Mobility and the Sustainability of the Pastoral Production system in Africa: Perspectives of Contrasting Paradigms

Gufu Oba

This paper explores the extent to which changes in pastoral herd mobility and impacts on the environment may be explained by four paradigms: (1) carrying capacity; (2) mobility; (3) modernization; and (4) resource variability, risks and governance (RRG). The carrying capacity paradigm has two contrasting components, the equilibrium and disequilibrium hypotheses. The equilibrium hypothesis assumes that animal densities in excess of the appropriate stocking rates cause land degradation in terms of loss of soils, vegetation cover and loss of biodiversity. It promotes intervention by regulating livestock stocking densities. The non-equilibrium hypothesis holds the opposite views by promoting mobility. The major weakness of the carrying capacity paradigm is its neglect of indigenous knowledge for rangeland management. Herd mobility under the traditional system of land use is based on a comprehensive knowledge of rangelands, where the stocking densities are varied according to the potential (which infers capacities to supporting stocking density) of the land and during different seasons of the year. The mobility paradigm is an attempt to explain this traditional system but is less suited in areas where external and internal pressures disrupt the traditional patterns of herd movements. The modernization paradigm advocates for the intensification of land use. It is promoted by peri-urban pastoralists, agro-pastoralists, commercial pastoralists and non-pastoralists. However, this transformed system suffers from a shrinking resource base and greater localized pressures on the land. The three paradigms are weak on social perspectives of mobility and in none is the role of policy clarified. The RRG paradigm can be understood from two perspectives: (a) pressure points and (b) loss of key resources. The latter paradigm is a tool for decision-making that gives equal weight to the policy makers and resource users. It also presents researchers with choices regarding different possible scenarios of the problems being tackled.