By Sarah Kasyoka

Pastoralism is the dominant livestock production system in most arid and semi-arid rangelands in Kenya, which encompass more than half of the country’s territory. Pastoralism has traditionally played a vital role in Kenya. According to one study, it produces more than a quarter of the meat Kenya consumes and annually contributes more than USD 1 billion to the economy.

However, a number of factors are putting these rangelands under growing strain, including population growth, climate change, conflicts over land use, an increasing number and intensity of droughts and poor land management.

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) has conducted decades of research on the use and governance of land and other resources in pastoralist settings in Kenya and other countries. This research has long contributed to the management and protection of rangelands; in Kenya, it is now being included in the National Land Commission’s spatial planning guidelines for county governments.

ILRI and the National Land Commission worked together to transform research insights into guidance materials on land use planning for counties.

As pastoralist systems continue to be eroded, these guidelines, known as County Spatial Plans, will become increasingly important. Movement between grazing areas, water points and markets is a crucial aspect of the production system in pastoral areas and for realizing the economic potential and optimal biodiversity management of rangelands.

Various factors, however, are increasingly limiting pastoralists’ mobility. Livestock migration routes that allow access to water and pasture areas, which are especially crucial in times of drought, are being lost to infrastructure development, expansion of towns and farming activities. Furthermore, factors such as unplanned provision of water points for animals and the mushrooming of settlements have led pastoralists to move away from traditional seasonal grazing patterns, which has in turn contributed to further land degradation as more and more pastures are grazed year-round.

A strategic approach to land-use planning at different levels can help ensure that pastoral resources are protected, and their use optimized for local and national economic gain. According to Lance Robinson, an ILRI scientist who has worked on land and resource governance: ‘There is enormous untapped potential to develop not only the livestock economy in the arid and semi-arid lands, but other sectors of the economy as well. Unlocking these possibilities will require strategic decision-making and a long-term vision to ensure that development protects and builds on extensive livestock keeping and enhances livelihoods for livestock keepers’.

This is where county spatial planning comes in. A County Spatial Plan is a long-term plan guiding the direction of development in a county. It is the foundation on which other parts of the county planning framework stand. Established by the County Governments Act of 2012, all counties in Kenya are required to produce them. Counties where pastoralism is prominent will need to take specific steps to reconcile land use competition and conflicts, facilitate mobility, protect key resources, strategically guide investment opportunities towards livestock production and marketing, and improve rangeland management.

Counties where pastoralism is prominent will need to take specific steps to reconcile land use competition and conflicts, facilitate mobility, protect key resources, and improve rangeland management.

ILRI’s researchers have identified various challenges for the management and protection of rangelands and extensive livestock production. Based on this work, ILRI worked closely with the Kenya National Land Commission to develop an annex to the Commission’s Guidelines for County Spatial Planning and three accompanying toolkits for use by staff of county governments. These were launched by the Commission in 2019. The guidelines, toolkits and annex will guide county governments in Kenya to ensure proper land-use planning in order to strengthen community land rights and support pastoralist communities in the management of their rangelands. This will foster sustainable livestock production, thus improving food security and livelihoods in the counties.

The process of developing these guidelines entailed the sharing of insights from ILRI’s research in various forums with key stakeholders from government—particularly personnel from the Kenya National Land Commission and county governments—and from civil society. ILRI and the National Land Commission then worked together to transform these research insights into guidance materials on land use planning for counties. Together they decided that they would develop an annex to the Commission’s guidelines on county spatial planning aimed specifically at issues relevant to pastoralists and rangelands, and a series of practical toolkits for county government staff and other interested stakeholders.

ILRI took the lead in laying out the structure for the annex and toolkits. Between 2017 and 2019, a series of ‘write shops’ with personnel from the National Land Commission, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Kenya, the NGO RECONCILE, and ILRI helped refine the documents. Representatives from these organizations also worked on parts of the annex and toolkits with the National Land Commission, before eventually taking on full leadership of the process.

The materials were finalized and officially launched at a ceremony attended by stakeholders from across Kenya in August 2019. That event publicized the materials to county governments and other stakeholders to ensure that they are put to use in the counties’ spatial planning processes. This annex and the toolkits, together with other interventions by ILRI and the Commission, have placed county governments in a strong position to undertake land use planning in a way that supports pastoralist communities in the management of their rangelands. These tools will enhance the governance and use of land and other resources, thus improving livelihoods and environmental management.