Pastoralism in the Horn of Africa faces a very different political, economic and environmental landscape than they did 25 years ago. Once dismissed as irrelevant, pastoralism is now an important issue for major regional institutions, like the African Union, due to the efforts of academics, NGOs and pastoral communities themselves.
To safeguard their livelihoods, pastoralists must now consider how to manage relationships with the private sector and mainstream markets. They also need to be resilient in the face of new environmental challenges, like climate change.
This day-long conference will mark the 25th anniversary of the Pastoral and Environmental Network in the Horn of Africa (PENHA) and the long-standing collaboration between PENHA and ODI. Both historical and forward-looking, the conference will reflect on key past trends, while also considering what the future will hold for PENHA and like-minded organisations, as well as pastoralism more generally.
Conference sessions will focus on the following topics:
- Putting pastoralism on the political map
- Evolution of the pastoral economy
- Pastoralism and the environment: adapting to shocks
- Pastoralism into the future: looking ahead to the next 25 years
Confirmed speakers include:
- Dr Tekeste Ghebray, former Executive Secretary, Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD)
- Dr Angela Raven-Roberts, Visiting Fellow, International Gender Studies Centre, University of Oxford
- Camilla Toulmin, Senior Fellow, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)
- Dr Zeremariam Fre, Director, Pastoral and Environmental Network in the Horn of Africa (PENHA); Lecturer, Development Planning Unit, UCL
- Simon Levine, Research Fellow, Humanitarian Policy Group, ODI
- Professor John Morton, Head of Livelihoods and Institutions, Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich
The day-long conference will be followed by a reception, running from 5.30pm to 7pm. Registration starts at 8.30am.
Online attendees should note that only the sessions on the ‘Evolution of the pastoral economy’ and ‘Pastoralism into the future’ will be live-streamed.
- This event has passed.