Unsustain the sustainable: An evaluation of the legal and policy interventions for pastoral development in Ethiopia

Berihun Adugna Gebeye

doi:10.1186/s13570-016-0049-x

Berihun Adugna Gebeye

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s13570-016-0049-x

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Journal: Pastoralism	Publication Date: Feb 1, 2016
Citations: 19	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Central European University

Abstract

This article is a critical appraisal of the legal and policy interventions for pastoral development in Ethiopia under the Imperial, Derg and Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) governments. Based on an extensive review of pastoral policies, laws and practices, it is found that the legal and policy interventions are not pastoral sensitive, and accordingly, they have been unable to bring the desired result. Moreover, they have created pressure on the pastoralists and the pastoral economy, as they do not consider pastoralism as a viable system. In particular, the policy of settlement poses a challenge to the very system of pastoralism, and threatens the pastoral culture, social institutions and identity. This article argues that Ethiopian pastoralists have a right to development in the manner that advances the enforcement of their human rights, and the Ethiopian state assumes a legal obligation to undertake pastoral development consistent with human rights-based approach. The article calls for the (re)consideration of the legal and policy interventions in line with international human rights standards, the bill of rights and the National Policy Principles and Objectives of the Ethiopian Federal Democratic Republic Constitution. Pursuing pastoral development based on agrarian and flawed assumptions not only affects the pastoral system, but also the continuous viability of pastoralists - for it makes the sustainable pastoral way of life unsustainable.

Highlights

Pastoralism is one of the oldest systems which 14 % of Ethiopians rely on and is practiced within 61 % of the territory (PFE et al 2010)
By using primary data gathered from laws, policy documents, international instruments and reports, on the one hand, and by navigating through secondary sources, on the other hand, this article explores and examines the impacts of legal and policy interventions in pastoral areas and puts forward ideas to inform policy choices to sustain the sustainable pastoral way of life in Ethiopia
As we enter an increasingly climate constrained world, our findings suggest that pastoralism is a surer investment in the longer term resilience and economic stability of Ethiopia’s dry lowlands. (Behnke and Kerven 2013: 7)

Summary

Introduction

Pastoralism is one of the oldest systems which 14 % of Ethiopians rely on and is practiced within 61 % of the territory (PFE et al 2010). Around 29 of the Ethiopian ethnic groups depend on pastoralism (PFE et al 2010; SOS Sahel Ethiopia 2004). In order to boost the national economy and modernize the country, successive Ethiopian governments have been implementing different pastoral policies for the last half century. These policies are designed within the framework of agrarian societies and are driven by agricultural development. Unable to modernize the agricultural sector to date, it is quite surprising to design pastoral policies based on agrarian assumptions. The achievements so far have not been satisfactory, principally due to the policies themselves, as they have been pastoral unfriendly

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Conclusion