ARSI UNIVERSITY

College of Social Sciences and Humanities

Department of Geography and Environmental Studies
Specialization in Environmental Disaster Risk Management
Course Outline

Course title: Pastoralism and EDRM Academic Year: 2024/2016 E.C

Course code: GeDM 605 Semester: II
Credit hours: 2 Program: Extension/Weekend
Prerequisite: None Campus: Assela
Instructor: Tesfaye Ganamo (PhD)
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course deals with the nexus between pastoralism and environmental disaster risk management (EDRM). In
doing so, it discusses overview of global pastoralism, including the definition, forms, origin and history, social
structure, and significances/values of pastoralism. Moreover, the course gives attention to major biophysical and
anthropogenic risks affecting pastoralists such as climate change and drought, land degradation, loss of biodiversity,
animal diseases, fire, predation, theft, and security in pastoral areas, among others. Additionally, the course
highlights hardship/hazard mitigation and recovery strategies in pastoral areas and policy re-orientation towards
pastoralism.

COURSE OBJECTIVES
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
 Conceptualize pastoralism and the basic issues in pastoralism such as forms, origin and history, social
structure, and significances/values of pastoralism.
 Explore the major types of biophysical and anthropogenic hazards affecting pastoral areas of the world in
general and Ethiopia in particular.
 Explain the hardship/hazard mitigation and recovery mechanisms in pastoral areas
 Discuss the importance of policies in support of pastoralism
COURSE CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF PASTORALISM
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Definition and Forms of Pastoralism
1.2.1 Definition of Pastoralism
1.2.2 Various Forms of Pastoralism
1. Nomadism/Nomadic Pastoralism
2. Transhumance/Transhumant Pastoralism
3. Agro-pastoralism
4. Enclosed system/ranching
5. Silvo-pastoralism
1.3 Origin and History of Pastoralism
1.4 Geographical distribution of Contemporary Pastoralism
1.5 Social Structure in Pastoralism
1.5.1 The Role of Sex in Pastoral Society
1.6 The Multiple Values of Pastoralism
1.6.1 Direct Values of Pastoralism
1.6.2 Indirect Values of Pastoralism

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CHAPTER 2: MAJOR BIOPHYSICAL AND ANTHROPOGENIC HAZARDS AFFECTING
PASTORALISM
2.1 Climate Change and Pastorlalism
2.1.1 Impact of climate change on pastoralism
 On Quality and quantity of forages and pasture
 On Diversity and Composition of Pastoral livestock Species
 On Productive and Reproductive Performance of Livestock
 On Water Scarcity
 Emergence of New Disease on Livestock
2.1.2 Impact of pastoralism on climate change
2.2 Land Degradation and Drought
2.3 Animals’ Health Risks
2.3.1 Trypanosomosis and the Campaign to Eradicate Tsetse Fly
2.3.2 Traditional Remedies
2.4 Fire
2.5 Predation
2.6 Theft
2.7 Security in Pastoral Zones
CHAPTER 3: PASTORALISM AND THE ENVIRONMENT
3.1 Environmental Impact of Pastoralism
3.1.1 Positive impacts of pastoralism on the environment
3.1.2 Specific advantages of pastoralism to the environment
1. Low carbon impact livestock systems
2. Enhancing biodiversity through livestock keeping
3. Managing open ecosystems
4. Collaborative Conservation
5. Livestock keeping can reduce wildfires
3.2. Adverse Impacts of Pastoralism on the Environment
3.2.1 Bush encroachment
3.2.2 Damage to vegetation and land
3.2.3 Indiscriminate bush burning and overgrazing
3.2.4 Deterioration of livestock diversity
3.2.5 Decrease in water quality
CHAPTER 4: HAZARD MITIGATION AND RECOVERY STRATEGIES IN PASTORAL AREAS
4.1 Education and capacity building of pastoralists
4.1.1 Promoting pastoralist field schools
4.1.2 Capacity building and empowerment
4.2 Mobility/Livestock Movement
4.3 Changing/diversifying herd composition
4.4 Understanding structural features of pastoralism
4.5 Sedentarization and land tenure
4.6 Rethinking pastoral organization
4.7 Destocking and restocking
4.8 Livestock banking
4.9 Economic diversification

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CHAPTER 5: KEY RE-ORIENTATION OF POLICY TOWARDS PASTORALISM
5.1 Constructing Policy: Telling the Truth
5.2 Rethinking Policy Clusters
5.3 Who should be doing what?
5.3.1 Intervention Vs Information Dissemination
5.3.2 Remedying uneven Research
5.3.3 Practical Support
5.4 The Future of Pastoralism: Summary on the Policy Considerations
Mode of course delivery
 Gapped Lecture
 Students’ presentations
 Question-answer method
 Reading assignments and independent learning
Methods of Assessment/Evaluation
 Term paper preparation and presentations on the assigned topics (30%)
 Mid exam (30%)
 Final exam (40%)

References

A.Mohamed Salih, Ton Dietz ,Abdel Ghaffar Mohamed Ahmed (Eds) (2001). African
Pastoralism: Conflict, Institutions and Government, Pluto Press, London.
Carol Kerveti (Eds) (2003). PROSPECTS FOR PASTORALISM IN KAZAKSTAN AND
TURKMENISTAN, Roudedge Curzo, New York.
FAO (2009). Review of evidence on drylands pastoral systems and climate change: Implications and opportunities
for mitigation and adaptation. Land and Water Discussion Paper 8, Rome, Italy
FAO (2016). Improving Governance of Pastoral Lands: Implementing the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible
Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security,
Governance of Tenure Technical Guide No. 6, Rome, Italy
FAO (2018). Pastoralism in Africa’s drylands: Reducing risks, addressing vulnerability and enhancing resilience,
Rome, Italy
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (2008), National
Guidelines for Livestock Relief Interventions in Pastoralist Areas of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa.
Isolina B. and Janet E. (2012). Pastoralism: New challenges and opportunities for pastoralism in the context of
African countries, Brussels, Belgium
Keith Smith and David N. Petley (1991). Environmental Hazards: Assessing risk and reducing disaster, Fifth
Edition , Routledge, New York.
Magda Nassef with Mulugeta Belayhun (2012). Water Development in Ethiopia’s Pastoral Areas:
A synthesis of existing knowledge and experience, Save the Children USA and Overseas
Development Institute.
Mulugeta Gebrehiwot Berhe and Jean-Bosco Butera (Eds) (2012). Institute for Peace and Security Studies and
University for Peace, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Overseas Development Institute (2001). Pastoralism in the New Millennium, London, UK.
Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (2010). Pastoralism, Nature Conservation and Development: A
Good Practice Guide, Montreal, Canada
Springer (2016). Building Resilience of Human-Natural Systems of Pastoralism in the Developing World:
Interdisciplinary Perspectives, The Springer International Publishing, Switzerland
The World Bank (2006) Hazards of Nature, Risks to Development: An IEG Evaluation of World Bank Assistance for
Natural Disasters, Washington, D.C. Independent Evaluation Group.