Pastoralists are people who live mostly in dry, remote
areas herding livestock. Their livelihoods depend on their intimate knowledge
of the surrounding ecosystem and on the well-being of their livestock.
Pastoral systems take many forms and are adapted to
particular natural, political and economic environments. The types of livestock
kept by pastoralists vary according to climate, environment, water and other
natural resources, and geographical area.
Pastoralism
is therefore an economic and social system well adapted to dryland conditions
and characterized by a complex set of practices and knowledge that has
permitted the maintenance of a sustainable equilibrium among pastures,
livestock and people.
Pastoral communities are marginalized and generally
not given due consideration in wider socio-political analysis.
Pastoral communities face threats such as;
- · Marginalization and generally not being given due consideration in wider socio-political analysis.
- · Livelihoods of these communities are vulnerable to climate change, shifting global markets, population growth and increased competition for land and other natural resources
- · Little knowledge on current governance reforms and provisions of the Constitution and legal frameworks such as public participation in their socio-political affairs.
Public
Participation
The Constitution of Kenya 2010 provides that power is
the foundation of public participation: Article 1 “all sovereign power belongs
to the people of Kenya ……….” Some ways of ensuring public participation for pastoral communities include:
·
Publicity- passing of information to pastoralists
·
Public Education- awareness among pastoralists
·
Public Input- solicit and collect ideas & opinions
·
Public Interaction- exchange views and concerns
·
Public Partnerships- pastoralists
and government agreed decisions and follow ups.
Pastoralists
input on development can be done in the following ways;
- · Participate actively and engage in decision making in utilization of natural resources.
- · Search for information to judge accuracy on government actions.
- · Participate in public/political discussions which affect them and their communities
- · Follow debates and voting influence of their MCAs, MPs, Senators that is important to pastoralists
- · Signing petitions on a desired government action or policy
· Importance
of public participation
- · Promotes transparency and accountability among leaders
- · Promotes local and community ownership
- · Facilitates consensus building in development projects
- · Enhances cooperation and trust between leaders and communities
- · Enhances awareness creation on development
Greater efforts are required to ensure the
participation of pastoral people in all stages of project development; More attention needs to be paid to collecting and
analyzing context-specific data in order to gain a better understanding of the
socio-economic value of pastoralism;
Policymakers need to create an enabling institutional
environment at national and county government levels that is sensitive to the
specific needs and constraints of pastoralists and also provides them with
space and authority for decision making.
Recommendations
- Development planners should have a clear understanding of the national policy context, of supportive and unsupportive policies, and of the general attitude of government towards pastoralism.
- More attention should be devoted to indigenous environmental knowledge, which emphasizes the preservation of species and habitats, thus contributing to biodiversity and making pastoralism essential for the ecosystem health of dryland environments.
- To reverse rangeland degradation, customary and local institutions need to be strengthened so that they can make better use of traditional knowledge and ensure that pastoralism continues to be practiced and managed effectively and autonomously, without external pressures.
By: Joshua Kipsang Changwony
Deputy Executive Secretary/Programs Coordinator
Constitution and Reform Education Consortium (CRECO)
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