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Climate variability and indigenous adaptation strategies by Somali pastoralists in Ethiopia

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Abstract

Pastoralism is a livelihood system for millions of people around the world and a great majority of them are found in Africa. The indigenous knowledge and strategies on pastoralism are not well understood and properly documented. Hence, this study sheds light on location-specific indigenous climate change adaptation strategies and explores the pastoralist and agro-pastoralist households’ perceptions against the meteorological records. Data were collected from 191 sample households, 12 key informants, 32 focus group participants, and National Meteorological Services. The results reveal that there is a high climate variability (CV = 30), high rainfall intensity, and longer dry periods. Almost every year the Rainfall seasonality index (SI) value predicts a longer dry season. The community’s perception matched with recorded climate data of the past 36 years and identified 10 major climate extremes orally recounted in history. Indigenous strategies include indigenous weather forecasts, mating calendar, destocking, herd mobility, herd diversification, traditional rotational grazing system (‘Seri’), and also emerging adaptation strategies (farming, petty trade, handcraft, charcoal sale, and casual labor) utilized as a result of the severity of climate variability and extremes in the region. The results indicate that emerging adaptation strategies are replacing the preexisting pastoralist livelihood system and that indigenous strategies need support to withstand the current and predicted weather and climate variability in the sites. Pastoralists and agro-pastoralists will be in a better position to adapt to the consequences of climate variability and extremes if indigenous institutions are revitalized with innovations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA

    Hilina Yohannes Kebede

  2. European Forest Institute, Governance Programme, Platz der Vereinten Nationen 7, 53113, Bonn, Germany

    Abrham Belay Mekonnen

  3. Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources, Hawassa University, P.O. Box 128, Shashemene, Ethiopia

    Abrham Belay Mekonnen, Nega Chalie Emiru & Muluken Mekuyie

  4. College of Development Studies, Addis Ababa University, Center for Food Security, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Desalegn Y. Ayal

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  1. Hilina Yohannes Kebede
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  2. Abrham Belay Mekonnen
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Contributions

Hilina Yohannes Kebede: Conceptualization, data collection, Methodology, Writing - Original Draft, Writing, Reviewing. Abrham Belay: Conceptualization, data collection, Methodology. Methodology, Writing - Original Draft, Writing, Reviewing, editing. Abrham Belay: Conceptualization, data collection, Methodology, Writing - Original Draft, Investigation, Writing, Reviewing and Editing, Project administration. Nega Chalie Emiru: Conceptualization, data collection, Methodology, Writing - Original Draft, Investigation, Writing, Reviewing and Editing, Project administration Muluken Mekuyie: Conceptualization, data collection, Methodology, Writing - Original Draft, Investigation, Writing, Reviewing and Editing, Project administration. Desalegn Ayal: Conceptualization, data collection, Methodology, Writing - Original Draft, Investigation, Writing, Reviewing and Editing, Project administration.

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Correspondence to Desalegn Y. Ayal.

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Kebede, H.Y., Mekonnen, A.B., Emiru, N.C. et al. Climate variability and indigenous adaptation strategies by Somali pastoralists in Ethiopia. Theor Appl Climatol 155, 7259–7273 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-024-04993-9

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