Too Many People and Too Few Livestock in West Africa? An Evaluation of Sandford's Thesis

Moritz, Mark; Kyle, Britney; Nolan, Kevin; Patrick, Steve M.; Shaffer, Marnie; Thampy, Gayatri

doi:10.1080/00220380902811058

Cited by 25 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…The results further reveal that households who keep moving their cattle herds to better pasture had achieved higher income than those who never moved. In congruence with this finding, Moritz et al (2009) indicated that livestock mobility is the innovative means of sustaining rural livelihoods by which pastoralists are able to fully utilize untapped rangeland resources in distant areas. Household heads further explained their past experiences that livestock mobility has been used to escape away during a disease breakout in a specific area.…”

Section: Effects Of Adaptation Actions On Income Of Householdssupporting

confidence: 51%

“…Options for adaptation include diversifying income, building formal and informal institutions, adjustments in livestock holdings and species, labour mobility and engagement in small irrigation schemes (Adger et al 2005;Berhanu et al 2007;Seo and Mendelsohn 2008;Moritz et al 2009;Crane et al 2011;Tsegaye et al 2013). However, little empirical knowledge is available to help understand the effects of alternative adaptation strategies on household incomes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pastoralists have a long history of involvement in various forms of adaptation methods based on their own indigenous knowledge (African Technology Policy Studies Network 2013). Research findings (see OXFAM 2008;Moritz et al 2009) demonstrate that the pastoral system is an easy way to adapt to climatic effects, owing to its suitability to arid and semi-arid environments through strategies of establishing strong social capital, economic cooperation among community members and clan lineage networks, herd diversification and restocking methods. In such a context, pastoral life allows the community to keep their cultural systems and knowledge while responding to the negative effects of climate change.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The second strand of literature strongly advocates the importance of the pastoral living style to maintain livelihoods through traditional systems (Moritz et al 2009;Nassef et al 2009). Pastoralists have a long history of involvement in various forms of adaptation methods based on their own indigenous knowledge (African Technology Policy Studies Network 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The effects of adaptation to climate change on income of households in rural Ethiopia

et al. 2017

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Climate change is one of the most serious impediments to agricultural prosperity in Ethiopia, especially where livestock is concerned. In particular, rural farming communities in the drylands of the Afar region are severely exposed to the impacts of climate change, with stark reminders from repeating droughts followed by crop failure and livestock decimation. Locals have a long history of applying adaptation measures to maintain their sustenance. However, a growing literature challenges whether these traditional methods can continue to sustain local livelihoods. This study identifies how pastoral, semi-pastoral, agro-pastoral and mixed-farming communities in Afar perceive and adapt to climate change and whether these practices have brought about any improvement in farm income. A panel data set of five years was gathered using structured questionnaires from a sample of 313 households. Household heads pointed out indicators to identify climate-related stress such as erratic rainfall, drought, temperature change, drying of water sources, prevalence of diseases and lack of human and livestock feed. A fixed effects quantitative model on the panel data was estimated to verify the effect of adaptation strategies on income of household heads. We found that the main adaptation strategies that significantly influenced household income levels were forage production (hay and straw), access to water sources, livestock diversification and migration. The implication is that people severely affected by climate change and living in a situation demanding urgent solutions can actively apply various adaptation strategies if the strategies are linked to the creation of sustainable income benefits. Thus, integrated approaches comprising adaptation methods and expected benefits are an important way to induce farming communities to address challenges related to climatic change.

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Section: Effects Of Adaptation Actions On Income Of Householdssupporting

confidence: 51%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The effects of adaptation to climate change on income of households in rural Ethiopia

et al. 2017

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“…Transhumance can be described as animal husbandry involving moving animals in ways that best exploit natural resources (SWAC/ OECD 2007;Adriansen 2008;Moritz et al 2009). This system is based on opportunistic and seasonal exploitation of natural resources (Scoones 1995;Marty et al 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived effects of transhumant practices on natural resource management in southern Mali

Umutoni

Ayantunde

2018

Pastoralism

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Recurring forage and water scarcity in the Sahelian zone of West Africa, especially in the dry season, has led to increased livestock movement into Sudano-Sahelian and Sudano-Guinean zones in the region. This increased movement by transhumant herders has resulted in growing competition over natural resources. Despite the strong presence of transhumant herds in the Sudano-Sahelian/Sudano-Guinean zones of Mali in the past 30 years, there has been limited research on the practice of transhumance in these zones, compared to several studies in the Sahelian zone. In this paper, we present how various actors in two districts in the Sudano-Sahelian/Sudano-Guinea zones of Mali perceived the effect of transhumant practices on natural resource management. Results from the study showed that more than 75% of all categories of respondents in both study sites perceived a decline in availability of forage resources and water as a result of the increased number of transhumant herders in their communities. Furthermore, a greater proportion of farmers and settled pastoralists in both study sites responded that there has been a decline in species richness of the vegetation. In contrast, more than 50% of transhumant herders did not see any change in species richness of natural vegetation due to their presence. They argued that the observed decline in species richness of the vegetation is due to climate change. Education level, location and socio-professional categories tended to be the key factors influencing respondent's perception on the impact of transhumant practices on natural resource management. As the perceived impact of transhumant practices depends on socio-professional groups, it is necessary to engage all the actors on how to effectively manage the presence of transhumant herders, in order to promote sustainable use of natural resources in southern Mali. Besides, more research is needed to assess the validity of the reported perceptions in this study.

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Pastoralists Shifting Strategies and Perceptions of Risk: Post-crisis Recovery in Damergou, Niger

Greenough

2017

Climate Change Management

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Too Many People and Too Few Livestock in West Africa? An Evaluation of Sandford's Thesis

Cited by 25 publications

References 38 publications

The effects of adaptation to climate change on income of households in rural Ethiopia

The effects of adaptation to climate change on income of households in rural Ethiopia

Perceived effects of transhumant practices on natural resource management in southern Mali

Pastoralists Shifting Strategies and Perceptions of Risk: Post-crisis Recovery in Damergou, Niger

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