ADAPTATION TO THE HARSH CONDITIONS OF THE ARID AND SEMI-ARID AREAS OF KENYA: IS PASTORALISM THE BEST LIVELIHOOD OPTION?

Pastoralism is a subsistence pattern in which people make a living through dependence on livestock. With the right social and political support the pastoral economy can thrive and contribute to the national economy. Droughts trigger livelihood crises, but the underlying causes of vulnerability in the pastoral areas are social and political not natural. Pastoralists have developed systems to mitigate the impacts of drought and other arid and semi-arid hardships and they range from; migration, livestock splits, reciprocal grazing, livestock loaning and cattle rustling. This article is grounded on two theories; the theory of survival strategies where people are not seen as victims waiting for aid but as actors whose survival depends foremost on their own activities and the theory of the characteristics of the natural environment determining the habitability of a region by humans and that the characteristics of people are shaped by the natural environment in the place in which they live.