At the 2021 UN climate change conference in Glasgow, moving between the corporate slickness of the official “Blue Zone” (a UN-managed space which hosts the negotiations) and the wider fringe…
COP26: Two worlds talked past each other – or never even met
How do we put pastoralists at the centre of food and climate debates?
Last month’s UN Food Systems Summit was highly controversial. Back in July, around the pre-summit process, small-scale farmers and their allies raised concerns that the agenda was being set by…
Online course: Pastoralism and Uncertainty
A new online course introduces key debates and concepts about pastoralism, and explores the varying ways that pastoralists respond to uncertainty around the world. Based on the work of PASTRES,…
Pastoralist milk is a viable commodity. What enables it to flourish?
Pastoralists’ integration into market dynamics is mostly addressed through the lens of trade in meat products, involving male traders. Pastoral milk, mostly traded by women, is often ignored. But good…
How do pastoralists handle uncertainty? Insights from Asia, Europe and Africa
Pastoralists are experts in uncertainty. In a series of 3 blog posts, STEPS director Ian Scoones reports back from visits to the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, Isiolo (Northern Kenya) and…
Who benefits and loses from large developments in Eastern Africa’s rangelands?
The past ten years have seen the spread of large-scale investments in infrastructure, resources and land across pastoral areas of eastern Africa. In the past, these areas were insignificant to…
Wilderness for whom? Negotiating the role of livestock in landscapes
Livestock keeping is seen by some as a scourge on ‘natural’ landscapes, creating devastation through grazing and browsing. Reversion to some form of idealised ‘wilderness’ is seen as the solution,…
The vegan craze: what does it mean for pastoralists?
by Ian Scoones There’s a vegan craze in full swing in Brighton in the UK – and it seems more broadly. There was a vegan festival near my house the…
Three PhD scholarships on pastoralism in Kenya, China and Italy
As part of an Advanced Grant European Research Council award, led by Professor Ian Scoones, we are recruiting three PhD students to start in February 2019 for three years full-time….
Why killing reindeer is poor science
The Norwegian state has ordered Sami reindeer owners to reduce the size of their herds to the ‘carrying capacity’ deemed acceptable by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, arguing that high stocking…