www.pastoralists.org

Ecologists recognize that pastoralism represents a sustainable method of utilizing ecosystems such as deserts, steppes and mountains. Continued utilization of the world’s arid lands depends on viable pastoral systems. But pastoralists are under pressure due to a variety of circumstances that include population growth, environmental degradation, unsound development and trade policies.

Especially encroachment of agriculture on their grazing territories and the privatization of former communally owned land is undermining their existence. This site details the pressures pastoralism has come under. It showcases successful examples of dealing with such pressure, including ones in drought-ravaged Ethiopia. There are links to films that show the vicissitudes of a pastoralist’s life.