In Africa, pastoralism is serious business.

There are an estimated 200-300 million pastoralists – livestock herders – who provide the continent with 75% of its milk and half of its meat. In some countries, the trade can make up more than one-third of GDP.

It might seem surprising then that this vital sector doesn’t have a stronger political voice and that its concerns are not a major priority for many governments. Yet it has long been the case that nomadic groups of herders are likely to be marginalised more than other food producers – or even ignored. 

The centuries-old practice of pastoralism now faces a constellation of threats that are pushing some communities permanently out of business. In some places, the long-term viability of pastoralism is at risk, buffeted by multiple, overlapping factors – both related to climate change, and unconnected to it.

Conflict concerns

Pastoralists make a living by raising animals – including goats, cattle and sheep – and move with their herds across vast distances between seasons. Historically, they have enjoyed a resilient and adaptive lifestyle, allowing them to travel where the weather and grazing conditions are most favourable and avoiding disease and potential disasters. 

The practice also has environmental benefits – periodic grazing improves soil health and prevents the land and vegetation from becoming degraded while improving biodiversity.

The problem facing pastoralists today is that their livelihood has come into direct competition with a range of public and private interests. More and more land traditionally used by herders is being given over to other uses: large-scale commercial farming, mining or energy operations, urbanisation and even conservation areas. 

Cross-border climate risks can’t be solved in isolation

These are often the economic priorities of national governments, which see them as more productive, and so hand farmers and companies stronger rights to manage the land. This puts them in conflict with pastoralists who are forced to graze their livestock on someone else’s land – in some cases leading to violence. 

Thousands of deaths have been reported in West and Central Africa over the past decade as a result of this kind of conflict. Clashes are particularly prominent in Nigeria, Mali and Burkina Faso, where tensions cross ethnic, religious and social lines. 

In Nigeria – home to some of the worst fighting – state governments have enacted controversial anti-grazing laws which they claim are designed to prevent further fatalities. Pastoralist groups have pushed back, arguing that the legal restrictions reflect a longstanding bias against nomadic herders and will make it even harder for them to earn a living.

Despite agreements to allow the free movement of herders, some countries in West Africa have closed their borders, citing the prevalence of livestock disease. With smaller areas of land to graze on and migratory routes closed off, pastoralists are being boxed into a corner.

Climate risk

Climate change serves to pile on the pressure. Persistent drought, more intense rainfall and extreme temperatures are creating difficult conditions for pastoralists. Many animals die on long treks with little water and less productive lands to graze on.

This creates the conditions for conflict with settled farmers – but on the ground, the situation is more complicated, experts say. Camille Laville, a research fellow at ODI Global, a London-based think tank, told Climate Home: “There is an oversimplification in our understanding between herder-farmer conflicts and the role of climate change.”

“We can start this discussion with the climate, but we can also start it with years of political changes, ethnic differences, religious differences. There are many ways to frame this subject and the climate is just one of them,” she added. 

Aid agencies grapple with climate adaptation in fragile states

Climate change creates harsher conditions and increased vulnerabilities, but existing social and political factors weigh heavily on herders’ livelihoods.

Fiona Flintan, a senior scientist at the Nairobi-based International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), said “climate change may not be the biggest problem that pastoralists face”. 

Among the many different users of land, pastoralists “as ‘masters’ (and ‘mistresses’) of adaptation can be the most resilient and skilled at adapting to climate change”, she added. But trouble can start to mount up when they aren’t given the right kind of support.

Flintan sees land security as the main gap for pastoralists. “If they have guaranteed security to their land and resources, they will be better positioned to deal with shocks and stresses,” she explained. “And more than that, pastoralists will then be willing to invest in their land to support biodiversity, soil health, and emissions reduction. It will resolve a lot of challenges.”

Yet, in many parts of Africa, obtaining secure access to the land is a complex process, and some national governments are more willing to recognise land rights than others. 

Kenya’s Community Land Act, for example, offers pastoralists a route to seeing their land claims recognised and their rights protected. But the challenge in places like Kenya or Ethiopia – which has also adopted a Pastoral Development Policy – is defining in a legal context the unwritten customs and traditions of many different pastoral communities.  

As Flintan notes, governments often lack resources and sometimes the technical expertise to prioritise land use strategies. “It’s about having proper planning and governance, supported by a skilled team and adequate funds in place to ensure it happens,” she said.

Greener pastures

Getting to the root cause of the challenges facing pastoralists could mean missing the urgency of more immediate problems, while difficulty in trying to untangle all of the interwoven factors could slow progress. 

This complexity leads some researchers, such as Laville, to call for more practical responses, while accepting that there isn’t a perfect answer. “If we wait to fully understand this issue, we will never have sufficient time for action,” she said.

Some experts point to the need to raise the profile of pastoralists both within countries and on the international stage. The latest COP summit of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification is taking place in Saudi Arabia this month – reportedly the largest UN land-focused conference to date. 

Can climate funders overcome fear to tread in conflict zones?

Marginalised groups often lack a voice at UN talks – and while pastoralist civil society organisations will be in Riyadh, they need a stronger presence at the negotiating table in order to be able to influence what is decided there, experts say. 

“We are getting better at listening to herders, but we need to be cautious not to bring our own preconceptions to the discussion,” said Laville, commenting on the UN COP process. “There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to this problem.”

Scientists have argued for some time now that UN member states could benefit from pastoralists’ expertise in tackling emerging threats including biodiversity loss and global warming. Being open to learning from those who know the land intimately and how it is changing could pay practical dividends, they say.

Pastoralism is a livelihood that has lasted for generations and weathered many storms. The first step for any government is recognising the significant economic and environmental contributions it makes, researchers told Climate Home.

“It’s not a job; it’s a cultural identity. This doesn’t get eradicated by droughts or government policy,” added Flintan.

Sponsored by SPARC (Supporting Pastoralism and Agriculture in Recurrent and Protracted Crises).

Adam Wentworth is a freelance writer based in Brighton, UK.