Pastoralists’ perspectives on early warning, anticipatory action, and emergency response
This desk study aims to bridge pastoralist knowledge, local practices, and external interventions by synthesizing literature on pastoral knowledge and practices from the Greater Horn of Africa, Sudano-Sahel regions, and beyond. It explores how pastoralists manage climate, conflict, and other stresses through indigenous early warning systems, preventive actions, local emergency responses, and customary safety nets.
Overall, pastoral communities have unique practices that support their livelihoods. Communities are not based purely on a collection of households but on broader kinship and familial ties. Social networks rely on flexible and real-time responses when uncertainties are confronted. These processes require navigation and local negotiations that rely on multiple relationships and linkages. This effort includes mobilizing different sources of knowledge about the future, even if the future is unpredictable. Closer collaborative processes in international humanitarian interventions that engage pastoralists who are rooted in community networks are crucial in confronting crises.
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