title: Indigenous ecological knowledge as the basis for adaptive environmental management: Evidence from pastoralist communities in the Horn of Africa.
abstract: The proliferation of woody plants has been observed on rangelands globally and has significant impacts on subsistence livestock production. However, adaptation strategies to such environmental changes remain largely unexamined. This paper investigates pastoralists' adaptations to such environmental changes in the Borana zone of southern Ethiopia by integrating pastoralists' ecological knowledge, surveys of plant species composition, and census data on livestock holdings. The results indicated that a proliferation of woody plants and corresponding decline in herbaceous species would have negative impact on forage values for cattle and sheep, whereas goats would remain relatively unaffected, and camels would benefit. While census data showed declines in household herd size from 2000 to 2014, pastoralists have been adapting to the proliferation of woody plants by doubling their goat holdings, and wealthier households are investing in camels. These changes in livestock holdings based on indigenous ecological knowledge will mitigate the negative impacts of vegetation shifts on livestock production, and facilitate adaptive environmental management in the pastoral systems.
authors.affiliation: School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, 440 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. Electronic address: lchuan@umich.edu.
authors.forename: Chuan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.affiliation: Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Fernow Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Morgan L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Ruelle
authors.affiliation: Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Fernow Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Karim-Aly S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Kassam
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D000818:Animals; D002162:Camelus; D002417:Cattle; D004463:Ecology; D017753:Ecosystem; D004777:Environment; D005002:Ethiopia; D006041:Goats; D058751:Livestock; D063245:Plant Development / Q000502:physiology*; D010944:Plants; D012756:Sheep; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Adaptive environmental management; Ethiopia; Indigenous ecological knowledge; Livestock holding; Pastoral system