Building resilient futures for pastoral communitie

DODOMA: ACROSS Tanzania’s semi-arid areas, climate change is increasingly challenging a way of life that has survived for generations.

Pastoralism has long been adapted to dry environments, relying on the mobility of livestock herds in search of pasture and water.

However, climate change is making these environments increasingly unpredictable. Prolonged droughts, erratic rainfall, rising temperatures, declining pasture and water availability and occasional floods are placing growing pressure on pastoral households and their livestock.

For pastoralists, climate change is not an abstract scientific concept; it is experienced through livestock losing body condition, declining milk production, longer journeys in search of water and pasture, livestock deaths and increasing competition for scarce natural resources.

These pressures can reduce household income and food security while weakening communities’ capacity to recover from repeated climate shocks. The question, therefore, is not whether pastoralists need to adapt. They already are.

The more important question is whether the pastoral communities are provided with the resources, infrastructure, institutions and policies they need to strengthen their own capacity to cope with a changing climate.

One of the most important adaptation priorities is improving access to water. In semi-arid areas, water availability is a major determinant of livestock survival and pastoral mobility.

During prolonged dry periods, pastoralists may travel considerable distances to find water for their animals. Long-distance movement consumes time and energy, weakens livestock and can expose households to conflicts over access to water and grazing areas.

We should therefore invest in rainwater harvesting and water-storage infrastructure in pastoral areas. Collection ponds, earth dams, charcoal dams and other small-scale runoff-harvesting structures can capture and store seasonal rainfall for use during dry periods.

Instead of allowing much of the rainwater to run off and disappear, communities can retain part of this valuable resource for livestock and, where appropriate, domestic use.

The location and management of these structures are critical. Water points should be established strategically along traditional livestock routes and near areas suitable for grazing.

Communities should participate in deciding where they are constructed, how they are maintained and who has access to them.

Poorly planned water points can attract large concentrations of livestock, resulting in overgrazing, land degradation and competition among users.

Water development must therefore go hand in hand with rangeland management. Rangeland management itself should be at the centre of climate adaptation.

Climate change can reduce the quantity and quality of pasture, particularly during prolonged droughts.

At the same time, population growth, agricultural expansion, settlement and other land uses can reduce the grazing areas available to pastoralists.

When livestock are concentrated in smaller areas, vegetation can deteriorate rapidly, making communities even more vulnerable to the next drought.

Community-based rangeland management can help address this challenge.

Pastoral communities can establish grazing plans that allow some areas to recover while others are being used. Dry-season grazing reserves should be protected, while traditional grazing routes and livestock corridors should remain accessible.

This can improve pasture availability and reduce pressure on vulnerable rangelands. Livestock mobility should also be recognised as an adaptation strategy rather than automatically treated as a problem.

Mobility allows pastoralists to respond to spatial and seasonal variations in pasture and water availability. Restricting traditional movement routes can increase vulnerability when drought affects one particular area.

Land-use planning should therefore take pastoral mobility into account. Grazing areas, livestock corridors, water sources and seasonal grazing reserves should be incorporated into village and district land-use plans.

This can help reduce conflicts between pastoralists, farmers, conservation areas and other land users while protecting the ecological foundation of pastoralism.

Another important adaptation strategy is strengthening livestock breeds that can withstand harsh climatic conditions. Indigenous livestock breeds often possess valuable characteristics, including tolerance to heat, drought and locally prevalent diseases.

Livestock improvement programmes should therefore consider not only maximum productivity but also climate resilience.

Breeding strategies that combine productivity with adaptation to local environmental conditions could help pastoralists maintain livestock production under increasingly difficult climatic conditions.

Livestock diversification can provide an additional buffer against climate shocks. Keeping cattle alongside goats, sheep and camels can reduce the risk of losing an entire herd when drought affects different species differently.

Smaller livestock and drought-tolerant species can be particularly valuable during severe dry periods because they generally require fewer resources and can be more resilient under harsh conditions.

Livestock health services must also be strengthened. Drought can weaken animals through inadequate nutrition and water, making them more vulnerable to disease.

Changes in temperature and rainfall may also influence the distribution and occurrence of some livestock diseases.

Pastoral communities need accessible veterinary services, vaccination programmes, disease surveillance and timely information about livestock health risks.

