IOM and UN Partners Promote Regional Policy to Facilitate Pastoralists' Movement Within and Across Borders
IOM in conjunction with the UN and partner agencies is working with
governments in the Horn and East Africa to facilitate safe
movements of pastoralists across border regions as a climate change
coping mechanism.
The inter-agency initiative called Security in Mobility (SIM)
conducted consultative assessments with local communities and their
leaders in Kenya's cross border regions between January 2009 and
June 2010.
The regions visited include the Maasai, Karamoja and Somali
regions, which border Tanzania, Uganda and Sudan, and Somalia and
Ethiopia respectively. The initiative also advocates for an
integrated approach to respond to humanitarian and development
needs in pastoral communities.
The key findings of the assessments conducted reveal that:
- Climate change is resulting in unpredictable and extreme
weather patterns and influencing mobility patterns amongst
pastoralist communities - Insecurity in pastoralist border regions has increased
- Some local governments facilitate cross-border mobility
especially during drought - Mobility is usually associated with conflict
- Pastoralists are frustrated with humanitarian aid and want
sustainable solutions
The effects of climate change and its impact on pastoral
communities are now more evident than ever, and evidence points to
increased migration and conflict over scarce resources.
The lack of preparedness and relevant response to natural
disasters has left millions in need of humanitarian assistance.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA) in 2009, close to 10 million people
faced starvation in Kenya, of which three million were
pastoralists.
The SIM initiative is calling on regional governments to develop
a policy that facilitates safe movement of pastoralists within
their countries and across borders using a collaborative approach
that encompasses provision of humanitarian assistance, provision of
basic services, facilitated migration and comprehensive security
initiatives.
The launch of the SIM initiative was attended by more than 100
participants from Kenya and around the region, among them
pastoralist community leaders, senior government representatives,
members of the diplomatic corps, NGO members and various UN agency
representatives.
IOM is partnering with three other agencies on the SIM
initiative including UN-OCHA, United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) and the Institute for Security Studies (ISS).
For more information on the assessments please go to:
For more information, please contact:
Jerotich Seii Houlding
IOM Nairobi
Tel: +254-722608282
E-mail:
"mailto:jseiihoulding@iom.int">jseiihoulding@iom.int