article · Ecological Processes
This study investigated Afar pastoralists' community-based knowledge regarding rangeland condition, climate change, and adaptation strategies. Data were collected through focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and semi-structured questionnaires administered to 100 household heads. The research compared pastoralists' perceptions with 40 years of meteorological data. Findings indicate that while pastoralists have extensive environmental knowledge, their perception of declining precipitation was not consistently supported by meteorological records for the short rainy season. Livestock numbers were identified as the best indicator for rangeland condition. The study also revealed that many coping strategies are labour-intensive and that differences in intervention between areas influence strategy choices, suggesting policy implications for climate change adaptation.
This research highlights the value of integrating indigenous knowledge with scientific data for effective climate change adaptation and sustainable rangeland management. Understanding local perceptions and coping strategies is crucial for developing appropriate policy tools and interventions in pastoral communities, ensuring more relevant and impactful support.
This research provides foundational insights for policymakers, development organisations, and non-governmental organisations working on climate change adaptation and sustainable rangeland management in pastoral areas. The findings can inform the design of more effective, locally-tailored intervention programmes and policy tools, integrating indigenous knowledge with scientific approaches. This is early-stage research, contributing to evidence-based policy formulation.
AI-generated from the published abstract. Always read the original work before citing.
Pastoral communities have a comprehensive knowledge of their environments. This knowledge was acquired through extensive observation of the local environment and continuous herding practices. Pastoralists’ wisdom about their local environment and adaptation strategies to climate change is essential for sustainable development. Thus, appreciation of pastoralists’ knowledge about their environment is also important for the integration of indigenous knowledge with the proper application of scientific approach to fit with the prevailing ecological potential of pastoral areas. Data were collected using focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and in-depth interviews. The in-depth interviews were conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire that was administered to 100 household heads with the age of above 50 years old. Respondents were randomly drawn from selected Pastoralists Associations (PAs) of two study districts. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics as well as the logit model. The logit model was used to analyze the different coping strategies of pastoralists to overcome the failure of rain during different seasons. This was done by complementing pastoralists’ indigenous knowledge of time-series-based analysis across four seasons (Kerma, Gillal, Hagay, and Sugum) vs. the existing meteorological records. Forty years (from 1971 to 2011) of existing metrological data were used to compare the empirical evidence with pastoralists’ perceptions. Respondents mentioned that livestock number was the best indicator for evaluating rangeland condition in Afar region. The existing empirical evidence based on metrological data did not show any significant decline in precipitation for the last four decades between 1971 and 2011 as opposed to the perception of pastoralists where 80% of them reported a decline in precipitation. A one unit increase in labor force suggested about 16.1% decrease in the choice of livestock selling as coping strategy in Afar pastoral areas of North-East of Ethiopia. The non-intervened pastoral households had more preference (3.78%) to practice herd splitting than those pastoral households in the intervened district. Similarly, the non-intervened pastoral households had 4.43% more preference to use crop residue for livestock feeding than pastoral HHs in the intervened areas. Communities’ perceptions showed that livestock number was the best indicator of rangeland condition in the study area. Afar pastoralists’ observations with regard to temperature and precipitation trends over the last four decades greatly corresponded with the existing metrological-based empirical evidence. However, pastoralists’ perception in terms of reduced precipitation was not confirmed by the meteorological-based data records for the short rainy season (SRS). Afar pastoralists’ experience showed that the short rainy season was the best indicator for the occurrence of droughts as compared to other seasons in Afar. Our results suggest that most coping strategies are labor force demanding, and the situation worsens during the long rainy season (LRS). We suggest that differences in intervention between the study areas should not be overlooked as a policy tool in tackling the impact of climate change.
This page summarises published work. The authoritative version sits with the publisher.
DOI: 10.1186/s13717-017-0094-4
Is something wrong with this record? Report it or request removal.
Discussion
Have you built on this work, tried to replicate it, or seen it applied in practice? Share what you know. Verified researchers and MARATTO™ domain experts can open a discussion, and any member can reply. Contributions are reviewed before they appear.
No discussion yet. Open the first thread.
New to MARATTO™? Create a free account.
