Herders and herdsmen: The remaking of pastoral livelihoods in Laikipia, Kenya

Abstract

Pastoralists have long overlapped with wildlife in rangelands of sub-Saharan Africa. With growing recognition of the importance of wildlife outside of protected areas, conservation efforts are increasingly managed through hybrid governance activities worldwide, activities which often involve pastoralists. These efforts are especially prevalent in East African rangelands where pastoralists, livestock, and wildlife commonly overlap outside of formal protected areas. Laikipia County, Kenya, is one region renowned for abundant and diverse wildlife species sustained outside protected areas through a collective of conservation activities among private landowners and pastoral group ranches. Little research has considered pastoralists’ roles in the region’s conservation efforts or the ways that those efforts shape local livelihoods. Based on data from interviews, surveys, and participant observation, this article uses a case study approach to demonstrate how some of Laikipia’s pastoralists are increasingly drawn into professional herding jobs with powerful landowners involved in joint commercial ranching and wildlife conservation activities. This has caused many pastoralists to shift from traditional livestock ownership in favour of livestock caretaking for other owners, with substantial implications for livelihoods. This study offers empirical evidence for the importance of considering how diversifying pastoral livelihoods entwine with hybrid conservation processes outside protected areas.