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

Other related links:
'Supporting livelihoods through agricultural rehabilitation'

'Agricultural recovery from disasters – the importance of seed-based support'

'Connecting agriculture, development and peace'

'How do pastoralists cope with increasing pressure on land?'

See id21's links for agriculture

Eldis > Pastoralism Resource Guide