Pastoralism supports tens of millions of people, makes the best use of harsh environments and provides many economic and social benefits. At the Brussels Development Briefing on ‘New Challenges and Opportunities for Pastoralism in ACP Countries’, experts highlighted policies to improve the welfare of livestock herding communities.

Le pastoralisme subvient aux besoins de dizaines de millions de personnes. Il utilise au mieux des environnements difficiles et offre de nombreux avantages économiques et sociaux. Lors du Briefing de Bruxelles sur le développement portant sur « Les nouveaux défis et opportunités pour le pastoralisme dans les pays ACP », les experts ont souligné les politiques à adopter en vue d'améliorer le bien-être des communautés pastorales dépendant de l'élevage de cheptel.

This chapter addresses issues related to securing access and rights to resources, and gaining benefits from the resource within the context of one community-based initiative in the village of Ololosokwan in Tanzania.

In this publication two pioneering grassroots organisations from northern Tanzania examine and present their experiences and insights from their long-term work to secure the land rights of hunter-gatherer and pastoral communities. The case studies were presented at a one-day learning event held on 5th October 2012, when Pastoral Women’s Council (PWC) and Ujamaa Community Resource Team (UCRT) joined together to share and reflect on their work to secure land rights, to learn from each other, and to identify ways to build on their achievements moving forward.

Data on agro-pastoralists' perceptions of climate change and adaptation options were collected from agro-pastoral communities in 7 rural districts of Kenya. Key adaptation strategies for livestock producers include mixing crop and livestock production, destocking, diversifying livestock feeds, changing animal breeds and moving animals to other sites. Desired adaptation options include introducing new breeds and increasing herd size. Additionally, the main barriers to adaptation identified include lack of credit or savings followed by lack of access to land and inputs.

During the drought of 2009 many Kenyan pastoralists were forced to move with their livestock in search of grazing land. We met Ann and her family in the rangelands outside of Nairobi. This is her story of how the drought has affected her life. This photofilm was part of a duckrabbit training productions for ILRI in Nairobi in August 2010. The audio and production was led by ILRI's Muthoni Njiru, Tezira Lore and Julius Nyangaga (formerly with ILRI). The majority of the photos are by David White of duckrabbit).

The 2009 drought in Kenya has had a devastating effect on pastoralists. Hundreds of thousands of cattle died and with them a way of life that had provided families a livelihood from the land. We met Lawrence in a quarry just out of of Nairobi. For many generations his family have reared cattle on the rangelands of Kitengela. Now he shifts rocks in order to pay his way through University and the dream of a better life. This photofilm was made by duckrabbit during duckrabbit training productions for ILRI in Nairobi August 2010. Photos (c) David White.