Background

In many of the pastoral areas in East Africa there has been a need for better and more usable information that allows a wide range of stakeholders to work together to manage land and water more sustainably, equitably and productively. Although there is significant research on this issue, this research is rarely linked to the problems or information needs of pastoralists in local communities. From another perspective, the policy makers make changes in policy without seeking the participation of communities or researchers. And communities are not taking advantage of the existing knowledge and information to better manage their land.

Across the region, pastoral groups, government land managers, and policy makers alike expressed the need for a team to objectively evaluate of the short and long-term economic and ecological impacts of various policy and land management options. This project was created to address these issues, and to respond to new research needs over time. To keep the research closely connected to community and policy needs, the team included local community facilitators and a policy facilitator who worked closely with communities, policy makers, and scientists at local and regional levels