Science and Technology Mailing List Archive

[Ced Hesse <<address removed>>]

Dear all,

The comments by Anthony Mugenyi, Johnson Nkuuhe and Dick Tinsley with regard
to the "tragedy of the commons" in communal grazing lands illustrate two
issues of broader significance for designing and implementing policies and
practice in favour of marginal communities and broader economic growth: (i)
the dilemma of finding adequate ways in which to get research to inform
policy and practice, but also (ii) the huge challenge of changing
deep-seated perceptions and attitudes, particularly towards certain
categories of people like pastoralists, but equally women, people living
with HIV/AIDS, urban squatters, migrants.  In the case of pastoralists, it
is paradoxical that despite being one of the most researched communities in
Africa, they remain one of its least understood groups by the "outside
world". It is astonishing how one so often hears government staff at local
and national levels or NGO/donor project workers continuing to accuse
pastoralism of causing desertification, of pastoral people keeping huge
herds far in excess of their needs and refusing to sell their animals EVEN
to buy medicines for their sick child, when there is a huge body of sound,
empirical research that clearly contests such observations.    
Such perceptions continue to exist in part because a lot of the research
that has been conducted, particularly in the last 20-25 years, has failed to
reach the right people in appropriate formats and at the key moments in
their professional development or at crucial moments in policy making
processes.  There is in this sense a sort of information gap.  But our work
with pastoral communities in both East and West Africa shows that the
reasons for the persistence of such deep-rooted prejudice are far more
complex and rooted in history, culture and colonial and post-independence
socio-economic and political processes and events, as well the fact that
pastoral communities themselves are highly differentiated according to
class, wealth and political affiliation, and thus also contribute to
internal processes of discrimination and prejudice picked up and used by
others. 
In short, the situation is very complicated and is as much to do with issues
of power and identity as lack of understanding due to poor information.
Proposals in favour of empowering the poor to take charge of their own
destiny and play a more effective role in policy formulation are
particularly difficult to implement with respect to pastoralists given
external attitudes towards them. While governments may accept the principle
of pro-poor development in Africa, they reject the notion that pastoral
communities have the right to define their own agenda because of their
attitudes and prejudices towards what they consider to be a backward and
environmentally destructive system.  As such it is difficult for
pastoralists to get a "fair hearing", so to speak.  The central issue is not
about preserving pastoralism per se, but about giving people living in these
areas the right to be able to make informed decisions about their future, as
well as the skills and confidence to argue their case without being
pre-judged on a false set of assumptions. 
Addressing prejudice and changing attitudes is a pre-requisite for the
success of pro-poor policies and development implementation. In the specific
case of pastoralism, it is a major sub-set of the livestock sector in Africa
(and else where) supporting millions of people, making sustainable and
optimal use of huge areas of land at minimal cost and contributing
significantly to economic growth.  Unfortunately, relatively little work is
being done in the design of tools, methods and approaches in this area
adapted to the pastoral context, though much could be learnt from
experiences in other sectors such as HIV/AIDS or disability.  This is an
area DFID should consider within its AST agenda. 
Ced Hesse

Ced Hesse
Director, IIED-Drylands Programme
4 Hanover Street, Edinburgh EH2 2EN, UK
Direct Line: 44 131 624 7043
Fax: 44 131 624 7050
Email: <address removed> 





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