Publication

This paper describes how the changing situation in semi-arid Africa is resulting in unprecedented pressures on pastoralists. It describes how different factors, including the establishment of national frontiers, the expansion of cultivation and increasing livestock numbers, have forced pastoralists into cycles of impoverishment. In spite of progress made with drought early warning systems, the authors warn of regarding drought as a one-off climate anomaly. They call for a policy based on long-term understanding of climatic patterns and changes in human settlement.