This page highlights several ongoing and recent NRI projects in the field of pastoralism.

Pastoralism and Drought

From 1998 to 2002, NRI researchers and their collaborators implemented a series of policy research projects, funded by DFID and carried out in partnership with the World Bank, on drought management in the pastoral and agro-pastoral livestock sectors. Most of this research took place in Northern Kenya. Earlier outputs of this research are presented in the NRI book: "Pastoralism, Drought and Planning: Experiences in Northern Kenya and Elsewhere", edited by J Morton (2001).

An adapted version of the first chapter of this book is available as an NRI Policy Series booklet, and downloadable here. [PDF 479Kb]

Some later outputs by NRI and its collaborators from the Institute of Development Studies and Stockwatch Ltd., are also available here:

• Drought Losses, Pastoral Saving and Banking: a Review, (2001) [PDF 340Kb] [Word 129Kb]
• The Feasibility of Establishing Cow-Calf Camps on Private Ranches as a Drought Mitigation Measure, (2001) [PDF 343Kb] [Word 564Kb]
• Drought Management for Pastoral Livelihoods - Policy Guidelines for Kenya, (2002) [PDF 269Kb] [Word 126Kb]
• Comparing Drought Mitigation Interventions in the Pastoral Livestock Sector, (2002) [PDF 260Kb] [Word 154Kb]
• Financial Services for Risk Management in Pastoral Systems, (2002) [PDF 219Kb] [Word 122Kb]
• A Note on Comparing International Experiences of Drought management in the Pastoral and Agro-Pastoral Livestock Sectors, (2002) [PDF 93Kb] [Word 35Kb]

Pastoralism and Sustainable Livelihoods

John Morton of NRI and Nick Meadows, NRI Associate, prepared a discussion paper for DFID surveying the new ways of thinking about, and the new opportunities for, pastoral development made possible by the adoption by DFID and other donors of the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach. This is available as an NRI Policy series booklet, and downloadable here. [PDF 1200Kb]

Some of the themes discussed in the paper were:

• the importance of addressing pastoral development at both the community and the policy level, in an integrated manner
• the importance of addressing human health and education needs among pastoralists
• the importance of livelihood diversification for pastoralists.

These themes have been taken up in subsequent work.

Pastoralist Parliamentary Groups

NRI, together with the Pastoral and Environmental Network in the Horn of Africa (PENHA) has carried out research, funded by DFID's Livestock Production Programme and the CAPE Unit, AU/IBAR, on the emergent groups representing pastoralists in the parliaments of Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda.

For more details, click here.

Pastoralism and HIV/AIDS

The impacts of HIV/AIDS on pastoral livelihoods, and ways of responding to them, are severely under-researched topics. An advisory commission funded by DFID's PASS led to the preparation of a paper entitled "Conceptualising the Links between HIV/AIDS and Pastoral Livelihoods" available here.

Other Projects on Pastoralism

• Consultancy in Mongolia on pastoral risk management, for the World Bank
• Consultancy in Mongolia evaluating pilot herders' groups, for UNDP/The Netherlands Government
• Consultancy in Mongolia preparing projects on buffer-zone development for protected areas, for the Netherlands Government
• Participation in the Mid-Term Review of the CAPE Unit, AU/IBAR, for DFID, including consideration of animal health, conflict, livestock marketing and other pastoral livelihood issues.
• Advisory inputs to a research study on pastoralism in India, for DFID's LPP
• Advisory inputs to a research study on honey production and marketing by pastoralists in Kenya, for DFID's LPP.