Eight countries in East Africa have agreed to rectify a protocol allowing pastoralists in the region to move and cross borders.
The African pastoral communities in East African have been complaining about restrictions on their movements with their livestock during drought.
Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) member states have jointly accepted to amend the protocol that allows these communities to move freely and legally with their animals in search of pasture and water across borders.
The members held a two-day conference on challenges facing pastoral communities and means to ease.
Among the agendas of the meeting which took place Kenya’s Naivasha town, are solutions to the problems facing pastoral people, and means accelerate the ratification of a protocol allowing the communities to move freely in search of pasture.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, the chairman of Kenyan Parliament’s livestock Sub-Sector Committee, Adan Yussuf Hajji said the clashes between communities are mostly caused by lack of pasture as a result of restriction.
“Currently we have close to 1 million cattle from Kenya grazing in Moroto area of Uganda, and this is part of achieving this transhumance protocol,” said Hajji.
The MP challenged respective governments to move with haste and ratify the protocol so that the livestock corridors could be opened up, noting that parliament had embarked on the process of setting up a Livestock Development Authority.
“This country has never had such an authority which will come in handy in addressing challenges facing members of the pastoralists’ community which rely on livestock,” he said.
Protocol on Transhumance is expected to facilitate formal cross-border livestock mobility in the region.
Participants said the need for the transhumance protocol in the IGAD region is premised on the understanding that migration in search of pastures and water is paramount to the very survival of transhumant pastoral communities.
The meeting was organized by the Center for Pastoral Areas and Livestock Development (ICPALD), IGAD’s specialized institution for pastoral areas and livestock development, to discuss and draw up a draft Protocol on Transhumance for Kenya, which aims to address threats and challenges that affect pastoral ecosystems within IGAD member states.
IGAD Ratifies Transhumance Protocol.
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