Climate information and early warning systems are equally important. Pastoralists make decisions about livestock movement, grazing, breeding and sales based on environmental conditions.

Reliable forecasts about rainfall, drought, pasture conditions and livestock diseases can help households make better decisions before a crisis develops.

However, climate information must be communicated in ways that pastoralists can understand and apply.

Information should reach communities through trusted channels, including local leaders, extension officers, radio, mobile phones, television and community networks.

More importantly, forecasts should be translated into practical guidance to support timely decisions.

For example, communities should be advised on whether an expected drought warrants moving livestock, reducing herd sizes, reserving pasture, or selling animals before conditions deteriorate.

Early livestock marketing can be an important drought adaptation strategy. During severe droughts, pastoralists may be forced to sell animals when they are already weak, resulting in very low prices.

Better access to livestock markets, market information, transport and financial services can allow households to make decisions before livestock lose significant value.

Livelihood diversification should also receive greater attention. Livestock will remain central to pastoral economies, but depending entirely on livestock can expose households to substantial losses when drought causes livestock mortality.

Alternative income-generating activities such as beekeeping, poultry keeping, small businesses, handicrafts and other locally suitable enterprises can provide additional sources of income.

Financial services can further strengthen resilience. Savings groups, livestock insurance, credit facilities and other financial mechanisms can help households manage climaterelated losses.

Although delivering financial services in remote pastoral areas can be challenging, mobile financial technologies provide new opportunities to reach communities that have historically had limited access to formal financial institutions.

Women and young people should be central to climate adaptation efforts. Climate shocks can increase women’s workloads, particularly when water and livestock become scarce.

Supporting women’s economic activities can therefore strengthen household resilience. Young people, meanwhile, need opportunities within pastoralism and complementary livelihoods as land and livestock availability becomes increasingly constrained.

Education and extension services should also be strengthened. Pastoralists need access to knowledge about livestock nutrition, rangeland management, animal health, financial management, markets and climate risks.

Extension systems should be adapted to pastoral realities and mobility rather than relying entirely on approaches designed for settled farming communities.

Perhaps most importantly, pastoralists should be actively involved in designing adaptation programmes.

Generations of experience have given them valuable knowledge of seasonal grazing patterns, water sources, livestock behaviour, weather conditions and environmental change.

This local knowledge should complement scientific climate information to develop practical, locally appropriate responses to changing conditions.

Policymakers should therefore recognise pastoralists not merely as victims of climate change, but as active managers of dryland ecosystems.

Over generations, they have developed strategies for coping with climatic variability, including livestock mobility, herd diversification, the use of indigenous breeds and traditional rangeland management.

These practices provide important foundations for strengthening resilience and should be incorporated into adaptation policies and programmes.

However, traditional coping strategies alone may no longer be sufficient as climatic conditions become more unpredictable and pressures on land and water increase.

Government, researchers, development partners and local institutions should work with pastoral communities to strengthen and adapt existing strategies rather than replace them with approaches that do not reflect local realities.

In Tanzania’s semi-arid pastoral areas, adaptation should therefore be approached as an integrated package of complementary measures.

Constructing water ponds without protecting grazing areas will provide limited long-term benefits. Providing drought-tolerant livestock without adequate veterinary services will not be sufficient, while establishing early warning systems without ensuring that pastoralists can act on the information will limit their effectiveness.

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Similarly, protecting grazing areas without securing livestock corridors could restrict the mobility that is fundamental to pastoral production.

A coordinated approach should combine rainwater harvesting and water storage, sustainable rangeland management, secure livestock mobility, climate-resilient breeds, livestock diversification, veterinary services, accessible climate information, market access, livelihood diversification, financial protection and secure land rights.

Together, these measures can strengthen households’ capacity to withstand climate shocks while supporting the long-term sustainability of pastoral production systems.

The future of pastoralism in Tanzania’s semi-arid areas will depend not only on the extent of climatic change but also on how effectively communities, government institutions and other stakeholders respond.

Pastoralists have demonstrated resilience for generations; what they need is an enabling environment that allows them to adapt while maintaining productive and sustainable livelihoods.

Climate adaptation should not mean forcing pastoralists to abandon their livelihoods. Rather, it should strengthen pastoralism so that it remains productive, sustainable and resilient under changing climatic conditions.

The writer is a lecturer at the University of Dodoma reachable through +255782609280