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ProgramBrief

AdaptingLivestockSystem

stoClimateChangeCollab

orativeResearchSupportP

rogram

Adapting Livestock Systems to Climate Change Collaborative Research Support Program

Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1644

PH: 970.297.5060 FX: 970.297.4321 Email: [email protected]

Livestock production and agriculture are

critical to the economy of West Africaand the livelihoods of those that live

there. Dryland regions of West Africa are

especially vulnerable to climate change-

induced drought, flooding, and other

weather extremes. In the region, the

poverty rate has declined only slightly

from 60% in 1990 to 54% in 2004. In

2015, there are likely to be more poor

people than in 1990. Poor people have

fewer resources to adapt to climate

change and are generally considered

especially vulnerable to these impacts.

In West Africa, the Livestock-Climate

Change CRSP intends to focus primarilyon livestock systems in Mali and Senegal.

Mali and Senegal are focus countries

under the Feed the Future initiative.

Another project addresses climate change adaptation in Niger, but will be

discontinued after 2011.

The LCC CRSP Seed Grant Program funded several one-year projects

designed to lay the foundation for a longer-term research program. The2010 Seed Grant cohort includes:

Six U.S. university partners (lead and cooperating institutions);

Two international universities; and

A total of 11 U.S. and international aid, development, and research

organizations, and government agencies.

The Seed Grant Program for West AfricaBuilding a foundation for long-term investment

SEPTEMBER 2011PB-07-2011

Sarah Lupis, Livestock-Climate Change CRSP

The Seed Grant Program for Africa

supports for three, one-year projects inMali, Senegal and Niger. Mali and Senegal

are part of USAIDs Feed the Future

initiative.


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Current Seed Grant Program projects include:

La Gestion des Systmes Fluviaux pour lAvenir/Management of River Systems for the

Future (GSFA/RIVERS)

John McPeak, Syracuse University

Riverine systems in arid and semi-arid lands serve as key resources that support livestock and

crop production. For herders, rivers flowing through drylands are critical for producing dry season

grazing reserves and essential sources of permanent water. For cultivators, the waters allow

cultivation both though recessional cultivation of floodplains and irrigated cultivation using river

water. Due to increased population pressure and changing rainfall patterns in the Senegal and

Niger River basins, the agricultural economy based on these riverine systems has already come

under the kinds of stresses that climate models predict may become more widespread in the

future. This makes study of these systems a priority, as understanding what they have already

experienced will be critical in understanding likely outcomes in other similar environments. While

the conversion of large areas of land to rice production is likely to be inevitable and, if done

correctly, desirable, the costs imposed on livestock production systems and the conflict induced

by conversion need to be managed.

Livestock and agriculture are increasingly in conflict in Mali and Senegal. The GSFA/RIVERS project

is addressing this issue in the Niger and Senegal River basins (above) where livestock herders and rice

cultivators are competing for limited space and resources. The TRANS project uses spatial modeling andherder interviews to identify flash-points where conflict is likely to occur along transhumance routes in Mali.


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To that end, the GSFA/RIVERS project is investigating three linked questions: what has been the

impact of climate change on the vegetation of riverine systems to date, what are the benefits and

costs to livestock production of different methods of increasing food security though irrigated riceproduction, and what are the key points on transhumance corridors as identified by herders?

The team is comparing vegetation maps from the 1980s with current conditions to provide a

picture of vegetative change on the floodplain and in so doing, identify persistent effects of

previous droughts on vegetation and document the land that has been converted to cultivation.

In addition, through this process, they are identifying sites across the floodplain where bourgou

(Echinochloa stagnina) seeding is most needed and has greatest likelihood of success. The team

is also conducting a cost-benefit analysis of crops, livestock production, and fishing to better informpolicy makers and planners about the true costs and tradeoffs involved among these systems.

Finally, transhumance corridors and key water points will be mapped to identify priority areas for

protection to ensure regional mobility patterns. Overall, these activities will provide a foundation

for designing management options, including mechanisms that allow adaption to climate change.

Transhumance, natural resources, and conflict in the Sahel: a pilot project (TRANS)

Niall Hanan, South Dakota State University

Pastoral and agricultural systems, and pastoral and agricultural livelihoods, are tightly coupled

and interdependent in West Africa. However, conflict is on the rise between pastoralists and

agriculturalists, particularly in regions where agricultural land is scarce and encroaching on

traditional transhumance corridors.

This 1-year pilot study is developing key methodologies for mapping the location, status and

current utilization of transhumance corridors, and how they relate to changing agricultural land

use. Extensive field surveys in Mali (along primary transhumance axes in the Nioro-Nara-Dima-Baoul-Kita and Inland Delta regions of the administrative Regions of Koulikoro, Segou and Mopti)

are being used as the basis for methodological development. Remote sensing is being used to

scale to other regions of Mali and the wider Sahel.

Working with an interdisciplinary team of Malian and U.S. researchers, educators and non-

governmental organizations (NGO) Hanans team is analyzing current and future constraints on

pastoral livelihoods and agricultural-pastoral conflict avoidance where transhumance corridors

and availability of agricultural land, together with access to water and grazing lands, constitute keyresources, and key resource-based flash-points.

Results from the pilot and the longer term study will provide invaluable information for natural

resource managers and policy and decision makers at local, regional, and national levels. In

addition, the results of this study will directly benefit the region via opportunities for preemptive

intervention to reduce and avoid conflict between pastoral and agro-pastoral communities.


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This publication was made possible through support provided to the ALS-CC CRSP bythe Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture, and Trade, U.S. Agency for InternationalDevelopment, under the terms of Grant No. EEM-A-00-10-00001. The opinions expressedherein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Agency forInternational Development or the U.S. government.

The Adapting Livestock Systems to Climate Change Collaborative Research Support Programis dedicated to catalyzing and coordinating research that improves the livelihoods of livestock

producers affected by climate change by reducing vulnerability and increasing adaptive capacity.

Risk, perception, resilience and adaptation to climate change in Niger and Tanzania (RPRA)

Sandra Russo, University of Florida

Arid and semi-arid regions of the world are projected to be among those most affected by

global climate change. The RPRA project investigates how populations of varying degrees of

pastoralism in Niger are interpreting and responding to perceived risks of climate change, and

how those reactions are affecting their vulnerability/resilience. Based on interviews with pastoral

communities in Niger, the RPRA team will determine culturally appropriate livelihood strategies

and adaptations for coping with impacts including land degradation, reduced access to food and

water, and poor health and sanitation. International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the

Laboratoire dEtudes et de Recherche sur les Dynamiques Sociales et le Dveloppement Local

in Niger are collaborating in this effort. Work in Niger will not be continued in order to maintain

programmatic alignment with the Feed the Future initiative.

The RPRA project will use key informant interviews, focus groups, household interviews, and child growth and

health measures to determine the effectiveness of different climate change adaptations.

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