AbbreviationsAUAUCAU/DREAAU/IBARCAADPCEBEVIRAHCEMACCOMESACSODRCEACECOWASGDPIGADITCMDGsNEPADRECTAD<strong>Africa</strong>n Union<strong>Africa</strong>n Union Commission<strong>Africa</strong>n Union/Department <strong>for</strong> Rural Economy and Agriculture<strong>Africa</strong>n Union/Inter-<strong>Africa</strong>n Bureau <strong>for</strong> Animal ResourcesComprehensive <strong>Africa</strong> Agriculture Development ProgrammeEconomic Commission <strong>for</strong> Livestock, Meat and FishEconomic Community of Central <strong>Africa</strong>n StatesCommon Market <strong>for</strong> Eastern and Southern <strong>Africa</strong>Civil Society OrganizationDemocratic Republic of CongoEast <strong>Africa</strong> CommunityEconomic Community of West <strong>Africa</strong>n StatesGross Domestic ProductIntergovernmental Authority <strong>for</strong> DevelopmentInternational Transhumance CertificateMillenium Development GoalsNew Economic Partnership <strong>for</strong> <strong>Africa</strong>n DevelopmentRegional Economic CommunityTransboundary animal diseaseSecur<strong>in</strong>g, Protect<strong>in</strong>g and Improv<strong>in</strong>g the Lives, Livelihoods and Rights of Pastoralist Communities5
Executive SummaryThe mandate of the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture of the <strong>Africa</strong>n UnionCommission is to <strong>in</strong>itiate and promote policies that can contribute to the development of ruraleconomy and improve livelihoods through <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g agricultural productivity, ensur<strong>in</strong>g foodsecurity, and enhanc<strong>in</strong>g susta<strong>in</strong>able use and management of <strong>Africa</strong>’s natural resources.<strong>Africa</strong>n pastoralism is def<strong>in</strong>ed by a high reliance on livestock as a source of economic and socialwellbe<strong>in</strong>g, and various types of strategic mobility to access water and graz<strong>in</strong>g resources <strong>in</strong> areasof high ra<strong>in</strong>fall variability. <strong>Pastoralism</strong> is found <strong>in</strong> all regions of <strong>Africa</strong> and <strong>in</strong> some regions, is thedom<strong>in</strong>ant livelihoods system. Pastoralists supply very substantial numbers of livestock to domestic,regional and <strong>in</strong>ternational markets and there<strong>for</strong>e, make crucial – but often undervalued – contributionsto national and regional economies <strong>in</strong> <strong>Africa</strong>. Their production systems are highly adaptive,constantly respond<strong>in</strong>g to market and climatic trends. Pastoralist culture is part of the cultural heritageof <strong>Africa</strong>, and animal and plant resources <strong>in</strong> pastoral areas comprise one of the most importanttypes of genetic resource on the cont<strong>in</strong>ent.Aga<strong>in</strong>st these positive aspects of pastoralism is the reality that human development and food security<strong>in</strong>dicators <strong>for</strong> many pastoral areas of <strong>Africa</strong> are among the lowest on the cont<strong>in</strong>ent, and <strong>in</strong> somecases, worsen<strong>in</strong>g. Draw<strong>in</strong>g on extensive regional expert consultations conducted s<strong>in</strong>ce 2007, the<strong>Policy</strong> Framework <strong>for</strong> <strong>Pastoralism</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Africa</strong> is the first cont<strong>in</strong>ent-wide policy <strong>in</strong>itiative which aimsto secure, protect and improve the lives, livelihoods and rights of <strong>Africa</strong>n pastoralists. The policy<strong>framework</strong> is a plat<strong>for</strong>m <strong>for</strong> mobiliz<strong>in</strong>g and coord<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g political commitment to pastoral development<strong>in</strong> <strong>Africa</strong>, and emphasizes the need to fully <strong>in</strong>volve pastoralist women and men <strong>in</strong> the nationaland regional development processes from which they are supposed to benefit. The <strong>framework</strong> alsoemphasizes the regional nature of many pastoralist ecosystems <strong>in</strong> <strong>Africa</strong> and there<strong>for</strong>e, the need tosupport and harmonize policies across the Regional Economic Communities and Member States.The <strong>Policy</strong> Framework <strong>for</strong> <strong>Pastoralism</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Africa</strong> conta<strong>in</strong>s guid<strong>in</strong>g and cross-cutt<strong>in</strong>g pr<strong>in</strong>ciples, twoma<strong>in</strong> objectives, and a set of strategies <strong>for</strong> each objective. The two objectives of the <strong>framework</strong> areas follows:Objective 1Secure and protect the lives, livelihoods and rights of pastoral peoples and ensure cont<strong>in</strong>entwidecommitment to political, social and economic development of pastoral communities andpastoral areas.Objective 2Re<strong>in</strong><strong>for</strong>ce the contribution of pastoral livestock to national, regional and cont<strong>in</strong>ent-wideeconomies.Objective 1 <strong>in</strong>cludes the need to recognize the rights, exist<strong>in</strong>g economic contributions and potentialfuture contributions of pastoralists to development, with related political and policy processesneeded to develop appropriate pastoral policies and fully <strong>in</strong>tegrate pastoralism <strong>in</strong>to national andregional development programmes and plans. Objective 2 focuses on the core assets of pastoralareas viz. pastoral rangelands and livestock. It emphasizes the need to improve the governance ofpastoral rangelands and thereby secure access to rangelands <strong>for</strong> pastoralists. The <strong>in</strong>volvement of6 <strong>Policy</strong> <strong>framework</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Pastoralism</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Africa</strong>
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