To support improved rangeland resource management and monitoring for nomadic pastoralists in northern Kenya, we used a task-based mobile application to incentivize pastoralists provide more than 100,000 surveys containing information on local rangeland, water and livestock resources. In this contribution we explore the potential of combining this information with remote sensing data for improved characterization of rangeland resource use and accessibility through integration of local socio-ecological knowledge into land cover mapping methods.

The Sustainable Rangeland Management Project (SRMP) supports joint village land use planning and the protection of rangelands for local rangeland users. The project is implemented by the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Tanzania, the National Land Use Planning Commission, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), and local civil society organizations. The project activities have been funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Irish Aid through the International Land Coalition (ILC).

The topic of how best to make rangelands secure for local rangeland users is one of ongoing debates. The very nature of rangeland use – the need for landscape level planning incorporating spatially and temporally variable resources, and for recognising the multiple layers of use by multiple actors presents complexity that is not easily accounted for by the often inflexible and simpler land tenure systems that governments prefer to introduce.

Why this study?
Recent years have witnessed an increase in violent conflicts involving pastoralists in parts of West Africa and the Sahel. They often take the form of clashes between herders and farmers, impacting human, national and regional security.
Given its mandate and role in conflict prevention, the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel, in collaboration with the Economic Community of West African States, initiated this study in 2017 to examine the causes and identify concrete solutions to conflicts related to pastoralism.