Roles of Formal and Customary Institutions in Environmental Resource Governance and Sustainability along Ethiopia-Kenya Borderlands: Do they Complement or Compete Each Other?

Abstract

This study examined roles of state and indigenous institutions in environmental resource governance along the Ethiopia-Kenya border. We used a qualitative approach to discuss the research objectives. Interviews, focus group discussions and scheduled interviews were used as instruments of data collection. The results demonstrate that the customary institutions have survived and served for generations in defending the rangeland environment from tragic destruction enabled pastoralists to go beyond borders to get ecological benefits of mobility as an adaptive strategy. Now, unlike before, the role of indigenous institution is declining due to a lack of recognition and exploitation by the state apparatus.