The land we graze: pastoralists defend their rights

In 2011, the report The land we graze: a synthesis of case studies about how pastoralists’ organizations defend their land rights was published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (IUCN–ESARO). It analyses and synthesises case studies from 17 partners in four continents who are engaged in improving the livelihoods of mobile livestock-keepers. The African case studies come from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Niger and Uganda. These show how pastoralists succeed to organise themselves and to defend their rights to natural resources to secure their livelihoods. The examples include mechanisms to manage common property and techniques for insuring legal recognition of customary management arrangements. Organisation of pastoralists to assert their land rights proved to be essential to assert also other rights of pastoralists. Hard copies of the report can be obtained from the IUCN–ESARO Publications Unit, POB 68200–00200, Nairobi, Kenya (info.esaro@iucn.org).

Posted on 7 November 2012 in Pastoralism & Natural Resources, Pastoralism, Mobility & Land Tenure, Pastoralism, Policy & Power, Pastoralist Livelihoods & Nutrition