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      Mirages of pastoralist futures: a review of aid donor policy in Sahelian pastoral zones

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      Review of African Political Economy
      Review of African Political Economy
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            Abstract

            Based on donor presentations at the United Nations Sahelian Office (UNSO) Technical Consultations on Pastoral Development in Africa (Endnote 1), this contribution explores first the extent to which pastoralists and the pastoral zones are targeted in donor policy and second the type of future society that the aid policies point towards, or imply, for these people and these regions. The policies are found to divide into those that effectively bypass pastoral zones and fail to target pastoralists, those that consider the pastoral zones and their inhabitants as complementary to other zones and other populations, and those that target squarely these zones and their inhabitants. Taking the last group of policies, three different approaches are distinguished: that which focuses on livestock and animal production; that which focuses on people and herders’ organisations; and that which focuses on natural resources and desertification. These policies are reviewed in turn, along with their contrasting and often unrealistic implications as to the type of future society involved.

            In the end, most of these visions of the future are dismissed as hypothetical constructs — as mirages — in that they tend to be formulated by outsiders and lack a consensus of support from within the pastoralist communities. In the current political climate which favours democracy and decentralisation it is hoped that the pastoralists themselves will be given a voice and an institutional channel in proportion to their numbers, so that they may formulate and express their own aspirations. Certain very fundamental issues have yet to be resolved through the political process, in particular the relative support for two opposing lifestyles and land uses in semi‐arid areas: one based on nomadic livestock‐keeping of drought‐resistant livestock species, and the other on a variety of sedentary activities based in farms and settlements. Finally, some examples are suggested of ways in which donors might be called upon to assist, rather than to initiate, efforts towards the improved political representation of pastoralists.

            Content

            Author and article information

            Journal
            crea20
            CREA
            Review of African Political Economy
            Review of African Political Economy
            0305-6244
            1740-1720
            June 1999
            : 26
            : 80
            : 227-237
            Affiliations
            a Temporary lecturer in Social Anthropology, Faculty of Political Sciences , University of Perugia , Italy
            Article
            8704380 Review of African Political Economy, Vol. 26, No. 80, June 1999, pp. 227-237
            10.1080/03056249908704380
            d3d0bd20-cec6-4ffe-995a-6518e7c2b11b

            All content is freely available without charge to users or their institutions. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission of the publisher or the author. Articles published in the journal are distributed under a http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

            History
            Page count
            Figures: 0, Tables: 0, References: 3, Pages: 11
            Categories
            Original Articles

            Sociology,Economic development,Political science,Labor & Demographic economics,Political economics,Africa

            References

            1. GTZ/PRASET. . 1997. . “‘PRASET Info Flash (PIF). ”. (No. 11, Bulletin trimestriel de liaison et d'information du Projet Regional d'Appui au Secteur de l'Elevage Transhumant; (1998), ‘PRASET Info Flash (PIF)’ No. 16). Ouagadougou , , Burkina Faso:

            2. UNSO/UNDP. . 1994. . “‘Pastoral Development in Africa: Proceedings of the first technical consultation of donor and international development agencies’. ”.

            3. Waters‐Bayer A and Bayer W. . 1994. . “‘Planning with pastoralists: PRA and more: A review of methods focused on Africa’. ”. (Division 422: Livestock Farming, Veterinary Services and Fisheries). Subdivision : : Integrated Smallholder Livestock Planning in Marginal Areas. .

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