Call for articles: Strengthening pastoralist societies through improved governance

By
20 June 2016

The December issue of Farming Matters aims to inform pastoralist communities, practitioners, researchers, civil society, policy makers and others about the practices and policies best fitted to strengthen pastoralist societies. Articles should be submitted before September 1.

Photo: Diana Quiroz
Photo: Diana Quiroz

Pastoralist communities provide meat, hide, dairy, and manure fuel, supporting about 200 million households in places of the globe where rain-fed agriculture is not possible. For millenia, pastoralists have managed rangelands in the planet’s harshest environments: from the highlands of Asia and South America to the drylands of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. However, in spite of their importance as stewards of nature, ancient cultures and livestock-based production, pastoralists are often marginalised in policy and development practice.

As they rely on livestock mobility and communal land for their livelihoods, pastoralists become increasingly affected by mounting conflict and violence, which block their access to and use of natural resources. Moreover, increased commoditisation, the loss of grazing land due to climate change, and the expansion of farming into the best grazing areas, further jeopardise pastoral societies. To add insult to injury, social and political support for pastoralism is often weak in terms of capacity, policy and legislation, and at best inappropriate to the realities of pastoralist communities. It is not possible to generalise the needs of pastoralists, which differ not just from community to community, but even from household to household. However, in quite general terms we can safely say that the failure of past development efforts has stemmed from a poor understanding of pastoralism as a multiple land use system that is deeply rooted in a culture and that relies directly on nature. As a result, pastoralists have been excluded from local and national planning processes.

Produced through a collaboration between ILEIA, Oxfam and IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), this special issue of Farming Matters will explore different modes of action that are conducive to improved participation and representation of pastoralist communities in policy dialogues globally, and particularly in the Middle East and North Africa. This issue is part of these organisations’ joint work to place governance and rights at the centre of pastoralist development by empowering communities to make their voices heard at policy and decision-making levels. This is being carried out under the framework of the Food Security Governance of Bedouin Pastoralist Groups in the Mashreq project, funded by the European Union.

The purpose of this issue of Farming Matters will be to inform pastoralist communities, practitioners, researchers, civil society, policy makers and others about the practices and policies best fitted to strengthen pastoralist societies.  We welcome your experiences and perspectives. Please send your contribution before 1st of September.