Crossing boundaries
Mobility is one of the most defining features of pastoralism. Pastoralists move with their livestock herds in search of water and pasture. These movements may be within national territories or cross country borders; they may adhere to fixed predictable routes or follow flexible patterns that respond to local conditions. Strategic mobility allows pastoralists to adapt to variable weather conditions and produce food in constrained rangeland ecosystems.
While mobility has been key in generating the environmental and economic benefits of pastoralism, it has also contributed to the negative perception of pastoralism. Historically, policies to forcefully sedentarize pastoralists and restrict their movement, especially across national frontiers, have affected millions of pastoralist livelihoods across the world and sometimes resulted in violent conflict. With increasing pressures on pastoral resources from population growth, expanding agriculture and industry, climate change and adverse policies, the need to safeguard pastoral resource access through mobility has become even more acute.
There is, however, a growing recognition of the rationale of mobility for sustainable pastoralism. FAO's Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security – notably the Technical Guide, Improving governance of pastoral lands – and the African Union Policy Framework for Pastoralism in Africa reflect this awareness of the importance of communal access to resources.
Regional economic commissions are also facilitating transboundary mobility; for example, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regulations on transhumance between member countries provide guidelines on how to organize domestic and transboundary mobility. In addition, several countries have entered into bilateral agreements to facilitate transhumance on a voluntary basis. Moreover, these policies are embedded within a development, conservation and human rights discourse reflected in established precedents in international law.
These instruments, policies and agreements can serve as effective examples on which other countries may draw when designing their own transhumance policies. Initiated by the Pastoralist Knowledge Hub of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and authored by Jonathan Davies, Claire Ogali, Lydia Slobodian, Guyo Roba and Razingrim Ouedraogo of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), this publication provides a review of various legal and policy arrangements, and offers successful examples of pastoral mobility from across the world.
It aims to inspire and inform action by governments and civil society actors to develop legislation and other forms of legal instruments and cooperative agreements for transboundary pastoralism.
