| dc.description.abstract | Drought is a common occurrence in the arid and semi arid lands of Kenya. These frequent and
recurrent droughts disrupt the livelihood system of pastoralists, increase their vulnerability and
cause loss of livestock. The study aimed at establishing the influence of indigenous drought
management strategies on the livelihood system of pastoralists in Mandera West Sub County in
Kenya. The study intended to assess the effectiveness of indigenous drought management
strategies adopted by pastoralists in Mandera West Sub County in Kenya and its influence on
their livelihood system, commonly known as nomadic pastoralism. The target population in the
study were pastoralist households and key informants selected from stakeholders involved in the
development of the pastoralist communities in Mandera West Sub County in Kenya. The
stakeholders included key government departments, institutions and non-governmental
organizations in the area. The study employed descriptive survey design where data was
collected, analyzed and interpreted for the purpose of comparison and clarification in order to
assess the influence of existing indigenous drought management strategies on the livelihood
system of pastoralists. The study applied both qualitative and quantitative approaches using
household survey and key informant interview guides. Questionnaires were used to collect
information from sample pastoralist households and interview and discussion schedules were
held with selected key informants using purposive sampling method. Quantitative and qualitative
data collected was analysed and cross-examined to establish its accuracy and reliability.
Quantitative data was entered and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS)
to obtain descriptive statistics based on frequencies and percentages to answer the research
questions. Qualitative data was used to describe four indigenous drought management strategies
in the research objectives. The research established that herd diversification was an appropriate
survival drought strategy adopted by pastoralist herders in Mandera West Sub County in Kenya.
These drought management strategies have increased the survival of the pastoralist households,
reduced loss of livestock and have increased the pastoralists’ resilience to drought. The study has
established that migration was an effective drought coping strategy adopted by pastoralists
during the drought. 46% of the respondents migrated within their traditional grazing areas during
the drought, where they moved their herds to relatively dry pastures and 33% preferred to
migrate across the border into Southern Ethiopia. The study concluded that water and pasture
scarcity had adverse effects on the survival of livestock during the drought and pastoralist
households made timely decisions on when to move and when it was best to migrate and have
established surveillance and traditional early warning systems that helped them in appropriate
decision making. The study recommended the exploitation and establishment of water points and
facilities across the grazing land, especially underground water to ease cconcentration of
livestock around water points in close proximity to grazing lands which was causing degradation
of the pasture land. The study also recommended the need for policy change in the management
of communal grazing lands to increase pastoralists’ participation in conservation, protection and
management of natural resources. | en_US |
