Improving Pastoral Risk Management on East African Rangelands   Downward Spiral on East African Rangelands Pastoralists and agropastoralists living in the arid and semi-arid regions of East Africa appear to be caught in a downward spiral of increasing poverty, chronic risk of livestock loss and famine, physical insecurity and environmental degradation. Delivery of public services in these areas is commonly in decline. Billions of USD have been spent in recent decades providing famine relief, increasingly on an annual basis. Former pastoralists, often female-headed households, increasingly reside near towns to engage in high-risk cultivation and petty trade, swelling ranks of the unemployed and increasing stress on social services and the environment. Are there effective means to deal with such problems? We believe more attention to facilitating pastoral risk management could provide beneficial solutions. What is Risk Management? Risk management is the process of taking various actions to reduce the chance of losing assets, income or other aspects of well-being. The four elements of risk management are: asset diversification, income diversification, increased access to information, and increased access to external resources Why do Pastoralists Need to Improve Risk Management? Loss and degradation of traditional grazing lands and increases in human populations have created resource pressure. Pastoral people have become more vulnerable to external shocks including those from fluctuations in rainfall and market functions. Crashes in livestock numbers become more frequent and conflicts at ethnic borders increase. As human populations grow, per capita livestock holdings ratchet down, poverty increases, and more households are pushed to reside near towns and villages. Where is the Project Operating? The project region extends over 124,000 km2 of largely arid and semi-arid lands. It runs 700-km from southern Ethiopia (near Hagere Mariam) to north-central Kenya (Isiolo and Baringo). This region is home to over one million pastoralists and agropastoralists from at least 10 important ethnic groups including the Boran, Chamus, Gabra, Gugi, Rendille, Samburu and Somali. This constitutes an ecoregion with complete international marketing channels. Other regions may be considered for project expansion in the future. See the GIS map of the study region for details. What are Some Examples of Project Priorities? We recognize poverty and lack of personal empowerment as the core problems facing pastoralists in attaining sustainable production systems and healthy environments. Using a research-based approach, we thus seek to help facilitate interventions in the following priority areas: Improvements in rural financial systems, marketing networks and education to allow more opportunistic diversification of livestock and human capital. For example, capturing some of the massive wealth otherwise lost in wasteful livestock mortalities can create a virtuous cycle of household-level savings, town-based economic development, and rehabilitation of rangeland resources with positive feedback for many aspects of the environment, public service delivery, and human welfare. Improvements in the flow and capture of information to enhance efficiency in marketing and resource allocation. Information could pertain to prices and other market conditions, livestock disease epidemics, rainfall forecasts, and general educational packages regarding risk manage- ment planning delivered through public seminars and secondary school systems. Facilitation of conflict mitigation and problem-solving concerning natural resource tenure. Comparative evaluation of development investment options for various types of infrastructure, key institutions, or programs to improve pastoral risk management throughout the region. Can the Environment Benefit from Improved Risk Management? Yes. Economic diversification can fuel development. This can help reduce overgrazing and reliance on potentially destructive activities such as opportunistic cultivation and charcoal production. How is the Project Organized? Participants will come from universities and colleges in East Africa (Egerton University, Addis Ababa University) and the United States (Utah State University,University of Kentucky, Cornell University, Williams College). Project co-leaders include Dr. D. L. Coppock, Prof. A. A. Aboud, and Drs. C. B. Barrett and P D. Little. The project will also be linked to regional, national, and international agricultural research organizations in East Africa such as ASARECA (Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in East and Central Africa), KARI (Kenya Agricultural Research Institute), EARO (Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organization) and ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute). About 25 grass-roots development organizations (governmental and non-governmental) are included as liaison participants. New individuals and institutions may be added in the future. Does the Project Seek Collaborators? Yes. We seek collaborators and co-funding opportunities for key project components involving student training, rural outreach activities, workshops, institutional development, and research. For more information, please contact:
	Dr. D. L. Coppock Dept. of Rangeland Resources Utah State University Logan, UT, 84322-5230 USA (tel: 435-797-1262) (fax: 435-797-3796) (Email: LCoppock@cc. usu.edu) Dept. Home Page can be found at http://www.edu./~cnr/range/rrhome.htm Dr P.D Little Dept. of Anthropology University of Kentucky Lexington, KY 405O6-OO24 USA (tel: 606-257-6923) (fax: 606-323-1959) (Email: pdlittl@pop.uky.edu) Dept. Home Page can be found at http://www.uky.edu/artsciences/anthropology Prof. A. A. Aboud, Dept. of Natural Resources Egerton University PO. Box 536, Njoro, Kenya (tel: 37-61464) (fax: 37-61213) (Email: eu-cs@net2000ke.com)  Dr C B Barrett Dept. of Agricultural, Resource and Managerial Economics Warren Hall, Cornell University Ithaca, NY, 14853-7801 USA (tel: 607-255-4489) (fax: 607-255-9984) (Email: cbb2@cornell.edu) Dept. Home Page can be found at http://www.cals.cornell.edu/dept/arme/index.htm
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