Unsustain the sustainable: An evaluation of the legal and policy interventions for pastoral development in Ethiopia

Abstract

This article is a critical appraisal of the legal and policy interventions for pastoral development in Ethiopia under the Imperial, Derg and Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) governments. Based on an extensive review of pastoral policies, laws and practices, it is found that the legal and policy interventions are not pastoral sensitive, and accordingly, they have been unable to bring the desired result. Moreover, they have created pressure on the pastoralists and the pastoral economy, as they do not consider pastoralism as a viable system. In particular, the policy of settlement poses a challenge to the very system of pastoralism, and threatens the pastoral culture, social institutions and identity. This article argues that Ethiopian pastoralists have a right to development in the manner that advances the enforcement of their human rights, and the Ethiopian state assumes a legal obligation to undertake pastoral development consistent with human rights-based approach. The article calls for the (re)consideration of the legal and policy interventions in line with international human rights standards, the bill of rights and the National Policy Principles and Objectives of the Ethiopian Federal Democratic Republic Constitution. Pursuing pastoral development based on agrarian and flawed assumptions not only affects the pastoral system, but also the continuous viability of pastoralists -for it makes the sustainable pastoral way of life unsustainable.

Villagization and access to water resources in the Middle Awash Valley of Ethiopia: implications for climate change adaptation

“…Ethiopia and other countries of sub-Saharan Africa are inhabited by significant populations of pastoral people who practice traditional nomadic livestock herding. In Ethiopia, pastoralists own all the available camels, three quarters of the goats, one quarter of the sheep, and one fifth of the cattle (Gebeye, 2016). Most of the livestock that is used for domestic meat and export comes from pastoral areas, with the livestock sector second to coffee in generating foreign currency for Ethiopia (Gebeye, 2016).…”

“…However, villagization in Ethiopia has been highly contested. Some studies contend that villagization was planned to favour the introduction and expansion of new state-owned and private commercial agriculture (see Lavers, 2012;Reda, 2014;Cochrane & Skjerdal, 2015;Gebeye, 2016). These studies also suggest that villagization constituted a mechanism of land grabbing by the state and private sectors at the expense of pastoralist people, since it is claimed to have resulted in the scarcity of grazing land, reduced access to customary pasture and water sources, and restricted movement corridors to practice pastoralism.…”

“…Instead of developing and improving pastoral livelihoods, it is argued, villagization imposed a sedentary life-style that was incompatible with these people's traditions, and that was instead more strongly related to the view of some governments of sub Saharan African countries that pastoralist lifestyles are backward and in need of modernization through development interventions (Behnke & Kerven, 2013;Dong et al, 2011;Elias & Abdi, 2010;King-Okumu, Wasonga, & Yimer, 2015). Therefore, a number of scholars assert that villagization is not a feasible development option for pastoral communities (Lavers, 2012;Reda, 2014;Gebeye, 2016).…”

Reimagining invasions: The social and cultural impacts of Prosopis on pastoralists in southern Afar, Ethiopia

“…Common pastureland in eastern Ethiopia is already under pressure, frequently appropriated by external cotton and sugarcane plantations (Behnke and Kerven 2013), with the allegation that a formal judiciary offers limited recourse for resolving grievances (Mulatu and Bekure 2013). The approach to pastoralism by successive Ethiopian governments has been to coerce or force people out of pastoralism into purportedly modern and efficient activities through the pursuit of large-scale commercial agriculture, the establishment of national parks and sedentarisation (Gebeye 2016). Gebeye (2016) claims that none of these approaches were successful or appropriate for pastoral priorities and needs.…”

“…The approach to pastoralism by successive Ethiopian governments has been to coerce or force people out of pastoralism into purportedly modern and efficient activities through the pursuit of large-scale commercial agriculture, the establishment of national parks and sedentarisation (Gebeye 2016). Gebeye (2016) claims that none of these approaches were successful or appropriate for pastoral priorities and needs. Notwithstanding the 2011 Afar National Regional State Proclamation, articulating institutional responsibilities (Chekol 2014) and establishing regulations intended to control, manage and eradicate P. juliflora in the region (Ali 2015), such a policy environment frustrates the formulation of an appropriate response to the pastoral impacts of invasive species.…”