Institutional development has been strongly promoted by IFAD since the late 1970s. It is viewed as a cumulative process requiring continuous, long-term participatory dialogue, and it covers a broad spectrum of range activities.
However, IFAD’s experience has demonstrated that institution-building is likely to advance project goals only if the objectives of the project are fully shared by the institutions themselves.
Activities of herder institutions
Herder institutions can be designed to perform different functions:
In the Qinghai/Hainan Prefecture Agricultural Development Project in China, community-based grassland management units (GMUs) were created. Their overall mandate was to implement de-stocking policies and advise on the fencing of winter pastures. The GMUs are based on traditional ‘tent groups’ of 8-10 households utilizing a particular area of grassland.
During
the five-year project cycle of the Livestock
and Pasture Development Project in Morocco, 34 cooperatives were initiated,
with a membership totalling approximately 8250 herders. The objective
of the cooperatives was to coordinate grazing in the 3 million ha of the
project area. Participatory dialogue focused on consensus-building and
conflict resolution.
The National Livestock Project in the Central African Republic involved the creation of a national herders’ association, which provided an effective drug distribution system, thereby filling the gap left by the collapse of the public sector in 1970. It also organized training programmes for individual herders on how to use veterinary drugs properly. This experience showed that herders’ groups could act not only as lobby groups for herders’ interests but also as efficient conduits for veterinary inputs.
There are many different types of herder organizations, carrying out various functions. Their natural resource management functions may include defining territory, negotiating and resolving conflicts over access to resources, and managing grazing and water. The type of organization chosen by project planners depends upon the objectives of the organization, and the legal framework in which it is expected to operate.
Committees: groups of people self-selected or appointed by a larger body to review or oversee a matter of common interest. These have no status under existing laws and therefore cannot own property.
Associations: traditional or modern common interest groupings that provide a framework for concerted action by a substantial body of people. These have no statutory responsibility for land or property. Nevertheless, if registered with a government department or local authority providing a written constitution, they may enjoy quasi-legal status sufficient to allow them to acquire credit.
Federations: alliances of associations formed to facilitate joint ventures. Most IFAD projects that have encouraged the formation of associations have also intended that the associations should eventually be united in a federal structure. The advantages are the possibility of representation for herders at national level and the increased efficiency of schemes such as rotational grazing plans.
Key issues in association development
Competence
The association’s functions should be:
Specific
For example, successes have been noted where group responsibilities are
limited to specific areas such as grazing resources, water supply, other
services or marketing (e.g. the Qinghai/Hainan
Prefecture Agricultural Development Project in China).
Realistic
Inputs that are thought to be desirable but do not have an existing mechanism
for their management or control should not be considered at all. The useful
life of the association should not be expected to extend longer than the
need for delivery of the chosen inputs.
Demand-driven
When introducing new associations to build management responsibility and
capability in unaccustomed fields, it is best to focus initially on the
inputs and activities in greatest demand, such as new water supplies or
animal health services (e.g. the Kidal
Food and Income Security Programme in Mali and the National
Livestock Project in the Central African Republic).
In addition, the project should strengthen capacity by providing:
Organizational Support
Support needs to be provided at more than one level: to specific functions
such as animal health or water management, as well as to the leadership
structure (not necessarily in terms of any physical input, but in order
to ensure official recognition so that lower-level organizations can receive
needed support in conflict resolution).
Training
There is a need to strengthen the capacity of pastoral institutions to
plan and evaluate. Thus, the provision of appropriate training and education
is required, which among other things should include a legal component
(covering rights, obligations, legislation and legal texts).
Participation
Projects designing pastoralist organizations should attempt to ensure:
Membership with relatively homogenous purposes
A typical association might include as few as 20 or as many as 200 families
(e.g. the Badia Rangelands Development
Project in Syria), depending on the size and nature of the communities
or, in other words, on the concentration of the herder population.
Agreed and transparent decision-making procedures
Decision-making needs to be thoroughly understood. There is a tendency
to identify the principal organizational unit and then load that one structure
with all responsibilities envisioned under the project. Instead, it is
necessary to establish how individual functions in natural resources management
are exercised, and then to apportion responsibilities and strengthen local
management accordingly.
Full pastoralist involvement
To achieve this aim, a variety of new methodologies in institution-building
are needed, such as action-planning techniques and participatory conflict
management and resolution processes. In addition, secondary users often
need to be accommodated to ensure that seasonal rights of access are honoured
by primary project beneficiaries or are met in other ways.
Boundaries
In order to avoid conflicts, pastoral associations should have a distinct membership and territory. They should be clearly separated from and have a formalized relationship with state institutions, which, without interfering in day-to-day management, should be prepared to ensure minimum services and funds; define an overall democratic political, legal and judicial framework; supervise security and issues; provide support and advice; negotiate agreements and modalities concerning international livestock movement with other states; and be the party of last resort in conflict resolution and the implementation of regulations. In addition, herder associations must cultivate a satisfactory relationship with customary pastoral leaders. In many cases (following the example of the ethnolineal cooperatives in IFAD’s project in Morocco), it may be appropriate to build associations on customary pastoral institutions.
Equity
Association development has sometimes benefited richer herders more than poorer ones, particularly when IFAD has supported herders’ associations based on traditional customary tenure regimes, as in Morocco. It is necessary to ensure that traditional authority systems promote equality of access to resources for the most vulnerable households.
Financial Sustainability
Many associations have difficulty in securing stable sources of income. Some projects have successfully charged for services provided. For example, one of IFAD’s most positive experiences of aiding the creation of herder associations, in the Central African Republic, involved the operation of revolving funds for access to and distribution of veterinary drugs. Other associations have charged grazing fees. However, without strong managerial skills, such innovations may run into difficulties.
Managerial Sustainability
Many IFAD projects (in Syria, for example) have sought to use training to overcome weaknesses related to lack of management skills. Low literacy levels limit management training possibilities, but confining leadership to educated young people without support from the elders has proven unsuccessful. Necessary management skills such as bookkeeping require basic numeracy and literacy. However, the example of Sudan shows that cultural considerations play a major role in determining the success or failure of the institution; and customary support is even more crucial to successful leadership. Therefore, there is a need for more widespread training in basic literacy and numeracy.
Conclusions from IFAD’s experience
Herder institutions can assist equitable natural resource management, and empower and protect rangeland users. However, they must be carefully designed in order to fulfil these functions successfully. In particular, they should have specific, realistic, demand-driven functions and a clear legal status. Projects should provide them with support and training to improve financial and managerial sustainability. Finally, pastoralist organizations should be participatory and inclusive in nature, using fair and transparent decision-making procedures.
