Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Paradox of Range Degradation: Borana Pastoralism and Bush Encroachment in Southern Ethiopia

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The pastoral system that has evolved on the Borana Plateau of southern Ethiopia has been cited as a highly productive and environmentally sound system. Its productivity is linked to the "opportunistic" nature of livestock management, particularly the mobility of herds and continual variation in the grazing pressure in response to the availability of forage and water. This system is presumed that engender conditions that stabilize vegetative patters, but recent studies have shown that this supposedly well-managed rangeland is increasingly experiencing the growth of shrubs and woody bushes in semi-arid and arid areas. This doctoral dissertation research project will investigate the relationship between the pastoral practices of livestock raisers and biophysical dynamics of environmental change in the Borana Plateau. Analyses of aerial photos and satellite images, household surveys, and field observations of range conditions will be used to examine human-environmental interactions at three study sites: Hidi Lola in a humid zone, Did Hara in a semi-arid region, and Hobok in an arid zone. Among the variables to be examined are herd mobility patterns, fire regimes, the geographic distribution of pasture and water, and the social and material conditions that influence the ability of households to engage in opportunistic grazing. This project will illuminate the complex relationship between pastoral range management and vegetation change. The results will contribute to current theoretical debates in political ecology regarding the relative importance of social and ecological forces as factors altering environmental conditions, and they will provide perspectives that transcend romanticized and overly simplistic characterizations of indigenous resource-management systems. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career.