Pastoralist communities depend almost entirely on livestock. Unfortunately, pastoralism is practiced in very sensitive and insecure regions, which are usually characterized by high spatial and temporal variability of rainfall distribution. This anomalous distribution (spatially and temporally) results in abnormally extended droughts and depressed rainfall periods. It is evident that pastoralism is truly a precarious activity to undertake due to its high dependence on ecological systems which are highly sensitive.
This high spatial and temporal distribution of rainfall (through space and time) is majorly due to climate variability. Lately, this variability in climate has turned into something very close to change in that the period a particular season usually lasts, especially dry spells, is abnormally extended. It is very sad to note that the aspects of climate variability and change are impacting on these pastoralist communities negatively. While other regions receive very high amounts of rainfall, the areas inhabited by pastoralist communities experience the contrary. Rainfall is highly depressed during most of the rainfall seasons.
Even though climate itself is something that must undergo a natural change, this is being aggravated by human activities. There is an astronomical aspect of climate change. That is a natural aspect, but when it couples with human-induced change, then trouble is abound. Climate change poses grave danger to humanity as a whole, not just pastoralists.
The aspects of climate change and variability are closely interlinked with the livelihoods of pastoralists. For example, the dependence of pastoralists and their livestock to the environment is both directly and indirectly. This means that any threats posed by climate change are bound to affect them both ways. Prolonged and severe droughts limit water availability and also pasture for livestock. This consequently leads to the loss of a large number of livestock and even the pastoralists themselves through famine and the resulting conflict over the use of the now limited resources.
Most of these communities have learned to live with this fact. They have adapted to the rather abnormal cyclic tendencies of the spatial and temporal distribution of rainfall. Some of the strategies and coping mechanisms applied by these pastoralists include a number of maneuvers which are entirely aimed at the management of the available resources through risk spreading. These include seasonal migration in search of pasture and water, communal land ownership, having large and diverse herds of animals, separating and splitting the herds, informal social security systems, formation of alliances with communities which are not pastoralists and also practicing activities like farming and the burning of charcoal.
It is important to note that these strategies used to be very effective some time back. Right now, the situation is very different. The frequency of occurrence of droughts and depressed rainfall has gone up. The climatic conditions are deteriorating very fast, and so are the social and economic changes.
Apart from the negative impacts of climate change and variability, other factors have also contributed to the worsening situation. These are: cattle rustling, the proliferation of small arms, increased levels of illiteracy, explosion of population thus leading to a displacement and disruption of the pastoralist way of life. All these are working further towards aggravating the situation already caused by climate change and variability. Considering all the above listed factors, one can only but visualize what the situation is likely to be in the near future, now that climate change is projected to accelerate even further.