Daasanach, Ileret Ward

Herding: mainly cattle, also sheep, goats, donkeys and camels.

Agriculture: sorghum, maize and beans.

Fishing is increasing as herding becomes more difficult.

Credit: Miquel Torrents-Ticó

Biocultural collisions
Wildlife loss has led to strict conservation policies that locals do not always perceive positively, as they interfere with herding, limiting access to pastures and protecting predators responsible for livestock losses.

Credit: André Braga Junqueira

A fragile ecosystem equilibrium
The Gilgel Gibe III Dam, designed to bring power to and improve irrigation in the area, has caused a reduction in the quality of cattle milk and fishing yields.

Credit: André Braga Junqueira

Fishing against all odds
As a pastoral herding community, fishing had always been a minor and undervalued activity. However, droughts and food shortages have led to an increase in fishing at a time when fish stocks are already declining.

Adaptations of Daasanach livelihoods
Harsh climatic conditions and human-driven activities, such as water infrastructures and conservation policies, have worsened the livelihoods of the Daasanach people around Lake Turkana, which entered the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger in 2018. As a result of growing barriers to pastoral mobility, they have increased fishing and shifted their crops.

Underrating environmental and cultural impacts
Environmental and cultural impacts were underestimated during the design of the Gilgel Gibe III Dam, as were the conservation policies of Sibiloi National Park. Top-down interventions tend to undervalue and over look the interplay between biocultural heritage and its impacts on local communities.

Intergenerational challenges
Multifaceted social-ecological pressures threaten herding and the traditions of the Daasanach people. Although the local community identifies the need for conservation policies, the priority species to be protected differ from the policies adopted. In addition, disagreements arise between the older and younger community members, with the younger members more willing to suggest changes to adapt their cultural practice to align with conservation policies.

The Daasanach communities wish to be heard and take an active role in the planning of infrastructures and conservation programs that could potentially impact their territory, whether directly or indirectly. Their holistic understanding of the environment as a complex ecosystem that impacts their livelihood activities, the survival of the existing fauna and flora, and the drivers of change should not be overlooked.

The livelihoods of the Daasanach people are closely tied to climatic conditions and the availability of natural resources. They have continuously adapted their ways of life around a harsh and somewhat erratic climate, coping with water scarcity, flooding, and the disappearance of food resources. Thus, they provide good practices that can serve as an inspiration to other communities and territories.