Your search found 10 records
1 Grillos, T. 2018. Women’s participation in environmental decision-making: quasi-experimental evidence from northern Kenya. World Development, 108:115-130. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.03.017]
Gender ; Women's participation ; Decision making ; Climate change ; Environmental effects ; Resilience ; Political aspects ; Governance ; Nongovernmental organizations ; Pastoralists ; Communities ; Households / East Africa / Kenya / Marsabit
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048879)
(0.59 MB)
Greater inclusion of women is widely believed to improve environmental decision outcomes. Pastoralism faces increased vulnerability to climate change, and pastoralist women are both disproportionately affected by severe drought and underrepresented in formal decision-making processes. Increased participation by women in decision-making thus promises to offer a win–win solution: greater gender equality as well as enhanced resilience to persistent drought. This quasi-experimental study evaluates an intervention that aimed to increase drought preparedness in northern Kenyan pastoralist communities through the empowerment of women at the household and community levels. It uses a difference-in-differences design combined with matching estimation to causally isolate effects of the intervention. At the community level, there was an increase in women’s political awareness and participation in formal decision-making processes, but that participation did not translate into meaningful outcomes. At the household level, however, there was a large and positive effect on actions taken to better prepare for drought (which mostly took the form of pre-emptive livestock sales). Given the entrenched gender roles related to livestock sales in this setting, this finding is encouraging and warrants further research.
2 Mapedza, Everisto; Tsegai, D.; Bruntrup, M.; McLeman, R. (Eds.) 2019. Drought challenges: policy options for developing countries. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. 363p. (Current Directions in Water Scarcity Research Volume 2)
Drought tolerance ; Policies ; Developing countries ; Climate change mitigation ; Adaptation ; Weather hazards ; Early warning systems ; Disaster preparedness ; Resilience ; Monitoring ; Satellite observation ; Remote sensing ; Forecasting ; Food security ; Energy ; Water scarcity ; Nexus ; Intercropping ; Maize ; Legumes ; Crop insurance ; Livestock management ; Forage ; Sustainable land management ; Rainwater harvesting ; Strategies ; Impact assessment ; Gender ; Small scale farming ; Smallholders ; Farmers ; Migration ; Conflicts ; Indigenous knowledge ; Semiarid zones ; Drylands ; SADC countries ; Living standards ; Households ; Social protection ; Rural areas ; Pastoralists ; Communities / Africa South of Sahara / Southern Africa / East Africa / Latin America / South Asia / USA / Brazil / Mexico / Colombia / United Republic of Tanzania / Uganda / Ethiopia / Kenya / Mali / India / Yucatan / Xuilub / Andhra Pradesh / Laikipia / Lincoln / Colorado
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H049366)
(1.39 MB)
3 Whitley, L.; Hutchings, P.; Cooper, S.; Parker, A.; Kebede, A.; Joseph, S.; Butterworth, J.; van Koppen, Barbara; Mulejaa, A. 2019. A framework for targeting water, sanitation and hygiene interventions in pastoralist populations in the Afar Region of Ethiopia. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 222(8):1133-1144. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2019.08.001]
Water supply ; Sanitation ; Hygiene ; Risk assessment ; Pastoralists ; Communities ; Public health ; Health hazards ; Faecal pollution ; Pathogens ; Drinking water ; Water purification ; Water storage ; Human behaviour ; Villages ; Households / Ethiopia / Afar Region
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049505)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1438463919303037/pdfft?md5=20dd20d81fedd15412ad38ce2a911509&pid=1-s2.0-S1438463919303037-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H049505.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H049505.pdf
(0.73 MB) (744 KB)
Globally, many populations face structural and environmental barriers to access safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services. Among these populations are many of the 200 million pastoralists whose livelihood patterns and extreme environmental settings challenge conventional WASH programming approaches. In this paper, we studied the Afar pastoralists in Ethiopia to identify WASH interventions that can mostly alleviate public health risks, within the population's structural and environmental living constraints. Surveys were carried out with 148 individuals and observational assessments made in 12 households as part of a Pastoralist Community WASH Risk Assessment. The results show that low levels of access to infrastructure are further compounded by risky behaviours related to water containment, storage and transportation. Additional behavioural risk factors were identified related to sanitation, hygiene and animal husbandry. The Pastoralist Community WASH Risk Assessment visually interprets the seriousness of the risks against the difficulty of addressing the problem. The assessment recommends interventions on household behaviours, environmental cleanliness, water storage, treatment and hand hygiene via small-scale educational interventions. The framework provides an approach for assessing risks in other marginal populations that are poorly understood and served through conventional approaches.
