This is the last segment on pastoralism for the outline. Settlement comes next. And then we move into a more thorough investigation of the content for the PDC. Bear with me.
II. RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
A. Pastoralism is well adapted to the environments where it exists. It is a successful strategy to support a population with the limited resources of the land.
B. Important components of the pastoralist adaptation include low population density, mobility, and dynamism, and complex information systems.
III. MOBILITY
A. Mobility allows pastoralists to simultaneously exploit more than one environment, thus creating the possibility for arid regions to support human life.
B. Rather than adapting the environment to suit the “food production system” the system is moved to fit the environment.
C. Pastoralists often have an area with a radius of 100-500km.
D. Lands long used for pastoralism have evolved under the pressures of regular grazing on one hand and, on the other, anthropogenic fire. Fire was a method of rejuvenating pasture land and preventing forest re-growth. Over time, the combined environmental pressures of routine fire and livestock browsing have transformed landscapes in many parts of the world. With fire as the main tool, pastoralists have deliberately tended the land, keeping it in forms of pasture suited for their herds.
E. Different mobility patterns can be observed:
F. Nomadic Pastoralists
1. A generalized food-producing strategy with its main base relying on the intensive management of herd animals for their primary products of meat and skin, and for their secondary products such as wool or hair, milk, blood, dung, traction, and transport.
2. Because of the different climates and environments of the areas where nomadic pastoralism is practiced and because of the ecology of their herd animals, this management includes daily movement and seasonal migration of herds.
3. Because a majority of the members of the group are in some way directly involved with herd management, the household moves with these seasonal migrations.
4. While the products of the herd animals are the most important resources, use of other resources, such as domesticated and wild plants, hunted animals, goods available in a market economy, is not excluded.
IV. TRANSHUMANCE
A. Members of the group move the herd seasonally from one area to another, often between higher and lower pastures. The rest of the group is able to stay in the same location, resulting in longer-standing housing.
B. Mobility throughout altitudes and the resulting precipitation differences is important. In East Africa, different animals are taken to different regions throughout the year, to match the seasonal patterns of precipitation.
C. The actions of herders are carefully planned, but also constantly adjusted, to match changing conditions. The system is dynamic, to suit the unpredictable landscape. All pastoralist strategies exemplify effective adaptation to the environment (salient point)
V. INFORMATION
A. Intrinsically linked with mobility is the complex “maps” that pastoralists keep in their minds, marking out the usefulness of certain areas at different times of year. Observation is a significant key to their survival. Pastoralists have a detailed understanding of ecological processes and environmental inputs. Information sharing is essential for creating such deep knowledge. This is made possible by formal visiting rules and networks, keeping dispersed societies linked. (Role-play the pastoralist. Learn your environment thoroughly, no holds barred.)
B. Elders discuss and cautiously plan in advance, using the knowledge they acquire, in order to act in the most appropriate way.
VI. DISRUPTION OF MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
A. This ability for careful control and planning was wiped away with colonialization. Why?
B. In the Sahel region of Africa, mobility was restricted, settlement was encouraged and the population tripled with improved sanitation and medical care. The previous balance of the pastoralist system was disturbed. (Mobile societies transformed into settled peoples. What has changed and what is the significance of this?)
VII. TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS
A. There is a theory that common property resources, such as the land shared by pastoralists, ultimately become overused and ruined. The pastoralist land use strategy suffered criticisms of being unstable and a cause of environmental degradation A particularly strong example of this is based in the Sahel zone in Africa, where human mismanagement by pastoralists was blamed for desertification and depletion of resources. The problems were actually due to previous interference and particularly severe climate conditions. One of the solutions to the problems was to offer a rational basis for further privatization of land. This encouraged more intrusion and the transfer of land from tribal peoples to the state or to individuals. However, modernization and privatization programs negatively affected the livelihood of the pastoralist societies and actually worsened the ecological impact.
B. Examples of this throughout the world are believed to provide further evidence that the pastoralist way of life is an efficient system; one of the few ways of supporting a population in a difficult environment and representing a sustainable approach to land use. With traditional pastoralist strategies, the “tragedy” is avoided through the management practices described above.
VIII. SOCIAL ORGANIZATION (IS THIS A GOOD MODEL?)
A. Each pastoralist adaptation occurred in different contexts; there is therefore no specific form of social organization associated with pastoralism. However, pastoralist societies are often organized in tribes, with the ‘household’ (often including extended family) as a basic unit for organization of labor and expenses. Lineages can be the basis for property rights.
B. Mobility allows groups of pastoralists to split and regroup as resources permit, or as desired with changes in social relations.
IX. How can we, as moderns, integrate functional animals in our lifestyle as the pastoralists do?
A. Rotational Grazing
B. Processing of meat, taking meat to market
C. Selecting breeds for climate, food resources, etc
RESOURCES:
-Savory, Alan, Holistic Resource Management, Island Press, Washington DC, 1988.
-Salatin, Joel, You Can Farm, Polyface Inc., Swoope, Va., 1998.
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