InfoBrief Lessons on improving livelihood security and reducing vulnerability in pastoralist communities:
Key Messages & Lessons: Pastoralist livelihoods
are severely threatened due to poor governance systems Climate change
is challenging communities to modify or change their livelihoods, especially when confined by poor governance systems Many pastoral
communities lack essential knowledge and skills for protecting and demanding for their rights Capacity-building
efforts by CSOs have improved the involvement of pastoral communities in local government and community forums Efforts to improve
pastoral livelihoods through engagement with CSOs must be ongoing
CARE International Tanzania Pastoralists’ Basket Fund Program 2007 - 2011 Pastoral communities are among the most marginalized in the world1. Although they contribute significantly to local, national and international economies, farmers and major investors frequently encroach on their land, threatening their livelihoods. CARE’s Pastoralist Basket Fund Programme seeks to improve the capacity of pastoral communities by working through Civil Society Organizations that focus on equipping pastoralist with knowledge and skills so that they can demand the required services. The focus of this brief is to assess best practices, lessons learned and future opportunities for pastoral communities in Tanzania.
Background In Tanzania, the pastoral economy supplies the country with approximately 90% of its meat and milk products.2 Despite their significant role in the national economy, pastoral communities have struggled to meet their own needs. They face issues such as land rights, grazing rights and the right to political representation. Problems like climate change only exacerbate these struggles. Ultimately, this has resulted in communities being forced to change their way of living. The Pastoral Basket Fund Programme (PBFP) is a project established by CARE International and funded by Irish Aid. The PBFP was implemented to reduce poverty and vulnerability, and increase opportunity for pastoral communities. It is a four-year program that was started in 2007, designed to work through Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to increase the ability of pastoral communities to improve their livelihoods. Since 2007, the programme has provided funding for 46 Tanzanian CSOs. PBFP supports communities in the Handeni, Kilindi, Kilosa, Mvomero, Kiteto, Simanjiro, Mbulu, Magu, Geita,
Serengeti, Musoma rural, Rorya, Serengeti, Arusha, Meru, Monduli, Longido, Ngorongoro, Kahama, Meatu, Kilolo and Iringa rural districts of Tanzania. Some of the main activities carried out through the PBFP by CSOs included strengthening knowledge and skills related to Pastoralism. This brief provides an overview of the important lessons learned from this program – the key successes, challenges and opportunities for moving forward.
Expected Outcomes of PBFP Establish a transparent mechanism for implementing and managing a basket fund to support pastoral CSOs in Tanzania Increased ability of pastoral CSOs to analyze and influence policies that would result in improved services that meets the needs of pastoral communities Improved local government responses to the needs of pastoral communities Lessons learned from PBFP documented and distributed to influence local, national and international policy-making
Best Practices and Success Stories Exercising Land Rights
Pastoralists need reliable access to grazing land and water for their livestock. In dry seasons, water can become scarce and grazing land limited. Pastoralists, with intricate knowledge of dry-land ecosystems, need to be able to manage these resources. By creating community forums where pastoralists can influence local policies, PBFP realized success in increasing power at the local level. All photos © Copyright CARE International
Pastoralist managed dip in Magu
In Serengeti district, pastoralist communities have been able to lobby for land rights. They were taught lobbying and advocacy skills at a training session on the village land Act of 1999 and conflict resolution that was hosted by Taturu Community Development Foundation3 (TACODEF). As a result of the training session, the Serengeti community formed a committee that raised the issue with local and national government. Land that was to be leased to an investor was turned over to the pastoralists. In Kilindi district, despite existing land use plans, farmers started illegally using the pastoralists’ grazing land. A training conducted by Ereto Maasai Youth brought the two parties together to peacefully resolve the conflict. The result was that the disputed area was turned back to the pastoralists for the purpose of grazing.
Influencing Policy at the Local Level Village Savings and Loan group
Cultural dance troupe in Meatu
‘Livelihood Diversification’ - Members of Enaboishu Women group sell traditional crafts and jewelry.
