52
because donors want quick fixes and visible gains in a short period of time. The
Global Environment Facility (GEF) was among the early efforts to focus on root
causes, and according to its most recent independent evaluation, it has been fairly
successful (IEO 2018). Most integrated efforts continue to have one dominant sector and several subsectors; they lack both designers and implementers who can
think integrally and laterally and transdisciplinary partnerships, which consider a
broad spectrum of knowledge systems and world-views, and co-generate useful
knowledge in participatory settings. The recent advances in “nexus” approaches
provide a way to encourage collaboration and integration among a few sectors on an
equal footing, such as combining the goals of Zero Hunger (SDG 1), Clean Water
and Sanitation (SDG 6), and Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7) (NRDP 2019).
Such efforts would benefit from new integrated tools. Multi-criteria and trade-off
analysis are receiving growing attention for their ability to reconcile differences and
contradictions between the aims and actions of different sectors. Integrated participatory assessments of projects (before during and after) can also make an impact at the
project level. The FAO Voluntary Guidelines on Governance of Tenure: Improving
Governance of Pastoral Lands (Davies et al. 2016) is an important policy document
providing a checklist of do’s and don’ts in relation to land use and security of tenure.
These tools should be very helpful in encouraging ministers and different sectors and
actors to work together and form continuing learning communities. Furthermore,
there is insufficient attention given to the underlying politics and power relations
among local stakeholders. Evidence shows that the introduction of “group ranches”
in Kenya resulted in greater inequality among pastoralists because the better off and
more powerful elements of the community were able to capture most of the benefits.
Power relations between governments and pastoralists are also often ignored. The
SDGs recognize the importance of the “systemic” issues at the national and global
levels in Goal 17, buried under diplomatic negotiated language, such as “respect each
country’s policy space” or encourage “policy coherence.” However, this guidance is
insufficient to tackle the prejudice against mobile pastoralists at the local levels.
Conclusion
The SDGs offer an innovative and transformational framework or toolkit through
which sustainable pastoralism and healthy natural rangelands can be attained.
However, their implementation will need innovative approaches, including:
(a) using recent integrated and participatory tools and approaches so as to develop
cross-cutting multi-sectoral projects, programs, and policies that target interculturality and reconcile contradictions and competition between sectors; and
(b) developing additional indicators (national and global) to complement the current SDG indicators that specifically measure the success of integrated
approaches and progress towards sustainable pastoralism and healthy natural
rangelands—one cannot manage what one does not measure.
M. Niamir-Fuller and E. Huber-Sannwald
because donors want quick fixes and visible gains in a short period of time. The
Global Environment Facility (GEF) was among the early efforts to focus on root
causes, and according to its most recent independent evaluation, it has been fairly
successful (IEO 2018). Most integrated efforts continue to have one dominant sector and several subsectors; they lack both designers and implementers who can
think integrally and laterally and transdisciplinary partnerships, which consider a
broad spectrum of knowledge systems and world-views, and co-generate useful
knowledge in participatory settings. The recent advances in “nexus” approaches
provide a way to encourage collaboration and integration among a few sectors on an
equal footing, such as combining the goals of Zero Hunger (SDG 1), Clean Water
and Sanitation (SDG 6), and Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7) (NRDP 2019).
Such efforts would benefit from new integrated tools. Multi-criteria and trade-off
analysis are receiving growing attention for their ability to reconcile differences and
contradictions between the aims and actions of different sectors. Integrated participatory assessments of projects (before during and after) can also make an impact at the
project level. The FAO Voluntary Guidelines on Governance of Tenure: Improving
Governance of Pastoral Lands (Davies et al. 2016) is an important policy document
providing a checklist of do’s and don’ts in relation to land use and security of tenure.
These tools should be very helpful in encouraging ministers and different sectors and
actors to work together and form continuing learning communities. Furthermore,
there is insufficient attention given to the underlying politics and power relations
among local stakeholders. Evidence shows that the introduction of “group ranches”
in Kenya resulted in greater inequality among pastoralists because the better off and
more powerful elements of the community were able to capture most of the benefits.
Power relations between governments and pastoralists are also often ignored. The
SDGs recognize the importance of the “systemic” issues at the national and global
levels in Goal 17, buried under diplomatic negotiated language, such as “respect each
country’s policy space” or encourage “policy coherence.” However, this guidance is
insufficient to tackle the prejudice against mobile pastoralists at the local levels.
Conclusion
The SDGs offer an innovative and transformational framework or toolkit through
which sustainable pastoralism and healthy natural rangelands can be attained.
However, their implementation will need innovative approaches, including:
(a) using recent integrated and participatory tools and approaches so as to develop
cross-cutting multi-sectoral projects, programs, and policies that target interculturality and reconcile contradictions and competition between sectors; and
(b) developing additional indicators (national and global) to complement the current SDG indicators that specifically measure the success of integrated
approaches and progress towards sustainable pastoralism and healthy natural
rangelands—one cannot manage what one does not measure.
M. Niamir-Fuller and E. Huber-Sannwald