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Challenges and Gaps on Pastoral Land System: Ethiopian Focus

Received: 20 November 2021    Accepted: 29 December 2021    Published: 31 December 2021
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Abstract

Pastoral and agro-pastoral areas in eastern Africa and elsewhere on the continent have long been regarded as peripheries, especially in economic terms, but also in terms of social and cultural accomplishment governments do little to formally recognize or integrate pastoral lands as critical parts of rural livelihood systems and economic development models. Instead, many states give preference to other alternatives. Aiming to search for comprehensive suitable policy line for Ethiopian pastoral land system, the study employed qualitative data analysis methodology with primary and secondary sources by comparative approach. Though lowland in Ethiopia holds 60% of total land mass and the future of the nation, the normative and institutional framework is unable to govern adequately in manner to effectively utilize the potential. The failure of national law to recognize the customary rights of pastoralist groups, policy and strategy gaps, lack of registration and certification communal land holding rights put the pastoral tenure un secure and has left those communities highly vulnerable. The main contemporary problem in Ethiopian pastoral societies, however, is that various indigenous forms of tenure that no doubt evolved as indicated above now are increasingly subordinated to unitary national land tenure legislation. The situation in the pastoral areas is either ignored or very superficially treated. The critical thinking and appropriate legal as well as institutional framework with the right policy direction is neccassarily needed by taking lesson, like recognition customery land tenure, enactment of detailed laws which adequately protect the interests of pastoral community, registration and certification of communal holding rights, legitimazing the power of traditional institutions and authorities from successful countries. This can be used as appropraite behicle to eradiction of poverty and shortens the journey towards growth and transformation of the country.

Published in International Journal of Law and Society (Volume 4, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijls.20210404.19
Page(s) 310-326
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Land Tenure, Communal Holding, Indigenous Peoples, Pastoral Land, Land Administration, Voluntary Guideline, Land Policy

References
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[6] Mohammed Abdullah, legal status of communal land right, International Journal of Minority and Group Rights 14 (2007) 85-125 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2007.
[7] Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republi cof Ethiopia. (1995). Proclamation No. 1/1995. Negarit Gazeta Year 1, No. 1.
[8] Johan Helland, Pastoral Land Tenure in Ethiopia– At the frontier of land issues”, Colloque international Montpellier, 2006.
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[11] Fekadu Beyene and others, Assessment of customary and natural resourse management in pastoral ares of oromia, available at http://publication.eiar.gov.et:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/2719?show=ful.
[12] Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Rural Land administration and Land Use Proclamation no. 456/ 2005.
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[23] Asebe Regassa, Yetebarek Hizekiel & Benedikt Korf, (2018). ‘Civilizing’ the pastoral frontier: land grabbing, dispossession and coercive agrarian development in Ethiopia, The Journal of Peasant Studies. Available at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/showCitFormats?doi=10.1080%2F03066150.2017.1420060.
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[32] Interview with AtoFirew Desta, land use expert in Snnpr agriculture and national resource bearou in march 13, 201.
[33] Regional Pastoral Livelihoods Resilience Project (RPLRP) Policies and ProclamationsRelevant to Pastoral Areas Land Management for Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda.
[34] Interview with Ato TekalignTadesse, expert in pastoral affairs commission of SNNPR, in march 11, 2019.
[35] Yaw acheampong Amoah, interest of women by traditional authorities on access to land and land rights: A case study of Oshanaregion, Namibia master’s thesis University of Twenty 2011.
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[39] TigistuGebremeskel, Experience and Future Direction in Ethiopian Rural Land Administration (Annual World Bank conference on land and poverty, Washington D.C, April 2011).
[40] Daniel Behailu, Transfer of Land Rights in Ethiopia; Towards a Sustainable Policy Framework (eleven international publishing 2015).
[41] Drylands are variously defined as areas characterized by a seasonal climate with several months of drought areas having a growing period of ≤ 180 days or areas with an aridity index of ≤ 0.5 (UNESCO 1979). UNESCO’s aridity index refers to the ratio of potential Evapo transpiration (PET) to precipitation (P); thus, all lands for which PET/P ≤ 0.5 are classified as drylands.
[42] PFE, IIRR and DF, Pastoralism and Land: Land tenure, administration and use in pastoral areas of Ethiopia p3.
[43] Eyes’ Elias and FeyeraAbdi, Putting Pastoralists on the Policy Agenda: Land alienation in Southern Ethiopia, available at http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/14599IIED.pdf.
[44] Pastoralist Forum Ethiopia is a local Non-Governmental Organization working with pastoralists and partners for the advancement of Ethiopian pastoralists; it represents the collective voice of its member Civil Society Organizations. The forum has come a long way from its establishment as a loose network for pastoralist information exchange. It has developed both organizationally and institutionally, building on experiences and lessons on pastoral development and networking. Since 2004, Pastoralist Forum Ethiopia has transformed into a fully fledged NGO.
[45] Pastoralism and Land: Land tenure, administration and use in pastoral areas of Ethiopia, PFE, IIRR and DF, 2010 p, 15 available at https://www.academia.edu/12940001/PASTORALISM_AND_LAND_Land_Tenure_Administration_and_Use.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Natinael Lea Kurka, Tamirat Dela Wotango. (2021). Challenges and Gaps on Pastoral Land System: Ethiopian Focus. International Journal of Law and Society, 4(4), 310-326. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20210404.19

