Uncertainties of all sorts – environmental, market-based and political – are on the rise, as the world faces climate and environmental change, as well as market volatility and political turmoil. Learning lessons from pastoralists is therefore important for all of us, as well as ensuring that development efforts are more effective across the world’s rangelands, where millions of pastoralists live.
In this episode of the IDS Between the Lines podcast, Rashmi Singh, interviews Professor Ian Scoones whose book: Pastoralism, Uncertainty and Development – makes the case that recognising how pastoralists make productive use of variability and embrace uncertainty is central to understanding how pastoral systems in marginal dryland and montane systems work.
Listen to the podcast
The book emerges from the work of the PASTRES programme, which is supported by a European Research Council Advanced Grant and is co-hosted by IDS and the European University Institute. Drawing on cases studies from Gujarat in India, Amdo Tibet in China, Sardinia in Italy, Isiolo in Kenya, Borana in Ethiopia and Tataouine in Tunisia each of the chapters show how, despite being marginalised in policy debates and development efforts, pastoralists are important guardians of vast rangeland territories, making up over half the world’s land surface. Pastoralism generates livelihoods for many, as well as providing animal-based products that enhance people’s diets in some of the poorest parts of the world.
In the podcast, Ian argues that learning lessons from pastoralists is therefore important for all of us, as well as ensuring that development efforts are more effective across the world’s rangelands, where millions of pastoralists live. This podcast offers wider lessons for rethinking development policy and practice for today’s uncertain, turbulent world.
About the author
Ian Scoones is co-director of the ESRC STEPS Centre at Sussex and principal investigator of the ERC Advanced Grant project, PASTRES (Pastoralism, Uncertainty and Resilience: Lessons From the Margins).
He works on agrarian and environmental change, particularly in Africa. He has a particular interest in the connections between science, policy and the politics of sustainability. His long-term research on land, agricultural and livelihoods in Zimbabwe is covered in his regular blog, Zimbabweland. He is a member of the editorial collective of the Journal of Peasant Studies and on the editorial board of Ecology and Society.
About the interviewer
Rashmi Singh is an Affiliate Researcher and member of the Communications team at PASTRES, IDS. She has a PhD in Human Ecology from the School of Human Ecology, Ambedkar University Delhi and has conducted research on pastoral communities of Indian Himalaya for a decade now.
About the Between the Lines podcast
This podcast series explores ground-breaking ideas in development for positive social and environmental change. Each month we feature an interview with an expert in international development who will talk about their latest research and ideas.
Episodes content could feature authors of new books, IDS research or interviews with special guest stars.
The discussions give an insight on the themes covered, exploring the challenges and discoveries, and why the issues matter for progressive and sustainable development globally.
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