Climate Change impact on Pastoralist Security – Food/Livelihood and Conflict - in the Horn of Africa

1. Climate Change impact on Pastoralist Security – Food/Livelihood and Conflict - in the Horn of Africa Presented by: Hon Ali Wario; AU Specialist Task Force, Pastoral Policy Framework for Africa Date: January 20, 2009 Location: Paris France UN OCHA Regional Office for Central and East Africa

2. Pastoral and Agro-pastoral Areas Estimated number of people involved in the pastoral economy in Africa: >100,000,000 Morocco Libya Algeria Mauritania Mali Eritrea Senegal Niger Chad Sudan Djibouti Burkina Faso Nigeria Guinea Ethiopia Cameroun Somalia Uganda Kenya Tanzania UN OCHA Regional Office for Central and East Africa

3. Overview of Climate change Impact on Pastoralism in the Horn of Africa Climate change has a direct impact on the food and livelihood security of pastoralists in the Horn of Africa. Recurrent climatic shocks – drought and floods leads to: • Competition for land and other natural resources • Conflict for scarce resources and pasture and livestock UN OCHA Regional Office for Central and East Africa

4. Conflict, Climate Change and Pastoralism • The pressure on scarce resources like water and pasture has become the trigger of most conflicts in pastoral regions of Africa • Desertification has added significantly to the stress on the livelihoods of pastoralist societies causing armed conflict for vanishing resources as grazing land. UN OCHA Regional Office for Central and East Africa

5. Climate change, Pastoralism and Adaptation • Droughts are not new among pastoralists in the arid and semi arid lands in the Horn of Africa. • Unfortunately, many of the strategies that have served drought affected communities well are becoming inadequate in light of the frequent occurrences/protracted droughts and the other extreme of floods and mudslides UN OCHA Regional Office for Central and East Africa

6. Climate change and Food and Livelihood Insecurity (Poverty) Pastoral poverty has special characteristics linked to climatic variability. What characterizes both poor and rich Pastoralists is vulnerability: a major drought or animal disease outbreak can reduce a rich Pastoralist to destitution in a few days. UN OCHA Regional Office for Central and East Africa

7. Climate Change and Insecurity in Pastoral Areas in the Horn: Making the links • The frequency of drought + pastoralists reduced coping mechanism + the socio-economic marginalization of pastoralists = major stresses on pastoral livelihood: • Lack of rains or unpredictable rains lack of resources as water lack of pasture struggle for resources demand for arms to protect resources and desperate measures to restock lost livelihood `cattle rustling” UN OCHA Regional Office for Central and East Africa

8. FACTORS COMPOUNDING THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON PASTORALISM IN THE HORN OF AFRICA • Wrong perception of Pastoralism as unsustainable livelihood in the Horn of Africa • A long history of economic and social marginalization from central authority; • Encroachment of pastoral areas for other development activities: tourism, wild life, sand harvesting, mining.. • Proliferation of small arms and poor implementation of disarmament programmes due conflicts in the region. • Kenya- Uganda, Kenya-Ethiopia and Kenya-Sudan Border: Arena for a variety of ‘low intensity’ conflicts, some of which are linked to wider cross-border and regional conflicts: cattle rustling, competition over resources UN OCHA Regional Office for Central and East Africa

9. Regional Initiatives • UN-OCHA Partnership with pastoralist to mitigate the humanitarian impact of Climate change: I will be chairing consultations by the UN Regional office for Central and East Africa (OCHA) on the current and future humanitarian impact of climate change on pastoralists in the region including best way to support pastoralists adaptation to reduce these impacts. • AFRICAN UNION PASTORAL POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR AFRICA UN OCHA Regional Office for Central and East Africa

10. AFRICAN UNION PASTORAL POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR AFRICA • A policy initiative for protecting lives, securing livelihoods and building sustainable communities in pastoral areas of Africa. • Addressing the root causes of social, economic and political insecurities in pastoralist communities. UN OCHA Regional Office for Central and East Africa

11. Institutional Partnerships for a Policy Framework • African Union Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture / Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) • UN OCHA Regional Office for Central and East Africa • Pastoralists and their organizations • Key to success is Pastoralists’ participation in formulation of a policy framework UN OCHA Regional Office for Central and East Africa

12. The Pastoral Policy Framework Process 6. AU Political Organs adopt Framework (AU Summit July 2010) 5. Drafting of Policy Framework 4. Regional/Continental Stakeholder Consultations 3. Assessment and Analysis of Pastoral Issues 2. Inception and Planning Workshops ✔ 1. Development of Concept Note ✔ Source: AU-IBAR UN OCHA Regional Office for Central and East Africa

13. Key Issues and Agenda for Consultations • Climate change adaption • Governance • Access to land • Education, Science and Technology • Access to markets and financial services • Reduction of conflict • Poverty, risk and vulnerability • Genetic resources and livestock development UN OCHA Regional Office for Central and East Africa

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