Synthesis of Existing Knowledge and Experience on the Provision of ...

• Recognizes the value <strong>of</strong> strengthening customary l<strong>and</strong> management practicesas well as the value <strong>of</strong> local pastoral knowledge. Participation is explicitlymentioned, but no mention made <strong>of</strong> how this should be achieved.Federal Rural L<strong>and</strong>Law2005• Supports the private holding <strong>of</strong> l<strong>and</strong> be it for individual farmers to claimagricultural l<strong>and</strong> or for pastoralists to claim a portion <strong>of</strong> the rangel<strong>and</strong>s. Doesnot recognize the rationale <strong>of</strong> traditional communal l<strong>and</strong>holding.The Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP)The 2001 Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) emphasises the importance <strong>of</strong> bringing availableareas in the lowl<strong>and</strong>s under cultivation <strong>and</strong> states that settlement is the only long-term solution forpastoralists. Special agricultural assistance can then be provided once pastoral groups have settled ina fixed location. In the interim, it mentions that mobile services such as health <strong>and</strong> education shouldbe provided in a manner which accommodates pastoralists who continue to be mobile.The PRSP recognizes that in pastoral regions drinking water cannot be looked at in isolation frompasture, given that livestock – dependent on pasture - are frequently kept wherever there arepeople. It states that “it is <strong>of</strong> paramount importance to integrate the supply <strong>of</strong> drinking water <strong>and</strong>that <strong>of</strong> pasture so as to accelerate <strong>and</strong> improve animal resources development” (PRSP: 58). It alsoacknowledges that pastoralists possess important traditional knowledge that should be considered<strong>and</strong> brought on board to make the national policy more relevant for pastoral regions. Consultationswere therefore held with pastoralists, but the final document benefited little from this consultativeprocess <strong>and</strong> regional manifestations <strong>of</strong> the policy differed marginally, if at all, from national strategies(Pastoralist Forum Ethiopia, 2009).Specific to water, the strategic development plan envisions: 1) the promotion <strong>and</strong> construction <strong>of</strong>ponds <strong>and</strong> other water harvesting technologies, 2) the construction <strong>of</strong> water points near to rangeresources, 3) the use <strong>of</strong> roadside run-<strong>of</strong>f for crops, <strong>and</strong> 4) assistance to local irrigation practices.Access to improved water supply should also be facilitated for settled/semi-settled pastoralists toencourage them to stay (PRSP, 2001; Section 7.3.5 (a)).Plan for Accelerated <strong>and</strong> Sustained Development to End Poverty (PASDEP)The PASDEP (2006) guides all development activities in Ethiopia from 2006 to 2010 <strong>and</strong> essentiallyprovides a national strategy to achieve priority national goals, including economic growth withemphasis on the commercialization <strong>of</strong> agriculture, industry <strong>and</strong> urban development, as well as scalingup efforts to meet development objectives as outlined in the Millennium Development Goals(MDGs). It is essentially a follow up to the PRSP, hence it echoes many <strong>of</strong> the sentiments expressedin the PRSP.The long term view for pastoral development is in line with most other policy documents, which isthe ‘voluntary’ settlement <strong>of</strong> pastoralists <strong>and</strong> diversification into agriculture <strong>and</strong> other non-livestockrelated livelihoods. Settlement is seen as the only long term solution to the challenges faced in thelowl<strong>and</strong>s.In terms <strong>of</strong> water development, the PASDEP emphasizes interventions to improve livestockproduction, including water development adjacent to grazing areas. At the same time, thedevelopment <strong>of</strong> small <strong>and</strong> medium scale irrigation is encouraged to promote the permanentsettlement <strong>of</strong> pastoralists. The PASDEP states that “technical support through extension services42