish and strengthen cross-border transhumance governance and coordination mechanisms; and
4. Facilitate mapping and designation of cross-border transhumance corridors.

Contact Details

Japheth Kasimbu

Project Coordinator – Transhumance

IGAD Centre for Pastoral Areas and Livestock Development

Tel: +254 737 777742

Mobile: +254 721 728 771

Email: [email protected]

Kabete Vetlabs, Kapenguria Road, Off Waiyaki Way, 

P.O. Box 47824-00100, Nairobi, Kenya