Locating the adverse effects of rangeland enclosure among herders in eastern Ethiopia

This paper examines the effects of rangeland enclosure on herders’ livelihoods and property rights. The analysis is based on the household survey and focus group discussions among pastoral and agropastoral households (from three administrative districts in eastern Ethiopia) who have practiced enclosure and who have been affected by practices of others. Such an examination helps anticipate whether enclosure practice assists in attaining income security and ensuring household welfare by supporting livestock development. Results have shown that expansion of enclosure leads to the emergence of incompatible demands (conflict of interest) over the resource and unstable property rights to the grazing commons. Though private benefits from enclosure produce an incentive for households to practice it, its expansion does not generally increase the welfare of (agro-) pastoral community in the longer-term. Hence, land use policies that favor private use of the rangeland, using land enclosure as an entry point, can potentially harm pastoral livelihoods rather than supporting sustainable pastoral development.