Niamir, M.2016-04-192016-04-191991ODI Pastoral Development Network Paper 31dhttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/66423Metadata only recordChanges to the pastoralists environment have taken the form of encroachment by agricultural farming and national park development, increased population, sedentarization and indiscriminate water development leading to some diversification of production. For those who remain in the pastoral sector four production objectives exist: (i) increase of herd size, (ii) increase of milk yield, (iii) maintenance of appropriate herd structure, and (iv) disease resistance by selective breeding (Monod (1975) Intro. Pastoralism in Tropical Africa, International African Institute. London: Oxford University Press, p75). Large livestock in particular act as an economic security, whilst sheep and goats are kept principally for their meat. Out-migration by the young is responsible for labor shortages and a lack of expertise; this can be combated only by encouraging pastoralists to remain on their land through the development of the sector using a combination of traditional and modern techniques. Labor shortages have resulted in a greater role for women in pastoralism, and it remains to be seen what long term effect this will have. Management of resources involves labor, land and water supplies; the institution of pastoralism is sustained by the formal and informal social controls, dictating access to land and how long should be left between grazing the same piece of land, and these measures avoid the tragedy of the commons. Historically such practices have been enforceable through traditional leadership, the need for social acceptance and the need for reciprocity. A threat is now posed by resource scarcity, the destruction of the local political authorities, urban drift and income disparities. In the past, the majority of research into this area has been carried out by social scientists, and proposes that there is a need for more involvement in the work by physical and biological scientists. --Blench and Marriage Annotated Bibliographytext/plainen-USIn CopyrightNational parksCommunity institutionsAgricultureRangelandsSedentarizationPastoralismIncome diversificationNatural resource managementWater useLivestockFarming systemsSocial controlsLabor shortageHerd structuresIncreasing populationFarm/Enterprise Scale Field Scale GovernanceAbstract