Transcript The Humanitarian Situation – Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia

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
Pastoral and Agro-pastoral Areas
Morocco
Libya
Algeria
Estimated
Mauritania
number of people involved in
Mali
economy in Africa:
Eritrea
Senegal the pastoral
Niger
Chad
Guinea
Sudan
>100,000,000
Burkina
Faso
Djibouti
Nigeria
Ethiopia
Cameroun
Somalia
Uganda
Kenya
Tanzania
UN OCHA Regional Office for Central and East Africa
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
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
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
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
Climate Change and Insecurity in Pastoral
Areas in the Horn: Making the links
 The frequency of drought + pastoralists
reduced coping mechanism + the socioeconomic 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
UN OCHA Regional Office for Central and East Africa
UN OCHA Regional Office for Central and East Africa