Environmental Change and the Vulnerability of Pastoralists to Drought: A Case Study of the Maasai in Amboseli, Kenya

Abstract

Chapter Three of the Africa Environment Outlook Report is concerned with the impact of environmental change on human vulnerability. The Report considers vulnerability in the context of exposure to environmental hazards (contingencies, shocks and stresses) and the coping capabilities of people. In this case study, we will show that the Maasai of Kajiado district in Kenya (as well as other pastoralists) face two distinct types of environmental hazards. The first includes climatic uncertainty and drought. The second hazard consists of the environmental changes driven by shifts in land use patterns. Whereas the Maasai have well developed and intricate strategies for coping with the first type of environmental hazard, the impact of the second set of hazards has seriously diminished their ability to cope using traditional strategies. As a result, they have become increasingly vulnerable to droughts. They have responded with a set of alternative strategies, which have cushioned a portion of the community from environmental shocks, while leaving the rest more vulnerable than ever.