Building inclusive knowledge-sharing hubs for resilient pastoral livelihoods and rangeland restoration in East African drylands (Include2Restore)

 

The East African drylands face unique climatic and social vulnerabilities, with a history of persistent, violent conflicts over resources as well as entrenched gender inequalities. The Include2Restore project aims to contribute social science perspectives to ongoing restoration efforts in the Karamoja border region of Kenya and Uganda. The project will engage four landscapes that are variable in terms of climate and land use: two are semi-arid and inhabited by agro-pastoralists, and two are arid and inhabited by pastoralists.

Rangeland restoration is conducted through knowledge-sharing hubs (“livestock cafés”) with experimental plots and demonstrations of innovative biophysical rangeland restoration and water management practices that sustainably ensure sufficient pasture and fodder. Prior research shows that ecological rangeland restoration is possible, but how such restoration can become socially and economically sustainable, especially in relation to gender equality and social inclusion, remains unknown. Include2Restore aims to fill this gap.

Through collaboration and co-creation with local communities, a gender-transformative approach will be employed combining critical social science perspectives and value chain technology studies. Using a mixed-methods approach, including interviews, group discussions, a gender equality and social inclusion survey, and different kinds of participant observations, the project will identify rangeland management and restoration practices and ways to realize new financial returns from these practices to ensure inclusion and long-term sustainability. Results will be integrated into the livestock cafés and shared with relevant stakeholders.

This project is part of the climate-resilient animal fund initiative (RECAF), co-funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and IDRC. RECAF is a six-year initiative aimed at developing new climate-smart livestock technologies and business models to improve animal productivity and lower emissions for smallholder livestock farmers in climatic hotspots in Africa.