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    ACS Style

    Natinael Lea Kurka; Tamirat Dela Wotango. Challenges and Gaps on Pastoral Land System: Ethiopian Focus. Int. J. Law Soc. 2021, 4(4), 310-326. doi: 10.11648/j.ijls.20210404.19

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    AMA Style

    Natinael Lea Kurka, Tamirat Dela Wotango. Challenges and Gaps on Pastoral Land System: Ethiopian Focus. Int J Law Soc. 2021;4(4):310-326. doi: 10.11648/j.ijls.20210404.19

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijls.20210404.19,
      author = {Natinael Lea Kurka and Tamirat Dela Wotango},
      title = {Challenges and Gaps on Pastoral Land System: Ethiopian Focus},
      journal = {International Journal of Law and Society},
      volume = {4},
      number = {4},
      pages = {310-326},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijls.20210404.19},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijls.20210404.19},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijls.20210404.19},
      abstract = {Pastoral and agro-pastoral areas in eastern Africa and elsewhere on the continent have long been regarded as peripheries, especially in economic terms, but also in terms of social and cultural accomplishment governments do little to formally recognize or integrate pastoral lands as critical parts of rural livelihood systems and economic development models. Instead, many states give preference to other alternatives. Aiming to search for comprehensive suitable policy line for Ethiopian pastoral land system, the study employed qualitative data analysis methodology with primary and secondary sources by comparative approach. Though lowland in Ethiopia holds 60% of total land mass and the future of the nation, the normative and institutional framework is unable to govern adequately in manner to effectively utilize the potential. The failure of national law to recognize the customary rights of pastoralist groups, policy and strategy gaps, lack of registration and certification communal land holding rights put the pastoral tenure un secure and has left those communities highly vulnerable. The main contemporary problem in Ethiopian pastoral societies, however, is that various indigenous forms of tenure that no doubt evolved as indicated above now are increasingly subordinated to unitary national land tenure legislation. The situation in the pastoral areas is either ignored or very superficially treated. The critical thinking and appropriate legal as well as institutional framework with the right policy direction is neccassarily needed by taking lesson, like recognition customery land tenure, enactment of detailed laws which adequately protect the interests of pastoral community, registration and certification of communal holding rights, legitimazing the power of traditional institutions and authorities from successful countries. This can be used as appropraite behicle to eradiction of poverty and shortens the journey towards growth and transformation of the country.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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    AU  - Natinael Lea Kurka
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    AB  - Pastoral and agro-pastoral areas in eastern Africa and elsewhere on the continent have long been regarded as peripheries, especially in economic terms, but also in terms of social and cultural accomplishment governments do little to formally recognize or integrate pastoral lands as critical parts of rural livelihood systems and economic development models. Instead, many states give preference to other alternatives. Aiming to search for comprehensive suitable policy line for Ethiopian pastoral land system, the study employed qualitative data analysis methodology with primary and secondary sources by comparative approach. Though lowland in Ethiopia holds 60% of total land mass and the future of the nation, the normative and institutional framework is unable to govern adequately in manner to effectively utilize the potential. The failure of national law to recognize the customary rights of pastoralist groups, policy and strategy gaps, lack of registration and certification communal land holding rights put the pastoral tenure un secure and has left those communities highly vulnerable. The main contemporary problem in Ethiopian pastoral societies, however, is that various indigenous forms of tenure that no doubt evolved as indicated above now are increasingly subordinated to unitary national land tenure legislation. The situation in the pastoral areas is either ignored or very superficially treated. The critical thinking and appropriate legal as well as institutional framework with the right policy direction is neccassarily needed by taking lesson, like recognition customery land tenure, enactment of detailed laws which adequately protect the interests of pastoral community, registration and certification of communal holding rights, legitimazing the power of traditional institutions and authorities from successful countries. This can be used as appropraite behicle to eradiction of poverty and shortens the journey towards growth and transformation of the country.
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Author Information
  • Wolaita Zone Justice Department, Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia

  • Civics and Ethical Studies, College of Social Science and Humanities, Wolaita Sodo University, Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia

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