Mobility and livestock mortality in communally used pastoral areas: The impact of the 2005-2006 drought on livestock mortality in Maasailand

There is consensus that pastoral mobility is beneficial for both pastoralists and the environment. However, rapid change arising from multiple factors, including landscape fragmentation, sedentarization, and demographic drivers might affect the effectiveness of this pastoral coping strategy in times...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Nkedianye, D., Leeuw, Jan de, Ogutu, Joseph O., Said, Mohammed Yahya, Saidimu, T.L., Kifugo, S.C., Kaelo, D.S., Reid, Robin S.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Springer 2011
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/12526
_version_ 1855540025420152832
author Nkedianye, D.
Leeuw, Jan de
Ogutu, Joseph O.
Said, Mohammed Yahya
Saidimu, T.L.
Kifugo, S.C.
Kaelo, D.S.
Reid, Robin S.
author_browse Kaelo, D.S.
Kifugo, S.C.
Leeuw, Jan de
Nkedianye, D.
Ogutu, Joseph O.
Reid, Robin S.
Said, Mohammed Yahya
Saidimu, T.L.
author_facet Nkedianye, D.
Leeuw, Jan de
Ogutu, Joseph O.
Said, Mohammed Yahya
Saidimu, T.L.
Kifugo, S.C.
Kaelo, D.S.
Reid, Robin S.
author_sort Nkedianye, D.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description There is consensus that pastoral mobility is beneficial for both pastoralists and the environment. However, rapid change arising from multiple factors, including landscape fragmentation, sedentarization, and demographic drivers might affect the effectiveness of this pastoral coping strategy in times of drought. We investigate livestock mortality rates following the 2005 drought in four areas in Maasailand: the Maasai Mara, the Kitengela plains, the Amboseli, and the Simanjiro plains. The main aim was to assess the mortality of resident livestock in relation to incoming livestock during the drought. Contrary to our expectations, livestock mortality rates were significantly higher (43%) in Kitengela, which experienced above-average rainfall, compared to the other three areas which had below-average rainfall yet experienced mortality rates between 14% and 30%. Two processes might explain this surprisingly high mortality rate. Firstly, the immigration of large numbers of livestock from drought-stricken areas into the highly fragmented Kitengela area increased stocking density, which worsened the shortage of forage and water. Secondly, the more market-oriented but less drought-resistant livestock breeds in Kitengela form another explanation for the increased mortality. These observations suggest that pastoral mobility may lead to greater sensitivity to drought especially in fragmented areas where more market-oriented but less drought-resistant livestock breeds are introduced. We argue that in such areas, there is a crucial need to adopt practices that simultaneously minimize land fragmentation and enhance pastoral mobility and access to information on improved livestock breeds and markets.
format Journal Article
id CGSpace12526
institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 2011
publishDateRange 2011
publishDateSort 2011
publisher Springer
publisherStr Springer
record_format dspace
spelling CGSpace125262025-06-13T04:20:22Z Mobility and livestock mortality in communally used pastoral areas: The impact of the 2005-2006 drought on livestock mortality in Maasailand Nkedianye, D. Leeuw, Jan de Ogutu, Joseph O. Said, Mohammed Yahya Saidimu, T.L. Kifugo, S.C. Kaelo, D.S. Reid, Robin S. livestock drought pastoralism mortality There is consensus that pastoral mobility is beneficial for both pastoralists and the environment. However, rapid change arising from multiple factors, including landscape fragmentation, sedentarization, and demographic drivers might affect the effectiveness of this pastoral coping strategy in times of drought. We investigate livestock mortality rates following the 2005 drought in four areas in Maasailand: the Maasai Mara, the Kitengela plains, the Amboseli, and the Simanjiro plains. The main aim was to assess the mortality of resident livestock in relation to incoming livestock during the drought. Contrary to our expectations, livestock mortality rates were significantly higher (43%) in Kitengela, which experienced above-average rainfall, compared to the other three areas which had below-average rainfall yet experienced mortality rates between 14% and 30%. Two processes might explain this surprisingly high mortality rate. Firstly, the immigration of large numbers of livestock from drought-stricken areas into the highly fragmented Kitengela area increased stocking density, which worsened the shortage of forage and water. Secondly, the more market-oriented but less drought-resistant livestock breeds in Kitengela form another explanation for the increased mortality. These observations suggest that pastoral mobility may lead to greater sensitivity to drought especially in fragmented areas where more market-oriented but less drought-resistant livestock breeds are introduced. We argue that in such areas, there is a crucial need to adopt practices that simultaneously minimize land fragmentation and enhance pastoral mobility and access to information on improved livestock breeds and markets. 2011 2011-12-21T13:24:16Z 2011-12-21T13:24:16Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/12526 en Open Access Springer Nkedianye, D., Leeuw, J. de, Ogutu, J.O., Said, M.Y., Saidimu, T.L., Kifugo, S.C., Kaelo, D.S. and Reid, R.S. 2011. Mobility and livestock mortality in communally used pastoral areas: The impact of the 2005-2006 drought on livestock mortality in Maasailand. Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice 1(17).
spellingShingle livestock
drought
pastoralism
mortality
Nkedianye, D.
Leeuw, Jan de
Ogutu, Joseph O.
Said, Mohammed Yahya
Saidimu, T.L.
Kifugo, S.C.
Kaelo, D.S.
Reid, Robin S.
Mobility and livestock mortality in communally used pastoral areas: The impact of the 2005-2006 drought on livestock mortality in Maasailand
title Mobility and livestock mortality in communally used pastoral areas: The impact of the 2005-2006 drought on livestock mortality in Maasailand
title_full Mobility and livestock mortality in communally used pastoral areas: The impact of the 2005-2006 drought on livestock mortality in Maasailand
title_fullStr Mobility and livestock mortality in communally used pastoral areas: The impact of the 2005-2006 drought on livestock mortality in Maasailand
title_full_unstemmed Mobility and livestock mortality in communally used pastoral areas: The impact of the 2005-2006 drought on livestock mortality in Maasailand
title_short Mobility and livestock mortality in communally used pastoral areas: The impact of the 2005-2006 drought on livestock mortality in Maasailand
title_sort mobility and livestock mortality in communally used pastoral areas the impact of the 2005 2006 drought on livestock mortality in maasailand
topic livestock
drought
pastoralism
mortality
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/12526
work_keys_str_mv AT nkedianyed mobilityandlivestockmortalityincommunallyusedpastoralareastheimpactofthe20052006droughtonlivestockmortalityinmaasailand
AT leeuwjande mobilityandlivestockmortalityincommunallyusedpastoralareastheimpactofthe20052006droughtonlivestockmortalityinmaasailand
AT ogutujosepho mobilityandlivestockmortalityincommunallyusedpastoralareastheimpactofthe20052006droughtonlivestockmortalityinmaasailand
AT saidmohammedyahya mobilityandlivestockmortalityincommunallyusedpastoralareastheimpactofthe20052006droughtonlivestockmortalityinmaasailand
AT saidimutl mobilityandlivestockmortalityincommunallyusedpastoralareastheimpactofthe20052006droughtonlivestockmortalityinmaasailand
AT kifugosc mobilityandlivestockmortalityincommunallyusedpastoralareastheimpactofthe20052006droughtonlivestockmortalityinmaasailand
AT kaelods mobilityandlivestockmortalityincommunallyusedpastoralareastheimpactofthe20052006droughtonlivestockmortalityinmaasailand
AT reidrobins mobilityandlivestockmortalityincommunallyusedpastoralareastheimpactofthe20052006droughtonlivestockmortalityinmaasailand