Resource information
The Borana rangelands of southern Ethiopia are characterised by extensive livestock production in response to the area?s natural characteristics - aggregate mean rainfall ranges between 300 and 900 mm per annum with high seasonal and inter-annual variability. Though traditionally transhumant pastoralists, the Boranas have recently increased their reliance on crops, with evidence of communal pastures becoming either privatised, or accessible to only a small sub-group of individuals or households. Built on earlier quantitative assessment of the socio-economic drivers of the above changes, this paper focuses on the role of national level policies implemented in the area over the past decades, and how these have affected the traditional institutional setting that determines land use, property rights and pathways of livestock development. Intensive literature review was combined with in-depth key informant and group interviews to identify key policies and interventions, assess their impacts and explore the responses and strategies adopted at both individual and community levels to cope with the changing situation. While acknowledging the role of demographic and market forces as highlighted in the quantitative assessment, the paper concludes that different pathways from transhumant pastoralism have been shaped by policies and external interventions.
