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This thesis considers the importance of livestock in the household economy of the Ahl al Jebel Bedouin in the arid Badia region of north east Jordan. The principal objective of the study is to provide development planners working within the Badia region with information on how livestock are used and valued within a pastoral society and indicate ways in which these values may be subject to change. The study demonstrates that Bedouin herdowners have responded purposefully to developing regional markets for livestock products and have identified the income and capital growth values of livestock investments. However, the study further suggests that in important ways production for market supply is closely bound with the management of household resources, notably production for domestic consumption and the two spheres of production constitute complimentary aspects of the pastoral livelihood strategy. It is further argued that pastoral production in the Badia is mediated by the prevailing Bedouin value system which ascribes non-material values to livestock, thus giving social meaning to the way in Which herd owners choose to manage their herds. The thesis argues that the relationship between herd owners and their livestock must necessarily be flexible and suggests that changes in the way in which livestock are valued may constitute an important element in how households respond to change. The study thus characterises the Ahl al Jebel herd management objectives as innovative and fluid, and indicates that approaches to pastoral development need to be more sensitive to household objectives and more supportive of indigenous innovation.

In this paper, I put to test Homer-Dixon’s theory which suggest that Environmental resource scarcity, can singly or in collaboration with other factors such as lack of local institutions and poverty work to produce violence due to competition. I start by analyzing a case study of Pokot-Turkana Conflict from 1969-1984. Using available literature, I discuss various motives of raiding by these two groups. And to further test Homer-Dixon’s theory, I analyze a non-violence case study on the Ethiopia-Somali region where agro-pastoralist in the Yarer and Daketa valley cooperate with visiting pastoralists during droughts. The leading question is, Given that both of these case studies take place in areas prone to scarcity of resources and both residents have access to illegal firearms and lack government control, why then are the Pokot and Turkana fighting and raiding each other, while the residents of Ethiopia- Somali region share and cooperate during droughts?

This exploratory mixed method study on "Cattle Rustling and its Effect on South Sudanese Communities" was carried out in the five South Sudanese states of Unity, Lake, Warrap, Jonglei, and Central Equatoria. The study commenced with the qualitative phase with the specific objectives of determining the cause of cattle rustling; defining the perception of cattle keepers, farmers, chiefs, youth, and women about cattle rustling; evaluating the effect of cattle rustling, and drawing possible mitigating strategies. After targeting 30 interviewees and corroborating their testimonies with observations, the study revealed that cattle rustling has existed for years among the tribes; however, the phenomena has shifted now to the community level with the usage of sophisticated automatic weaponry. The thematic analysis found expensive marriage/remarriage, revenge, pride, accumulation of wealth (resources), poverty, joblessness, and trade in livestock to be the major causes of rustling. It also underscores that during the process; properties are damaged and many innocent lives are lost. The survey questionnaire from the initial phase developed the following quantitative phase of the research with the purpose of corroborating, expanding, and triangulating the preliminary phase keeping in mind the following specific objectives: description of the respondents; determination of the cattle rusting attitudes, norms, control, intention; and explanation of cattle rustling intention with demographic and the other constructs. The primary data obtained from the stratified clustered 544 respondents revealed that attitude, norms, and control significantly explained cattle rustling intention; 22.6% [F(532) =154.050, p<.05], 31.8% [F(531)= 72.571, p<.05], and (34.9.0%) [F(530)= 25.983, p<.05], respectively, and the three constructs significantly contributed to the perception and cause of rustling. As a result, there was strong and significant (p<.05) correlation between intention with attitudes, norms, and control (r=.476**, .489** and .505**), respectively. However, literacy and gender correlates with intention (r=-.100*, p<.05 and =-.001, p>.05), respectively. On the other hand, norms correlate with attitude (r=.469**, p<.05), and control correlates significantly with attitude and norms (r=.553** and .572**, p<.05) respectively. In conclusion, the analysis revealed that cattle rustling is caused by the salient beliefs that accounted for (R2=35.7%, F(530)=25.983, p<.05) of the variables in cattle rustling intention, and as remedies, the study suggested the establishment of agricultural extension, educational services especially for women and youth, empowerment of chiefs, comprehensive disarmament, among others before cattle rustling activities escalate. / PHD

This thesis presents findings from a qualitative enquiry into the rapid uptake of the mobile phone by pastoral communities in Tanzania and its use as a tool to tackle marketing constraints. The research design involves an interregional comparative analysis of two key production regions: Arusha and the Lake Zone, and two groups of livestock producers (the Maasai pastoralists and Wasukuma agro-pastoralists respectively). Applying the Social Shaping of Technology (SST) perspective from Science and Technology Studies (STS), and in particular the concept of 'appropriation', the study examines the embrace of mobile phones by those producers - who keep livestock under the extensive (pastoralist) and semi-intensive (agro-pastoralist) systems respectively. The thesis examines the extent to which the mobile phone is changing how livestock keepers interact in the livestock market and how this is affecting their livelihoods. The thesis shows that the significance of the mobile phone varies with user groups; for instance, for the Maasai who still lead a nomadic life, the mobile phone is used 'conservatively' to communicate about herd management and to coordinate household affairs in ways that do not substantially disrupt traditional social practices and roles. In contrast, the Wasukuma agro-pastoralists use mobile phones to introduce new processes to support production and marketing, one good example being the strategy used to coordinate transportation of cattle to market. The study findings suggest the extension of the 'appropriation' (Williams, Stewart, & Slack, 2005) conceptualisation by adding the possibility of a spectrum from shallow to extended according to users' role and the context of use. Nevertheless, and in more generic terms, it is possible to say that the mobile phone use did not disrupt some of the traditional practices and trade customs amongst the Maasai, and it has reinforced the innovative behaviour of the Wasukuma. The thesis also examines a parallel initiative whereby aid agencies and public bodies in Tanzania supported the development of the Livestock Information Network and Knowledge System (LINKS), as an ICT platform designed to improve the livestock market by sharing market information. However, studies show that LINKS has not had the intended effect, is not trusted and has not been adopted by many pastoralists. The study shows how the concept of trust, which is key in market dynamics and trade relations, has been reshaped, because the mobile phone has supported informal communications that reinforce traditional methods of policing trust in the market. The thesis contributes to ongoing debates surrounding the conceptualisation of Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D). The failure of early ICT4D initiatives was attributed to a failure to address users' specific requirements, due to gaps in the translation process, as well as to socio-political and technical fragilities such as the lack of adequate infrastructure, and a deficient social learning process. The initial reworking of ICT4D highlighted the need to design technology as a specific solution appropriate to particular contexts/user groups. These were seen as finished solutions (corresponding to the idea of a 'technical fix'). Focusing upon 'appropriation', in line with the Social Shaping of Technology - Mark 2 approach - allows scope for a further rethinking of ICT4D which addresses not just design but the active role of users in shaping technological innovation to the context and purposes of communities in developing countries.

