Pastoralists under Pressure: Political, socioeconomic, and climate challenges in East Africa

Population growth, climate change and environmental degradation are just some of the challenges facing communities around the world over the coming decades. One group of people that are particularly under pressure due to their traditional free-ranging livelihoods are pastoral populations in Africa – such as the Fulani, the Maasai and the Samburu.

To address these challenges, interdisciplinary research at the University of York has been investigating human-environment interactions in East Africa, to assess the sustainable use of the local environment and resources.

Some of this ongoing research is currently highlighted as part of an exhibition in the JB Morrell Library which presents the complex concept of climate change in a way that makes it accessible for a non-specialist audience. Exhibition viewers experience different ways of investigating socio-environmental transformations and different voices from Kenya and Tanzania, taking them closer to stories on the environmental changes and its social, political and historical contexts.

To further explore the variety of research being undertaken, a talk and panel debate will be taking place on 8 November from 6.30pm. This will explore some of these challenges facing pastoralists, and discuss the value, and future development, of research from the project. York researchers will be joined by project partners from King’s College London, Plymouth and Cambridge. The talk will be followed by a wine reception and an opportunity to view the exhibition.

The exhibition is based on the insights produced by Resilience in East African Landscapes (REAL), a Marie Curie Actions Innovative Research and Training Network (ITN funded by the European Commission under the Seventh Framework Programme), and the Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change (ARCC) project supported by SIDA-VR.

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