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Pastoralism is not only a livestock-based livelihood strategy but also a way of life with socio-cultural norms and values, and indigenous knowledge revolving around livestock. Pastoral systems in Africa are facing demographic, economic, socio-political and climatic pressures which are driving many pastoralists into non-livestock based livelihood strategies. The changing contexts in which pastoralists operate raise the issue of the sustainability of pastoral systems in dryland Africa. The specific objectives of this paper are: (i) to identify the challenges of assessing the sustainability of pastoral systems with focus on East and West Africa; (ii) to propose criteria and indicators for sustainability assessment of pastoral systems; and (iii) to demonstrate the diversity of pastoral systems by elaborating on features in East and West Africa with case studies from pastoral communities in both regions, namely Samburu in Kenya and Fakara in Niger. All these objectives are to contribute to the debates on the sustainability of pastoralism. Assessing sustainability of pastoral systems is challenging and complex in view of different aspects that should be addressed over time and at different scales. The main challenges addressed in this paper include purpose and interpretation of sustainability, time dimension and scale, diversity of pastoral systems, inter-relatedness of assessment criteria, comprehensiveness and measurability of indicators. To illustrate the challenges, we proposed a number of criteria based on key systems' components of production, stability, efficiency and resilience. For each criterion, a number of indicators were proposed. The criteria we suggested are inter-related and should not be considered in isolation bearing in mind that sustainability is a composite attribute that integrates several variables. In terms of sustainability of pastoral systems in East and West Africa, the key issues are mobility, livestock diversity, livelihood diversification options, and preservation of pastoral tradition and indigenous knowledge. The degree with which these issues are constraining pastoral production and economy will largely shape the trajectory of sustainability of different pastoral systems in both regions.

This study examined the mitigating effect of farmers-herders clashes and students’ social interaction on academic achievement in Edo and Delta States, Nigeria. Two research questions guided the study. The design of the investigation is the ex-post facto design. The population of the investigation consisted of 3750 respondents. The multi-stage sampling technique was employed to select thousand, three hundred, and ten (1310) students. Mean and standard deviation was employed in answering the stated research questions while the t-test statistics were used for the formulated hypotheses. The findings of the study revealed that farmers-herders clashes have an effect on students’ academic achievement as students in the areas affected by the clashes performed lower than their counterparts in the areas not affected. The paper recommended that, in addition to the provision of adequate security to locations within both states prone to the clashes between farmers and herders, qualified and experienced counselors and administrators be stationed in at-risk schools to manage future occurrences and adequate measures are put in place to eradicate indices causing and fueling the clashes in the affected locations.

This paper provides information on long-term suppression of natural forest regeneration due to the livestock grazing in the vicinity of one of the world largest open-pit ore mine close the city of Erdenet in Mongolia. The area is characterized by high concentration of herder’s households where the 52% were found only up to 1 km distance from the forest edge. Forest grazing causes extensive damage to seedlings and significant reduction of their growth. Within the 30–99 cm height category, up to 61% Larix sibirica, 90% Betula platyphylla and 68% Populus tremula individuals are grazingdamaged. L. sibirica and P. tremula seedlings with heights over 99 cm were absent, and no individuals of any species were found within 136–200 cm height category. In addition to the seedlings, only 7 or more meters high L. sibirica individuals are found in the forest structure, which means the absence of successfully growing forest regeneration for at least 40 years. In 2017, the defoliation of L. sibirica, reaching locally up to 100%, occurred in the stands east of the mine. Total defoliation represents a high risk of mortality of affected individuals. The stands cannot be successfully regenerated under the conditions of current intensive grazing. Mine metal stocks are calculated to provide for at least another 25 years of mining. Over that time, neither significant population decline nor decreasing grazing pressure on forests can be expected. If effective protection measures are not implemented, there is a risk of transforming threatened forest into steppe.

Coping with climate change in socio-ecological systems is one of the most urgent issues facing the world. This is particularly true in socio-ecological systems, where climate not only influences social and ecosystem dynamics, but also modulates their interaction. In this paper, we presented a conceptual framework through a literature review and a trend analysis for assessing the impact of climate change that incorporates socio-ecological interactions. In particular, we focused on the Mongolian pastoral system, which has tightly coupled socio-ecological interactions, as a model for describing the framework. Our framework suggests that the flexibility in mobility of herders is the principal factor in determining the vulnerability of the socio-ecological system to climate change. The flexibility varies along a climatic gradient and socio-ecological interactions in each region have evolved to be suited to its local climate regime. Herders in northern and central regions of Mongolia move shorter distances, and less flexible, than those in southern (Gobi) region. Climatic hazards, on the other hand have been increasing across Mongolia with a trend toward warmer and drier conditions since the 1960s. We suggest that further warming and drying would have the greatest impact on northern and central regions due to lower flexibility in mobility among herders there coupled with the much higher livestock density in the regions. The findings support that maintaining flexibility of mobile herding will likely be crucial to reducing the vulnerability of the Mongolian pastoral system to climate change.

The paper looks at the Soviet legacy in pasture governance systems of Kyrgyzstan that reproduce Soviet-era practices, meanings and power hierarchies. The study focuses on the current operation of local-level institutions (Pasture Users Associations and Pasture Committees) and the changing role of herders as a key pasture user category in the new socio-economic environment. Path dependence theory, which posits that old institutions continue to structure new policy arrangements, frames the analysis. Empirical data collected in Kyrgyzstan’s Naryn Province show how non-participatory decision-making and implementation modes, as well as the meanings surrounding pasture use, that were shaped during the Soviet era, still influence institutions in the present day, along with established patterns amongst resource users and between resource users and their environment. Cet article se penche sur l’héritage soviétique dans les systèmes de gestion des pâturages au Kirghizistan. L’héritage soviétique est encore présent dans les institutions de gestion des pâturages au Kirghizistan, qui en reproduisent en partie les pratiques, les valeurs et les hiérarchies. Cette étude se concentre sur les actions de ces institutions à l’échelle locale (les Associations d’Usagers des Pâturages et les Comités de Pâturages) et sur l’évolution du rôle des éleveurs, principaux usagers des pâturages, dans le nouvel environnement socio-économique. L’analyse est développée dans le cadre de la théorie de la dépendance au sentier qui postule que les anciennes institutions continuent de structurer les nouvelles politiques. Les données de terrain collectées à Naryn, une province du Kirghizistan, montrent comment les processus de prises de décision non-participatifs, les modèles de mises en place et les valeurs liées aux pâturages façonnés sous l’époque soviétique continuent d’influencer les institutions actuelles, de même que les configurations établies entre usagers de la ressource et entre usager de la ressource et leur environnement.