The Maasailand of Kenya and Tanzania supports one of the richest wildlife populations remaining on Earth. However, over the last century, Maasailand has experienced land transformation notably through conversion of former rangelands to croplands. With the anticipated human population increase in East Africa, more impacts should be envisaged on these rangelands. This thesis investigates the root causes and underlying drivers of land-use change in the Maasai-Steppe ecosystems, stemming from historical, socio-cultural, political as well as the biophysical conditions. To analyse the different drivers of change, an integrated methodological approach was employed. This included a collation of historical data and information derived from both gray and published literature, analysis of remote sensing and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) data, field surveys, workshops, observations, as well as personal communications. Observed land-use change from savannah rangelands to expansive croplands are mainly linked to government policies, land tenure, human population growth (which is also likely to be the largest future driver) and climatic conditions. Consequently these changes have impacted the agro-pastoralist community, whose main incomes for their livelihoods depend on pastoralism. Subsequent loss of formerly communal grazing lands to establish protected areas; large-scale farming and/or private ranches have aggravated the problems of sedentarization due to villagization and privatization policies of the formally mobile agro-pastoral communities. Land-use change also had negative impacts on migratory wildlife species, particularly those utilizing both protected areas and dispersal ranges in communal and/or private lands. The impacts ranged from loss of their migratory routes and corridors to massive declines of populations due to the loss of access to grazing resources. The study recommends government’s interventions for keeping the land open for access to grazing resources as well as opening up wildlife corridors, where it is deemed necessary for national interests.

<p> </p><p>High pressure on water from competing users has changed the past perception of water as gift to water as a resource that requires sustainable management. Management of water resource needs active stakeholders’ involvement for its sustainability. Many organizations along with the national water policy have been calling for active stakeholders’ involvement for management of the resource.  In Usangu catchment conflicts over accessing water between farmers and pastoralists and between upstream and downstream have been common. Water allocation in the catchment has been done without involving stakeholders and adequate consideration of the rivers’ carrying capacity. This study focuses on stakeholders’ involvement in Usangu catchment. Six villages in three sub-catchments were studied and data were collected using questionnaire through face to face interview and focus group discussion. The study found that there is limited stakeholders’ involvement in Usangu catchment. In some places involvement is at basic stage, in other places there is no involvement. Interaction within stakeholders’ category was documented, while no stakeholders’ interaction between sub-catchments was discovered. Moreover, some challenges for active involvement were noted, such as lack of coordination between institutions operating in the catchment, high illiteracy rate and lack of awareness, and with lack of legislation support. The issue of limited stakeholders’ involvement in Usangu catchment is complicated, there is no single and comprehensive solution; integration of different approaches which are cross-sectoral in nature is needed for sustainable water management.</p><p> </p>

An agent based-model of mobility of pastoralists was developed and applied to the semi-arid rangeland region extending from southern Ethiopia to northern Kenya. This model was used to investigate temporal adaptation of pastoralists to the spatial heterogeneity of their environment. This dissertation describes the development, structure, and corroboration process of the simulation model, Pastoral Livestock Movement Model (PLMMO). PLMMO is a spatially explicit, individual-based pastoralists-animal foraging and movement model. It simultaneously simulates the foraging and movement behavior of individual pastoralists and their livestock in a rangeland ecosystem. Pastoralists?? herd mobility patterns and other measures of movement were compared to data from field studies. Predictions of the model correspond to observed mobility patterns across seasons. The distances moved were found to be significantly correlated (r2 = 0.927 to 0.977, p<0.0001) to drought and non-drought climatic regimes. The PLMMO model therefore proved to be a useful tool for simulating general movement patterns of pastoralists relative to movement range sizes in the pastoral rangelands of southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya. We then used the PLMMO model to explore the impact of emerging changes in rangeland use in the study area. The ways in which pastoralists?? mobility patterns adapt to emerging challenges in the study area were explored by simulating the following four scenarios: 1) climate change with concomitant reduction in forage yield, 2) climate change with concomitant improvement and higher variability in forage yield, 3) increased livestock population densities and 4) improved access to water. The climate induced change scenario with increased and more variable forage production resulted in the shortest distances moved by pastoralists in comparison to all other scenarios. The total search distances under this scenario were only 20% of normal season distances. The improved water access scenario also returned a significant (p=0.017) drop in distances moved. There was, however, no significant impact on either increase in livestock numbers or reduction in available forage on mobility. We judged the agent-based model PLMMO developed here as a robust system for emulating pastoral mobility in the rangelands of eastern Africa and for exploring the consequences of climate change and adaptive management scenarios.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2004. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.