Unsustain the Sustainable: An Evaluation of the Legal and Policy Interventions for Pastoral Development in Ethiopia

Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice, Vol 6:2, February 2016

Posted: 10 Dec 2015 Last revised: 2 Feb 2016

See all articles by Berihun Adugna Gebeye

Berihun Adugna Gebeye

University College London, Faculty of Laws

Date Written: December 8, 2015

Abstract

This article is a critical appraisal of the legal and policy interventions for pastoral development in Ethiopia under the Imperial, Derg and Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) governments. Based on an extensive review of pastoral policies, laws and practices, it is found that the legal and policy interventions are not pastoral sensitive, and accordingly, they have been unable to bring the desired result. Moreover, they have created pressure on the pastoralists and the pastoral economy, as they do not consider pastoralism as a viable system. In particular, their settlement vision poses a challenge to the very system of pastoralism, and it threatens the pastoral culture, social institutions and identity. This article argues that Ethiopian pastoralists have a right to development in the manner that advances the enforcement of their human rights, and the Ethiopian state assumes a legal obligation to undertake pastoral development consistent with human rights based approach. It calls for the (re)consideration of the legal and policy interventions in line with international human rights standards, the bill of rights and the National Policy Principles and Objectives of the Ethiopian Federal Democratic Republic Constitution. Pursuing pastoral development based on agrarian and flawed assumptions not only affects the pastoral system, but also the continuous viability of pastoralists -- for it makes the sustainable pastoral way of life unsustainable.

Keywords: Development, Ethiopia, Human Rights, Law, Pastoralism, Policy, Settlement

Suggested Citation

Gebeye, Berihun Adugna, Unsustain the Sustainable: An Evaluation of the Legal and Policy Interventions for Pastoral Development in Ethiopia (December 8, 2015). Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice, Vol 6:2, February 2016, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2700804

Berihun Adugna Gebeye (Contact Author)

University College London, Faculty of Laws ( email )

Bentham House 4-8 Endsleigh Gardens
London, WC1H 0EG
United Kingdom

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