Horn pastoralists begin week-long meeting

INFORMATION BULLETIN:
Regional Pastoralist Gathering, July 11th 18th, Ethiopia

The UN OCHA Pastoralist Communication Initiative (UN OCHA-PCI) and the Gada Council of the Borana people, in conjunction with the Gada Councils of the Gabra and Guji peoples, are pleased to announce a unique event for the Horn of Africa - The Regional Pastoralist Gathering 2006.

This event will bring together over 300 members of the pastoralist economy and policy makers from across the Greater Horn of Africa and beyond, with many meeting for the first time. Countries represented will include Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Somaliland, Puntland, Djibouti, Sudan, Mali, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, India and Argentina, among others.

The focus will be innovation in the economic, social and political spheres of the pastoralist system, and the gathering will be attended by pastoralist producers, traders and product processing entrepreneurs as well as customary leaders, high level policy makers and opinion leaders.

The agenda will consider methods of stimulating trade, production and processing; new approaches to conflict management; and the development of improved connections between traditional and modern legal and administrative systems.

The gathering will be in the beautiful, and uniquely pastoralist, Borana rangelands; meetings will take place under the shade of acacia trees and delegates will be accommodated in a temporary purpose-built camp. And activities will not end once the days work is done.

There will be opportunities to listen to musicians and poets from pastoral regions across Africa; as well as to see films from around the world in a pastoralist film festival; and there will be a range of simple, but tasty foods to cater for a variety of tastes. Nightly barbecues held across the camp will give delegates the chance to chew over the days events and get to know each other better.

The first six days of the event (11th-16th) will be devoted to discussions among pastoralists, entrepreneurs and customary leaders, while the last two days (17th-18th) will afford high level policy makers and members of civil society from Ethiopia, Horn of Africa and beyond an opportunity to join the debate.

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Pastoralists and members of the pastoral economy in the Greater Horn number as many as 20-30 million people. They produce milk, meat, livestock, crops and numerous other products from the natural environment. They also provide considerable economic services in the form of commodity trade, financial and communication services. Their social organisation is adapted to an economy based on an unpredictable natural and economic climate. Intricate forms of inter and intra-community relations help to evade conflict, ensure social welfare and provide credit and insurance for business in all pastoral societies.

But populations are increasing, urban areas are growing and societies are changing. People are becoming increasingly vulnerable to interruptions in their trade, to drought, to conflict and poor governance, poor services and absent infrastructure. It is in the light of this paradox of strength and vulnerability that leaders and entrepreneurs from the pastoral economy need to come together, with one another, and with governments and others who have resources that affect them, to debate new ways of creating stronger economies, united societies, reasonable politics and a protected environment.

The Regional Pastoralist Gathering gives them the opportunity to do this.
This event marks the continuation of a process started at the Global Pastoralist Gathering held in January 2005 in South Omo Special Zone, SNNPR. Attendance will include representatives from the United Nations in Ethiopia and internationally, as well as representation from the African Union and national governments. It is funded by the UK Department for International Development through UN OCHA-PCI.