Doctoral Dissertation Research: Becoming Mobile Pastoralists: Desedentarization Among the Ful'be of Tanout, Niger

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Nomadic populations of West Africa inhabit some of the most risk-prone climatic and physical environments in the world. Conventional wisdom assumes that nomadic pastoralists will inevitably become sedentary in order to escape from natural hazards and the difficulties of mobile lifestyles. In West Africa, however, certain Fulbe pastoralists challenge these assumptions. Observations in Tanout arrondissement in the Republic of Niger suggest that over the past two decades, some sedentary households have given up cultivation entirely for a purely pastoral, mobile livelihood. This doctoral dissertation research project asks why and how these households have made this livelihood shift and whether it has increased or decreased their economic security. The research hypothesizes that the households have made a rational choice to transition to mobile pastoralism as a risk management strategy in an effort to improve livelihood security. The decision to shift to mobile pastoralism has been negotiated within the household and that decision has affected women and men, young and old differently. This research will contribute to general understandings regarding how local populations use mobility, social networks, and local knowledges to improve livelihood security in a dynamic and risky environment.