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This research interrogates disaster risk management perspectives and implications associated with sedentarization of pastoralists in Gode Zone (province) of the Somali Regional State of Ethiopia (Somali Region). The research finds out that sedentarization could be worth pursuing as a mitigation measure but not necessarily as a replacement for pastoralism. Pastoralism goes down in history as a strategy to mitigate climate variability and arid environments. Gode Zone hosts a significant population of pastoralists. Today, the pastoralists in Gode Zone, like elsewhere in the Horn of Africa region suffer restrictions on their mobility and markets largely because of the geopolitical dynamics of the world. Governments do not seem to see the impact of their restrictions on pastoralists. Instead, they somehow see pastoralism as a development problem that needs to be addressed. The most tempting solution to that 'development problem' among most governments is to settle the pastoralists and turn them into crop farmers or agro-pastoralists - otherwise known as sedentarization of pastoralists. The Government of Ethiopia has pursued this policy for years.
About the author
The author has worked in disaster risk management, humanitarian action and communication for development within Africa since 2002. He holds masters degrees in disaster risk management and communication for development and is pursuing a research career.
