Indigenous Ecological Knowledge and Pastoralist Perception on Rangeland Management and Degradation in Guji Zone of South Ethiopia

Abstract

The study was conducted to explore range management practices, and pastoralists' views on degradation and its impact on local livelihood in south Ethiopia. The data was gathered from three pastoral and agro-pastoral districts of the Guji zone using structure questionnaires, key respondents and direct observation. The study shows the use of enclosure and herd mobility in basic traditional practice as well as the effectiveness of community indigenous knowledge in assessing and monitoring rangeland degradation. Communities used numerous indicators to explain local level degradation, finding drought to be a primary cause of the decline in household livestock assets, the expansion of aridity, and as a rising threat to food security. The study shows an alarming increase in degradation and the urgency of measures to halt this trend.