FAO
IMPACT OF CONFLICT ON PASTORAL COMMUNITIES’ RESILIENCE
BRIEF ON ONGOING STUDY
Introduction
FAO has commissioned a regional study on the impact of conflict on the resilience of pastoral
communities and on their coping strategies, which is being undertaken through case studies of
three ‘pastoral conflict’ sites in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia.
The study shall demonstrate how conflict impacts on the opportunistic use of pastures and
other strategic pastoral resources, especially when it renders such resources inaccessible to
some or all pastoral groups, denying communities the opportunity to use the specific
resources thereby increasing pressures on other resources that are accessible, and which are
then effectively overused and degraded – thereby engendering even more conflict.
The study shall also seek to establish and analyze the ripple effects of primary conflict on
other areas, resources, and communities that support the population and their livestock once
access to primary resources are hampered and/or restricted. It shall demonstrate and map the
interrelated nature of conflict in the pastoral areas and its effects in the overall resilience of
the said population, and make the case for a holistic approach in addressing the challenges to
their livelihoods.
The study shall seek to better understand and analyze the pervasive impact of conflict on
livelihoods security and capacity to cope with drought and other disasters, and what impacts
this has on communities and other actors’ perceptions of the future of pastoralism and of
pastoralists. It shall also establish whether and to what extent government and other
development actors in the region implement conflict sensitive programming.
It is intended that the outcome of this study shall be fed into programme and project planning
by governments and other development actors in the region.
Case studies: sites of pastoral conflict
The study shall include in-depth investigation and analysis of areas where conflict has led to
abandonment of pastures and other strategic pastoral resources (water, salt lick, etc.) or
otherwise forced pastoral groups to concentrate livestock in restricted areas for longer periods
than they would ordinarily do. Often such areas are found at points of convergence between
two or more pastoral groups, but they could also fall within the same community but be
characterized by restrictions of access to traditional pastures as a consequence of competing
land uses.
There are many such sites within and across the countries of the Horn of Africa, but the study
shall limit itself to the following three case studies, one each in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia:

Kenya: the dry season grazing area around Kisima Hamsini/Kom situated at the
convergence of Samburu East, Wajir, Isiolo and Marsabit districts access to which is
claimed by Borana, Samburu, Rendile and Somali pastoralists. The case study shall also
clarify the link between conflict over grazing land in Kisima Hamsini/Kom and similar
conflicts around Koya on the border between Laisamis and Samburu East, and how the
two conflicts are impacted upon by the establishment of conservancies in the area by the
Northern Rangelands Trust.

Uganda: the area along the border between Katakwi district in Teso and Nakapiripirit
district in Karamoja where conflict has rendered what used to be dry season grazing areas
for Karamoja pastoralists inaccessible to them. The conflict and its manifestations are
further complicated by government policy which views the area as a green belt and seeks
to promote large scale agricultural production there. The case study shall examine the
implications of this government policy for the way authorities have managed the conflict.

Ethiopia: focus on the on-and-off conflicts in Borana that have pitted the Borana against
the Garre, the Guji and the Konso. The study shall also consider the impact of the conflict
between the Borana and the Gabra that resulted in expulsion of the latter from Arero and
Moyale areas of Borana. It shall investigate the nature of these conflicts and how they
have impacted upon the use of the rangelands and on relations between the named
neighbouring pastoral communities, while also considering how denial of access to
strategic rangelands in Borana has affected the use of other rangelands in terms of
pressures, overuse and degradation.
Objectives of the study
The five objectives of the study are:
1. to map out the conflicts both spatially and temporally, capturing narratives about the
origins of the conflicts and how they have evolved over time; the parties to the conflicts
(both primary and secondary), and coverage in terms of area.
2. to analyse impacts of the conflicts on livelihoods of the involved communities and their
relationships as well as on the rangelands
3. to assess whether and to what extent this reality of conflicts is factored in development
planning and programming by government and other development actors in this area;
4. to analyze the local communities’ perceptions about the viability of pastoralism and their
future as pastoralists in the light of the conflicts; and
5. to recommend holistic strategies and approaches for addressing the conflicts that integrate
indigenous knowledge, traditions and systems of the relevant communities.
Methodology
The study is coordinated at the regional level by a Lead Consultant who has, in close
collaboration with FAO identified national consultants for each country, developed terms of
reference for them, and oversees their work. The national consultants are persons with proven
experience in conflict analysis and intimate understanding of pastoralism generally and
pastoral conflict in particular1. In each country, the national consultant works with a research
assistant familiar with the area and the issues.
The main methodology is the case study approach, undertaken through key informant
interviews as well as focus group discussions within the specified areas. Key informants to be
interviewed include elders and other opinion leaders within the communities, local
functionaries of government including administrators, range management, and law
enforcement officers, members of civil society and development partners active in the region
and within the communities. In each country, the national consultant and the research
assistant will visit the specific rangelands and make observations about the state thereof.
Status of study
Field work has been completed in Kenya and Uganda and draft reports delivered to the Lead
Consultant. The case study in Ethiopia is due to begin the week of 16th January 2012. The
entire study is to be concluded by the end of January 2012, when a consolidated report and a
couple of policy briefs will issue.
1
Kenya (Dr. James Kimani), Uganda (Mr. Dennis Bataringaya) and Ethiopia (Mr. Fekadu Abate)