PASTRES-ILRI workshop: Pastoralism, Uncertainty and Development Policy

PASTRES, a European Research Council funded research project hosted at the Institute of Development Studies, UK and the European University Institute, Italy, together with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), organised a workshop on ‘Pastoralism, Uncertainty and Development Policy’ at the ILRI campus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 6 – 8 March 2023.

Adept at navigating uncertainties, pastoralists have devised innovative strategies, institutions, and processes to adapt to environmental variability, market volatility, and social pressures. Drawing on 6 country cases – from Ethiopia, Kenya, Tunisia, India, Italy, and China – the workshop explored how development policy can better support pastoralists’ needs and capacities to work with uncertainty.

An invite-only event, the workshop brought together stakeholders such as policymakers, public officials, pastoralist representatives, experts from intergovernmental organisations, and researchers, from across the 6 PASTRES countries for engaging discussions linking research to policy for pastoral development. The participants, and their institutions, organisations, and governments, aimed to shared knowledge from diverse contexts with important stakeholders working for sustainable pastoralism from across the world.

The PASTRES photo exhibition, An Uncertain World, was showcased alongside the workshop.

Opening panel: New narratives for livestock policy

This session highlighted a new perspective on extensive livestock systems that embraces ‘uncertainty,’ challenges conventional policy ideas and introduces new thinking on livestock and climate change, biodiversity protection and pastoral development. The opening talk was presented by the PASTRES PI, Professor Ian Scoones, followed by four short presentations on key findings around the themes of: Mobility and migration; Land and the environment; Markets and livelihoods; Social protection and insurance.

Closing panel: Ways forward for pastoral development and policy

In this session, presenters highlighrted the policy and practice implications emerging from the discussions at the workshop. These were discussed by a panel of commentators from different regions of the world, including policymakers, civil society representatives and experts. The final section of the session was set aside for open discussion/Q and A.