4 Cho, M. A.; Onisimo, M.; Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe. 2023. Using participatory GIS and collaborative management approaches to enhance local actors’ participation in rangeland management: the case of Vulindlela, South Africa. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 66(6):1189-1208. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2021.2017269]
Rangelands ; Participatory approaches ; Geographical information systems ; Collaboration ; Planning ; Stakeholders ; Pastoralists ; Local knowledge ; Empowerment / South Africa / Vulindlela
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050968)
(1.35 MB)
Participatory Geographic Information Systems (PGIS) is an empowering tool for the enhancement of local communities’ participation in the planning and management of natural resources. The inadequate involvement of local stakeholders in rangeland planning and management has been of great concern. Discussions on the role of PGIS and collaborative management approaches in promoting local involvement in rangeland management has not been clearly understood due to the scarcity of literature. This paper assessed how local participation in rangeland management can be enhanced using a combined collaborative management framework and PGIS approach. The objective was achieved through a focus group discussion, local ecological knowledge mapping and key informant interviews. The combined PGIS and collaborative management approach enabled the empowerment of local actors through knowledge enhancement, encouraged the practice of rangeland governance and the transfer of responsibility to local actors. This study provides a conceptual contribution toward the improvement of local actors’ participation in rangeland management.
5 Olumba, E. E.; Nwosu, B. U.; Okpaleke, F. N.; Okoli, R. C. 2022. Conceptualising eco-violence: moving beyond the multiple labelling of water and agricultural resource conflicts in the Sahel. Third World Quarterly, 43(9):2075-2090. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2022.2083601]
Water resources ; Agricultural resources ; Conflicts ; Farmers ; Pastoralists ; Communities ; Violence ; Social groups ; Politics ; State intervention / Sahel
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051216)
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/01436597.2022.2083601?needAccess=true
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051216.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051216.pdf
(1.47 MB) (1.47 MB)
The conflict over water and agricultural resources within the Sahel of Africa has led to the destruction of lives, property and nature for decades. The extant practice is to label these conflicts with multiple names and conceptualise them as single-issue events. This article illustrates this practice further and highlights some issues associated with such approaches. Existing terms for these conflicts in Africa’s Sahel region are primarily linked to people’s occupations and ethnic identities, distracting efforts to gain a deeper understanding. This view obscures the broad dimensions of these struggles among those competing for water and agricultural resources. Thus, this paper remedies the conceptual gaps by recommending ‘eco-violence’ as an umbrella term for these conflicts and foregrounding the emerging trends of eco-violence within the Sahel region. By referring to these conflicts as eco-violence, we can foster a more inclusive perspective that incorporates social and environmental injustices and political failures as factors related to these conflicts.
6 van Koppen, Barbara. 2022. Living customary water tenure in rights-based water management in Sub-Saharan Africa. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 41p. (IWMI Research Report 183) [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2022.214]
Water tenure ; Customary tenure ; Water rights ; Water management ; Water law ; Customary law ; Water resources ; Water sharing ; Infrastructure ; Water supply ; Multiple use water services ; Rural communities ; Water allocation ; Sustainable Development Goals ; water, sanitation and hygiene ; Norms ; Policies ; Legislation ; Water governance ; Water quality ; Water distribution ; Water permits ; Conflicts ; Costs ; Gender ; Women ; Right to water ; Right to food ; Households ; Living standards ; Drinking water ; Domestic water ; Farmer-led irrigation ; Pastoralists ; Livestock ; Land ; Water security ; Nexus approaches / Africa South of Sahara
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H051372)
(1.10 MB)
Living customary water tenure is the most accepted socio-legal system among the large majority of rural people in sub-Saharan Africa. Based on literature, this report seeks to develop a grounded understanding of the ways in which rural people meet their domestic and productive water needs on homesteads, distant fields or other sites of use, largely outside the ambits of the state. Taking the rural farming or pastoralist community as the unit of analysis, three components are distinguished. The first component deals with the fundamental perceptions of the links between humankind and naturally available water resources as a commons to be shared by all, partially linked to communities’ collective land rights. The second component deals with the sharing of these finite and contested naturally available water resources, especially during dry seasons and droughts. Customary arrangements shape both the ‘sharing in’ of water resources within communities and the ‘sharing out’ with other customary communities or powerful third parties. Since colonial times, communities have been vulnerable to those third parties grabbing water resources and overriding customary uses and governance. The third component deals with infrastructure to store and convey water resources. Since time immemorial, communities have invested in infrastructure for self supply, ranging from micro-scale soil moisture retention techniques to large-scale collective deep wells. As increasingly recognized in both the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and irrigation sectors, this component of self supply is rapidly expanding. In all three components, local diversity is high, with gender, class and other social hierarchies intertwining with social safety nets, neighborliness and moral economies.