A major challenge for pastoralist communities has been a lack of involvement and representation in decision-making institutions at both the local and national levels. Through trainings aimed at addressing such gaps–raising awareness about leadership, politics and influencing development decisions—PBFP saw changes in representation and political activism within some pastoralist communities. Pastoralists have begun to involve themselves in local level governing systems, competing for leadership positions and seeking increased representation in their community. For example, members of the Taturu community remained absent from local governing bodies in the past. But following a training by TACODEF, three members of the Taturu contested for positions in the village executive committee. Further, community members in Tungamalenga village in Iringa, an area governed by corrupt leaders for years, were able to overthrow the chairman by a vote of no confidence after learning about rights and political engagement. A member
of the district business committee explains, “We can no longer be discriminated in advocating for our rights, even if a person comes here today, to take our land, we are really determined to resist and battle for our rights.”
Networks to Address Pastoralist Issues Pastoralists have established village and ward networks as a way of lobbying for issues of common interest such as ownership and access rights to land as well as representation in decision-making forums. Through these networks, pastoral communities have lobbied for ownership, construction and renovation of livestock infrastructure such as dips and boreholes. In Geita district, a ward network established through the Community Development and Relief Trust succeeded in securing access to a cattle dip. A few individuals had formerly owned the dip, but after network engagement now all benefits are shared amongst the pastoralists in the ward. In Iringa district, pastoral communities have established a network with the support of the Tanzania Grassroots Oriented Development. Through this network, they have acquired abandoned cattle dips and boreholes from the government and renovated them. These boreholes are operated and managed by committees selected by the pastoral community network. The revenue generated by the boreholes and dips is used to purchase acaricides and cover operational costs.
Conflict Resolution Conflict is not uncommon between pastoralists and farmers due to competing land uses, limited resources and encroachment on each other’s land. Conflict resolution training has enabled pastoralists and farmers to resolve their issues at the village level. Following workshops on land rights and conflict resolution, conflicts in Iringa have decreased. Formerly, conflict resolution committees only represented farmers, but now they consist of farmers and pastoralists. As a result of sensitization workshops regarding their rights, pastoralists in Iringa now feel confident to be members of village councils as well as conflict resolution committees and demand that their rights be adequately represented.
Livelihood Diversification In many communities, individuals are not
“We can no longer be discriminated in advocating for our rights, even if a person comes here today, to take our land, we are really determined to resist and battle for our rights.” - Member of District Business Council, Iringa only diversifying their livelihoods through Village Savings and Loan groups, where they can easily gain access to money for livelihood investments, but even through increased awareness regarding land rights. CARE’s Village Savings and Loans program has been successful in consolidating pastoralists’ financial resources to meet their basic requirements for supporting sustainable pastoralism and for other social and economic activities. They have been able to support livestock improvements and create new income-generating activities for themselves. For example, one women’s group in Nyarugusu buys kid goats, fattens them up, and sells them three months later for profit. Other groups have saved for farming inputs and veterinary medicine. After learning about land rights, one woman in Simanjiro applied for a parcel of land through the village council that she did not formerly understand she was entitled to. She was allocated 20 acres in 2008 and cleared 10 acres to intercrop maize and beans. This allowed her to diversify and expand income and livelihood options.
Theatre Pastoralists have used theatre as a way of bringing awareness to their issues. In Kilindi district, Ereto Maasai Youth educated pastoralists and farmers about conflicts surrounding resources. After their training on land rights and land-use planning, one theatre group has demanded creation of livestock routes by the local government authorities to allow pastoralists access to water resources. Following this engagement, the government gave instructions to the village councils to oversee the creation of livestock corridors. As a result, the number of pastoral/farmer conflicts has decreased significantly.
