Please note - this is a temporary window. id21 is joining forces with Eldis and therefore the id21 website has been suspended. Soon all id21 content will be available on the Eldis website.

The impact of conflict on pastoral economies in eastern Africa

Conflict has devastated the people and the environment in the arid and semi-arid lands of eastern Africa. Pastoral and semi-pastoral communities in the region will struggle to develop until policymakers understand and manage these conflicts.

A report published by Practical Action in the UK uses data from ten districts in Kenya and one district in Uganda to assess regional conflicts. The researchers examine the impact of conflict on people and their livestock, the delivery of social services, agricultural production, trade and investment. The authors also examine the link between conflict and HIV and AIDS.

In the districts studied, conflicts range from clashes between different ethnic groups to organised banditry and political violence. This creates insecurity, which halts the socio-economic development of pastoral and semi-pastoral communities, who are already neglected by many development programmes.

Most conflicts are caused by competition over access to, and control of, scarce natural resources, including water and pasture. Over the years, drought and reduced water access have intensified these conflicts. This has led to incidents of herders invading private farmland, for example in the Trans Nzoia and Tana River districts of Kenya.

Conflict has had significant impacts. In the last decade:

over 3,000 deaths from conflict were reported, and over 200,000 people have been displaced
half a million cattle have been stolen: this has negatively affected trade and commerce, particularly for small farmers
social services have been disrupted: 94 schools were closed at different times, as were many health facilities
the prestige and security attached to guns has led to an increase in the number of small arms: the study estimated over 200,000 illegal firearms in the sample districts
farmers have left their land, resulting in lost cereal production of over 16,000 tonnes: in Tana River district, over 70 percent of households experienced food shortages.

The conflict has also caused an increase in the rates of HIV and AIDS. Displaced people are often forced into risky sexual behaviour to survive, and the disruption of social services has reduced the effect of campaigns to raise awareness of the causes of the virus. Rape also occurs frequently during conflict.

The authors make the following recommendations:

Policymakers should try to understand the causes of the conflicts and invite the communities involved to join peace-building efforts
Policies must address historical land injustices and the long-standing neglect of pastoral communities through development programmes.
Governments need to design and implement policies for conflict management and peace-building, including alternative ways to resolve disputes and improve gender and age relations.
Illegal arms must be taken out of communities, through a long-term confidence-building exercise.
Services need improving, particularly services to diversify livelihoods, which will reduce pressure on resources.
Activities to build peace between communities should take place that recognise and strengthen traditional conflict resolution mechanisms.
Pastoral and semi-pastoral communities, using their community organisations, should lobby their governments to provide them with the security they are guaranteed by law.

Source(s):
‘Closed to Progress: An Assessment of the Socio-Economic Impacts of Conflict on Pastoral and Semi Pastoral Economies in Kenya and Uganda’, Practical Action – Eastern Africa: Nairobi, by Mohamud Adan and Ruto Pkalya, 2005 (PDF) Full document.

Funded by: USAID, CORDAID

id21 Research Highlight: 7 December 2006

Further Information:
Mohamud Adan
Practical Action East Africa
AAYMCA Building (Second Floor)
P.O. Box 39493
Nairobi
Kenya

Tel: +254 20 2719313/9413
Fax: +254 20 2710083
Contact the contributor: mohamud.adan@itdg.or.ke

Practical Action Eastern Africa

Views expressed on these pages are not necessarily those of DfID, IDS, id21 or other contributing institutions. Articles featured on the id21 site may be copied or quoted without restriction provided id21 and originating author(s) and institution(s) are acknowledged. Copyright © 2009 IDS. All rights reserved.

id21 is funded by the UK Department for International Development. id21 is one of a family of knowledge services at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex. id21 is a www.oneworld.net partner and an affiliate of www.mediachannel.org. IDS is a charitable company, No. 877338.