As part of my ongoing project about nomadic cultures, where my main aim is to capture their life, their character and personality, and to help to promote awareness and recognition of the role of these cultures in the sustainable development of the world, I introduce you today: The Turkana.
Turkana people are living in an area within the framework of a non-equilibrium ecosystem where the average annual temperature is one of the highest found in the world with nearly 29º and the average annual rainfall is only about 186mm. The Turkana population has grown dramatically in the last two decades, increasing the past few years from an estimated 855.393 people in 2019 to 1.256.152 people in 2015.
The Turkana are one of the world’s most mobile peoples, not in the distances moved each year, but in the frequency of their movements. And, despite that some governmental and non governmental agencies felt that the pastoral livelihood was remnant of a bygone era and that pastoralism was doomed to failure in today’s world, they still exist.
The herd owner is the centre of a network of personal relationship based on the exchange of livestock. It is to individuals in this network, wives, children’s, brothers, relatives and friends that a herd owner turns in times of need. They often keep some of their livestock holdings in the herds of their stock associates, thus reducing the risk in the event of a localized disaster. The long term survival of a herd owner and his family may depend on these relationships, which are established over a lifetime.
They are viewed by many as keen decision makers, trying to cope with a difficult environment and a shrinking resource base. Fear of enemy raids, pressure from Kgoroko, the ever-present possibility that a dry season may lead to prolonged droughts, livestock deseases, the cooperation of friends and relatives, the patchiness of the forage resources are well weighted and evaluated in each decision.
His influence area has sometimes referred to as “the tribal zone” because it lies at the margin of state influence and riding and warfare have been characteristics of these people for much of the twenty century.
In a 1994 article published in The Economist it was estimated than over 10.000 Turkana had been killed in riding in the 1991 - 1994 period alone.
By disrupting seasonal migration routes, by constraining subsistence activity, by forcing the closure of trading routes in and out the district, by altering the structure of marriage and the stability of social networks, and interfering with health care delivery, armed cattle raiding emerges as the critical factor in recurring crop failures, herd losses, food storages, disease outbreaks, and sustained high mortality since 1970s.
Due to global warming in Turkana County minimum and maximum air temperatures have increased by between 2 and 3º between 1967 and 2012. Rainfall patterns have also changed: the long rainy seasons has become shorter and dryer and the short rainy season has become longer and wetter, while overall annual rainfall remains at low levels.
This has placed increased pressure on water resources, resulting in less dry season grazing land, diminished livestock herds and increased competition over grazing lands. Pastoralist told Human Rights Watch that prolonged and more frequently droughts have exacerbated already difficult access to potable water, making everyday a struggle for survival. While food insecurity has plagued Turkana for generations the changing climate is exacerbating this already tenuous situation. Inevitably this has heightened the likelihood of conflict and insecurity in the recent years.
Extensive mobility is now seen as a critical component in successful adaptation to the non-equilibrium conditions of Turkana County and to global warming consequences . The development projects must be designed to accommodate frequent shifts of people and livestock and allow for occasional migration outside the local area in times of stress. “reduction in scale or confining pastoralist to ranches is an invitation to disaster”
Also, should take into account that a times movement may lead to conflict and that methods of conflict resolution must be addressed. The security of the pastoral people and their herds must be assured and is well known that this insecurity stems more from political and economic conditions than from the disequilibria dynamic of the ecosystem.