The study derives two sets of implications for state and non-state policies, laws and interventions. First, state legislation about the sharing of water resources should recognize and protect living customary water tenure, especially through due process in ‘sharing out’ water with powerful third parties. Remarkably, water law, which is dominated by permit systems in sub-Saharan Africa, lags behind other legislation in recognizing customary water tenure (see IWMI Research Report 182). Second, by taking communities’ self supply for multiple uses as a starting point for further water infrastructure development, the WASH, irrigation and other sectors can follow the priorities of communities, including the most vulnerable; identify cost-effective multi-purpose infrastructure; develop local skills; and, hence, contribute more sustainably to achieving more United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDGs 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 13. Further historical and interdisciplinary research to achieve these benefits is recommended.
The study derives two sets of implications for state and non-state policies, laws and interventions. First, state legislation about the sharing of water resources should recognize and protect living customary water tenure, especially through due process in ‘sharing out’ water with powerful third parties. Remarkably, water law, which is dominated by permit systems in sub-Saharan Africa, lags behind other legislation in recognizing customary water tenure (see IWMI Research Report 182). Second, by taking communities’ self supply for multiple uses as a starting point for further water infrastructure development, the WASH, irrigation and other sectors can follow the priorities of communities, including the most vulnerable; identify cost-effective multi-purpose infrastructure; develop local skills; and, hence, contribute more sustainably to achieving more United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular SDGs 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 13. Further historical and interdisciplinary research to achieve these benefits is recommended.
7 Walker, S. E.; Bruyere, B. L.; Solomon, J. N.; Powlen, K. A.; Yasin, A.; Lenaiyasa, E.; Lolemu, A. 2022. Pastoral coping and adaptation climate change strategies: implications for women's well-being. Journal of Arid Environments, 197:104656. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2021.104656]
Climate change adaptation ; Coping strategies ; Gender ; Women ; Pastoralists ; Livelihood ; Pastoralism ; Rangelands ; Semiarid zones ; Vulnerability ; Climate resilience ; Communities ; Livestock ; Households ; Food security ; Indicators / East Africa / Kenya / Samburu
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051405)
(0.53 MB)
Pastoral women in the semi-arid rangelands of East Africa are significantly burdened by the vulnerability to and responsibility for responding to changing climates. Consequently, understanding how adaptation and coping strategies impact pastoral women's well-being is critical for supporting the climate resilience of communities and the landscapes on which they rely. We used a household survey, guided by a multi-dimensional framework of well-being, to investigate how the use of drought-related coping and adaptation strategies by Samburu households influenced livestock loss and women's well-being in northern Kenya. Coping and adaptation strategies predicted numerous social-cognitive components of well-being, although not livestock loss. We conjecture these results are a product of a gendered division of labor within households and the community. We argue that interventions aimed at supporting drought resilience must consider the gendered implications of climate response strategies, multiple indicators for evaluation, and the influence of community and place.
8 Bethancourt, H. J.; Swanson, Z. S.; Nzunza, R.; Young, S. L.; Lomeiku, L.; Douglass, M. J.; Braun, D. R.; Ndiema, E. K.; Pontzer, H.; Rosinger, A. Y. 2022. The co-occurrence of water insecurity and food insecurity among Daasanach pastoralists in northern Kenya. Public Health Nutrition, 11p. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980022001689]
Water insecurity ; Food insecurity ; Pastoralists ; Water scarcity ; Socioeconomic aspects ; Marginalization ; Climate change ; Households ; Communities ; Livestock ; Models / Kenya
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051477)
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/48A2473E1F5FB3C4CE30FE165368D54C/S1368980022001689a.pdf/the-co-occurrence-of-water-insecurity-and-food-insecurity-among-daasanach-pastoralists-in-northern-kenya.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051477.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051477.pdf
(0.55 MB) (564 KB)
Objective: Water plays a critical role in the production of food and preparation of nutritious meals, yet few studies have examined the relationship between water and food insecurity. The primary objective of this study, therefore, was to examine how experiences of household water insecurity (HWI) relate to experiences of household food insecurity (HFI) among a pastoralist population living in an arid, water-stressed region of northern Kenya.
Design: We implemented the twelve-item Household Water Insecurity Experiences (HWISE, range 0–36) Scale and the nine-item Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS, range 0–27) in a cross-sectional survey to measure HWI and HFI, respectively. Data on socio-demographic characteristics and intake of meat and dairy in the prior week were collected as covariates of interest.
