Not Necessarily in the Same Boat: Heterogeneous Risk Assessment Among East African Pastoralists
Journal of Development Studies
Posted: 31 Jan 2001
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Not Necessarily in the Same Boat: Heterogeneous Risk Assessment Among East African Pastoralists
Abstract
The superficial homogeneity of pastoral populations in the east African rangelands has long prompted policies and projects based on stylized understandings of the threats facing these peoples. This paper uses the results of a participatory risk mapping exercise conducted among herders in the arid and semi-arid lands of southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya to show that quite predictable patterns of risk assessment exist within the broader group. Different groups - Men and women, rich and poor, those distant from or proximate to towns - articulate quite different concerns due to differences in objective exposure, subjective perception, ex ante mitigation capacity, and ex post coping capacity. Even relatively modest structural differences in economic activity patterns, agroclimatic conditions, proximity to towns, wealth, and gender roles lead to significant differences in risk assessment, with considerable implication for policies intended to relieve the daunting pressures these vulnerable populations face.
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