Climate variation and extreme climate events can cause major problems for poor, vulnerable people. For example, changes in rainfall can limit agricultural activity, trigger disease epidemics and affect roads and water supplies. Improvements in climate science mean that climate information and products are becoming more useful, but they are rarely used in development planning and decision-making.In 2007, climate change was on the agenda of the African
Union (AU) Heads of State Summit for the first time. This resulted in the

Climate change will increase the gaps between developed and developing countries, in terms of wealth, health and food security. This will make achieving goals to reduce poverty more difficult.Poor people with few assets
cannot easily recover from climate disasters or change how they make their
living. They rely heavily on agriculture, fisheries, rivers and forests. These
resources could change drastically with climate change, making these groups
much more vulnerable than wealthier people. Additional factors, such as health problems

Pastoralism is a free-range livestock production system. It is practised in all of Africa’s dryland regions, and in some communities it is the main source of food security and income. But will pastoralism survive in the changing climate? This issue of Joto Afrika provides research findings, lessons learnt and success stories from across Africa.Statistics from African Union’s policy framework show that pastoralism contribute between 10 to 44 percent of the Gross Domestic Product in the countries that they live in.

This discussion paper seeks to explore alternative investment options with the aim of enhancing resilience in the Horn of Africa. Climate change, conflict, drought and increasing populations are leading many to pessimistic conclusions regarding the future viability of pastoral farming, arguing that these livelihoods should be sedentarised and diversified. Simultaneously, others argue for their wholesale protection.