Positive Impacts
Outcomes of engagement and capacity building through PBFP Improved awareness of land rights and policies and the ability to exercise their rights and influence policies in their favor
Growing ability to resolve local conflicts
over resources through village conflict
resolution committees
Declining livestock losses as a result
of training on livestock disease control and improved availability of veterinary services
Increasing involvement of pastoralists in
alternative economic activities, such as business and crop farming
Increased gender awareness and female participation in local decision-making
Increasing access to more grazing land
for pastoralists, resulting from exercising their rights, negotiating for grazing with farmers and land-use planning within villages
Increased network among pastoral
CSOs as the number working with the PBFP – from 13 CSOs in 2008 to 46 in 2011
Improved ability of pastoral CSOs
to analyze and influence policies for improved service delivery that is responsive to their needs
There’s Still More to be Done… Lobbying and Advocacy
Pastoralist communities have had ongoing conflicts with investors. This is often because land is leased to investors without full village consent, which results in pastoralists’ losing access to important grazing lands or water sources but also even being forced off their land. Despite progress on conflict resolution between some pastoralist communities and farmers, there remains an ongoing challenge for pastoralists regarding land use conflicts with investors, mostly because policies and agendas tend to support investors and not local communities. Pastoral umbrella groups have had some success in raising awareness about pastoral / investor conflicts. They have done this through online videos and raising awareness about their issues. For example, members of the Pastoral Livelihoods Task Force helped to create a YouTube video called “Voices from Loliondo” in an effort to spread awareness regarding a struggle between pastoralists in the region and a foreign hunting company. CSOs could help pastoral umbrella groups to raise awareness about their conflicts with investors by training them on how to create public awareness through media and by
providing them with funding to access different forms of media. In addition to media projects, pastoralists must receive education regarding land use and legal processes so that they can pursue the necessary steps for securing land rights. Funding could also be provided to help pastoral groups to access high-quality legal representation.
Building Organizational Capacity CSOs have been able to deliver skills to pastoral communities. These skills have helped them to improve their access to resources and reduce village-level conflicts. But there remain areas that still need to be addressed. One central issue is the issue of institutional capacity within the CSOs – managing funds, reporting, proposal writing, etc. Of course, PBFP focused on these issues, but they remain serious challenges and need ongoing support and strengthening. Additionally, the program has not yet prioritized issues like adaptation to climate change or gender equality. Other parts of the PBFP have simply not been thoroughly implemented. Indigenous heard improvement programs, for example, require a substantial amount of time and training and so far the results of that program are unclear. CSOs need more training on how to provide quality services to pastoralists in addition to funding for carrying out their programs. Knowledge sharing through CSOs has proven to be a successful tool in pastoral communities. But, for them to continue, they need to secure more funding and improve their own capacities to deliver their services, exchange information and build from lessons learned throughout this programme.
Moving Forward
Mainstream PBFP activities into district, agricultural and livestock development plans Build capacity of local government authorities to respond to pastoralists’ demands and provide quality services Establish a climate change adaptation component of PBFP Improve the program’s ability to address gender-related issues and gender mainstreaming Secure an extension of funding for PBFP or raise money for a second phase of PBFP
PBFP has achieved many of its goals but more funding and the eventual creation of a more permanent, transparent, locally run umbrella organization could be appropriate. In the meantime, CARE must continue to empower CSOs to ensure the continued success of current initiatives and to address evolving pastoral issues.
Feinstein International Center. Understanding the future of pastoralism in Africa (https://wikis.uit.tufts.edu/confluence/display/FIC/Understanding+ the+Future+of+Pastoralism+in+Africa+%28Summary%29)
1
deJode H and Hesse C (2011) Strengthening Voices: How pastoralist communities and local government are shaping strategies for adaptive environmental management and poverty reduction in Tanzania’s dry lands. IIED Report.
2
TACODEF is now known as Shirika la Maendeleo ya Wafugaji Jamii ya Wataturu (SHIMWAJAWA)
3
© Copyright Tanzania Natural Resource Forum 2011 - This brief was prepared by Sarah Ellis