Review of international and transboundary agreements and policies on pastoralism
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Transcript of Review of international and transboundary agreements and policies on pastoralism
Review of international and transboundary agreements and policies on pastoralism
Prepared by Lydia Slobodian, Claire Ogali & Jonathan Davies, IUCN
A progressive movement: The need for pastoral mobility • Economic values: livestock and non-livestock benefits
• Environmental values: promotion and protection of biodiversity and ecosystem services
• Cultural values: global heritage and knowledge
History of transboundary mobility
• Pre-dates modern nation states
• Evidence of transboundary pastoral infrastructure (e.g. Cameroon/Chad)
• International boundaries often drawn in pastoral areas
• Historical arrangements may have been formalised over time (e.g. facerias across France-Spain border)
Reasons for TB pastoralism
• Trade
• Resource access – daily, seasonal, occasional (inc. drought)
• Managing uncertainty and variability
• Expanding the genetic pool of livestock
• Family and cultural exchange
• Maintaining alliances
• Ecosystem management (more of a benefit than a need)
Concerns raised over TB pastoralism
• Benefits of sedenterisation: access to health, education, government
• Security
• National identity
• Lost livestock revenue
Barriers and boundaries
• Closure of frontiers (e.g. ebola)
• International conflict
• Local conflict
• Non-recognition of pastoralist’s resource rights
• Livestock disease
• Regulation of trade
• Transformation of pastoral systems and overall declining mobility
• Loss of TB resources (e.g. Cheffa)
Support for transboundary pastoralism
• Trade initiatives (e.g. Ethiopia Kenya)
• Transboundary protected areas (e.g. Italy Switzerland)
• Cross border disease control
• Cross-border humanitarian interventions
Legal Principles and Approaches for Transboundary Pastoralism
• Legal concepts relevant to transboundary pastoralism (e.g. bundle of rights, collective rights etc.)
• Legal approaches to governing transboundary pastoralism
• International legal principles and frameworks (e.g. UNESCO, CBD etc.)
Types of Legal Arrangements • Bilateral Treaties (e.g. Saudi Arabia-Iraq Frontier Treaty,
1991)
• Regional Mechanisms (e.g. ECOWAS, 1998 )
• National Legislation (e.g. Pastoral Charter of Mali;
Kyrgyz Pasture Law; South African Animal Improvement
Act 62, 1998 )
• Local Arrangements (e.g. facerias, France-Spain)
Content of Legal Arrangements • Substantive provisions
• Processes for permits and border crossings
• Institutional structure
Substantive provisions 1/2 • Authorization of cross-border transhumance (e.g. China-
Nepal Border Grazing Agreement, 2012, Italy-Switzerland Convention concerning frontier traffic and grazing
• Grazing season timing and duration (e.g. ECOWAS Decision 10/98; Saudi Arabia-Iraq Frontier Treaty)
• Grazing routes and pastures (e.g. ECOWAS Decision 10/98, China-Nepal Border Grazing Agreement)
• Rights of transboundary herders (e.g. Oman-Yemen Boundary Agreement provides that herdsmen can benefit from health services in the territory of the other country)
• Restrictions on firearms, vehicles and other equipment or substances (many examples)
Substantive provisions 2/2 • Restrictions on activities of transboundary herders and
obligation to follow law of the host country • Tax/duty and passport/residence exemptions (e.g. Italy-
Switzerland Convention, Oman-Yemen Agreement, Saudi Arabia-Iraq Frontier Treaty)
• Sanitary requirements (e.g. the Belgium-France Pastures Arrangement)
• Emergency disease-control measures (e.g. China-Nepal Border Grazing Agreement, Oman-Yemen Boundary Agreement, Belgium-France Pastures Agreement)
• Tribal/traditional law and formal recognition of legal pluralism (e.g. the Oman-Yemen Boundary Agreement)
Processes for permits and border crossings • Permit/certification process
• Content of applications and permits (e.g. composition of the herd, vaccination information, border crossing, origin, destination, routes etc.)
• Border control measures (including immigration and customs, veterinary checks, certificate of transhumance etc.)
Institutional structure
• Type of institution and modalities of operation • E.g. the Burkina Faso-Niger Protocol (2003) sets up a two-
organ institutional structure
• Competence and mandate (e.g. establishing quotas, dates and timing, crossing points etc.)
• Dispute resolution
Key Lessons Too detailed to present, but review copy and provide comments. A few examples:
• Overlapping, fuzzy rights create challenges to securing transboundary rights
• A plurality of laws and rules exist within as well as between countries
• Frontier closures may be founded on legitimate fears and may be intended to protect pastoralists
• Recognize that pastoralism and patterns of mobility has changed and continues to change
• Take advantage of established precedents, including the VGGT and ILO Convention 169
Absence of legal arrangements does not have to be a barrier to strengthening transboundary governance
Recommendations (preliminary for consultation) • Learn from past experiences
• Emphasize policy implementation
• Ensure adequate consultation with pastoralists
• Evaluate the benefits of transboundary pastoralism
• Analyse the barriers to transboundary management
• Training and awareness raising for pastoralists and public servants