Setting: Northern Kenya, June–July 2019.
Participants: Daasanach pastoralist households (n 136) from seven communities.
Results: In the prior 4 weeks, 93·4 % and 98·5 % of households had experienced moderate-to-severe HWI and HFI, respectively. Multiple linear regression analyses indicated a strong association between HWI and HFI. Each point higher HWISE score was associated with a 0·44-point (95 % CI: 0·22, 0·66, P = 0·003) higher HFIAS score adjusting for socio-economic status and other covariates.
Conclusions: These findings demonstrate high prevalence and co-occurrence of HWI and HFI among Daasanach pastoralists in northern Kenya. This study highlights the need to address HWI and HFI simultaneously when developing policies and interventions to improve the nutritional well-being of populations whose subsistence is closely tied to water availability and access.
Design: We implemented the twelve-item Household Water Insecurity Experiences (HWISE, range 0–36) Scale and the nine-item Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS, range 0–27) in a cross-sectional survey to measure HWI and HFI, respectively. Data on socio-demographic characteristics and intake of meat and dairy in the prior week were collected as covariates of interest.
Setting: Northern Kenya, June–July 2019.
Participants: Daasanach pastoralist households (n 136) from seven communities.
Results: In the prior 4 weeks, 93·4 % and 98·5 % of households had experienced moderate-to-severe HWI and HFI, respectively. Multiple linear regression analyses indicated a strong association between HWI and HFI. Each point higher HWISE score was associated with a 0·44-point (95 % CI: 0·22, 0·66, P = 0·003) higher HFIAS score adjusting for socio-economic status and other covariates.
Conclusions: These findings demonstrate high prevalence and co-occurrence of HWI and HFI among Daasanach pastoralists in northern Kenya. This study highlights the need to address HWI and HFI simultaneously when developing policies and interventions to improve the nutritional well-being of populations whose subsistence is closely tied to water availability and access.
9 Cho, M. A.; Mutanga, O.; Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe. 2023. Understanding local actors’ perspective of threats to the sustainable management of communal rangeland and the role of Participatory GIS (PGIS): the case of Vulindlela, South Africa. South African Geographical Journal, 105(4):516-533. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/03736245.2023.2190153]
Sustainable land management ; Rangelands ; Common lands ; Local knowledge ; Participatory rural appraisal ; Geographical information systems ; Land governance ; Mapping ; Techniques ; Grazing lands ; Land productivity ; Ecological factors ; Socioeconomic aspects ; Pastoralists ; Communities ; Livelihoods ; Inclusion ; Assessment / South Africa / Vulindlela
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051819)
(2.79 MB)
Rangelands in arid and semi-arid regions serve as grazing land for domesticated animals and therefore offer livelihood opportunities for most pastoral communities. Thus, the exposure of most rangelands in arid and semi-arid regions to threats that are associated with natural, social, economic, and political processes affects their capacity to provide socioeconomic and environmental support to the immediate and global communities. In spite of the effects of rangeland transformations on both the natural and human environment, the assessment of threats affecting rangeland productivity has often been approached from a conventional scientific perspective. Most existing literature is focused on the assessment of threats to the biophysical environment. As such the social dimension of rangeland threats is not well understood. This research employed participatory rural appraisal (PRA) and PGIS techniques to assess rangeland threats and management actions from a local perspective. The result revealed that local actors prioritize threats to their social and economic needs over threats to the biophysical environment and their preference is informed by the frequency and magnitude of the threats. The outcome of the research demonstrates the need to promote rangeland governance through interdisciplinary and inclusive participation in research and development.
10 Farajalla, N.; Abi Ammar, R.; Nassar, L.; Abou Dagher, M.; Kharma, E.; Machmouchi, F.; Hachem Majdalani, C.; Yazbek, C.; Zaarour, N.; Maadat, A.; Belhaj Fraj, Makram; Fragaszy, Stephen; Ruckstuhl, Sandra. 2022. Drought, fragility and human migration analysis: synthesis report of case studies in Lebanon and Jordan. Project report prepared by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) for the Bureau for the Middle East of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Washington, DC, USA: USAID; Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 43p. [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2023.213]
Drought ; Fragility ; Migration ; Case studies ; Sustainable agriculture ; Agricultural development ; Climate change ; Resilience ; Strategies ; Policies ; Investment ; Decision making ; Water scarcity ; Water supply ; Water management ; Food security ; Government ; Socioeconomic aspects ; Communities ; Farmers ; Pastoralists / Middle East / North Africa / Lebanon / Jordan / Rechaya / Zarqa
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052339)
(3.54 MB)
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