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Socio-ecological resilience to soil erosion in East African pastoralist landscapes
Will Blake, Anna Rabinovich, Maarten Wynants, Claire Kelly,
Aloyce Patrick, Mona Nasseri, Kelvin Mtei, Linus Munishi, David
Gilvear, Neil Roberts, Geoff Wilson, Patrick Ndakidemi
email: [email protected]
Image: Carey Marks
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Funded by the Global Challenges Research Fundthrough NERC
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Maasai pastoralist communities – northern Tanzania
Image: Carey Marks
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Across the landscape pastoralist communities are in transition
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Extensive grazing land across the region … eroding at alarming rate
… socio-ecological system at a tipping point?
Image: Carey Marks
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…soil resource is being washed away also threatening downstream ecosystems and livelihoods
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The interdisciplinary Jali Ardhi project
concept: supporting community adaption
to soil erosion challenges
‘Socio-ecological resilience to soil erosion
driven by extreme events: past, present and
future challenges in East Africa’
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Community resilience and soil erosion
soil erosion
Humanfactors
Natural factors
Wilson, 2013
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Community response to ‘shocks’ is complex
Wilson, 2013
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Assessing soil vulnerability
to erosion past and present
Sedimentary evidence of
baselines and rates of change
Exploring socio-
cultural drivers and
challenges
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Soil erodibility factors and processes
drought -> grazing/clearance -> exposure -> low OM/RSSI -> crusting -> OLF -> incision…
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OLF -> convergence -> incision -> connectivity
‘Soil erosion in Tanzania: In Pictures’ (Guardian online)
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Applied environmental diagnostics tools: sedimentary evidence of landscape change
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Comparing Local Environmental Knowledge, GE imagery and environmental diagnostics
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Soil erosion causes, threats and impacts are
becoming clear but adaption strategies are
harder to develop and implement…
Image: Carey Marks
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Human-environment interactions amplified by climate change andsocio-cultural feedbacks
Image: Carey Marks
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But there are barriers to change…
Cultural importance of cattle & cattle as
‘savings account’
Perception of high risk in growing crops
Lack of skills and knowledge to switch to alternative livelihood
Lack of labour/tools for growing
Who takes responsibility for
protecting common land?
Harmony in community is more important than
environmental protection
Image: Blake
People are highly aware of the problem, and are concerned about impacts it has on them and future generations
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Openness to change… but need a catalyst
Education is valued
Learning from others in community
Learning from children
Learning from negative experiences
(2016 drought)
Government and NGO schemes
Recognition that environment may
force change
Cohesive communities
Image: Blake
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Stakeholder engagement
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Exchanging knowledge & co-designing pathways to change through a shared community vision for the future
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Next steps…
“I’m glad that you have come to ask important things that are concerned about environmental degradation in this community. I’m very happy about your coming in this village because other researchers do come and after getting done with their activities they go and forget us without coming back.So are you also same as them or there is a way that you are going to help us in saving our environment from soil erosion problems?”Farmer, Emaerete
Current NERC Follow-On research programme:“Realising land management change in degraded Maasai grazing lands”