Drylands cover 40 % of the global land area, host 2 billion people, and support approximately 50% of the world’s livestock population. However, drylands have inherently challenging biophysical characteristics: degradation-prone soils and vegetation, water scarcity, and high rainfall variability both in time and space. In the drylands of East Africa, pastoral and agropastoral livelihoods are prominent. With increased political and economic interest in East Africa’s dryland regions, pastoralists find themselves increasingly confronted by processes of privatization, fragmentation and commodification of land based resources. This has led to pasture scarcity, resource conflicts and changes in land tenure that limits mobility of people and livestock.
Publication year
2021
Authors
Language
English
Keywords
landscape conservation, semiarid zones, livestock, livelihoods, soil degradation
