Fencing in (semi-) arid regions may disrupt livelihoods

Many arid and semi-arid areas around the world, particularly in Asia and Africa, are severely threatened by desertification caused by a combination of anthropogenic and climatic factors. As a countermeasure, many governments have installed fences to allow degraded areas to recover and to protect them from grazing. While these techniques have proven to be effective in restoring degraded land, they do not take into account the social vulnerability and livelihoods of people living in drought-prone areas, which is necessary to combat desertification in the long term.

Nº 118

Greater Mara ecossystem

some attempts made
past case
Region-1
Region-2
Region-3
Region-4
ongoing case
no attempts made

None

Fencing in (semi-) arid regions may disrupt livelihoods

Many arid and semi-arid areas around the world, particularly in Asia and Africa, are severely threatened by desertification caused by a combination of anthropogenic and climatic factors. As a countermeasure, many governments have installed fences to allow degraded areas to recover and to protect them from grazing. While these techniques have proven to be effective in restoring degraded land, they do not take into account the social vulnerability and livelihoods of people living in drought-prone areas, which is necessary to combat desertification in the long term.

Increased fencing from 2014 onwards poses a threat to the Greater Mara Ecosystem in Kenya and could lead to the degradation and collapse of this unique ecosystem. These fences are built with the intention of preventing poaching and other illegal resource extraction, preventing or minimising human-wildlife conflict, and limiting wildlife-livestock contact that can lead to disease transmission. However, these interventions have been observed to have some negative consequences. Ecologically, a decline in wildlife numbers has already been observed, while increased fencing is also proving to be an obstacle to the migration routes of megafauna. Culturally, the disappearance of this ecosystem may make pastoralism and semi-nomadic lifestyles unattainable.

Løvschal, M., Bøcher, P. K., Pilgaard, J., Amoke, I., Odingo, A., Thuo, A., & Svenning, J. C. (2017). Fencing bodes a rapid collapse of the unique Greater Mara ecosystem. Scientific Reports, 7. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep41450

Li, G., Jiang, G., Li, Y., Liu, M., Peng, Y. U., Li, L., & Han, X. (2007). A new approach to the fight against desertification in Inner Mongolia. Environmental Conservation, 34(2), 95-97. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0376892907003864

Weber, K. T., & Horst, S. (2011). Desertification and livestock grazing: The roles of sedentarization, mobility and rest. Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice, 1(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1186/2041-7136-1-19

Hu, Y. F., Peng, J. J., Yuan, S., Shu, X. Y., Jiang, S. L., Pu, Q., … & Xiao, H. H. (2016). Influence of ecological restoration on vegetation and soil microbiological properties in Alpine-cold semi-humid desertified land. Ecological Engineering, 94, 88-94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2016.05.061

Verdoodt, A., Mureithi, S. M., & Van Ranst, E. (2010). Impacts of management and enclosure age on recovery of the herbaceous rangeland vegetation in semi-arid Kenya. Journal of Arid Environments, 74(9), 1066-1073. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2010.03.007