Enclosures as a land management tool for food security in African drylands

Abstract

Increasing sedentary agro-pastoralist livelihoods may be explained by land degradation, population pressure, agricultural commodification, and economic development. We reviewed scientific and 'grey' literature for the effects of enclosures on food security. Only 8% of the 114 reviewed scientific articles addressed food production, while 69% approached environmental parameters that indirectly affect food security, most of which had positive results. Thirty-one percent focused on social and economic impacts, land tenure conflicts and elite capture with negative connotations. The 'grey' literature showed an opposite balance between positive environmental views and negative socio-economic impacts.Enclosures are not a panacea for dryland development, but their use need to be recognized and understood. Multidisciplinary research and cooperation on the applied management of enclosures in the context of food security is highly needed. Furthermore, agro-pastoralist land-use practices need more policy space and practical management support, such as clear tenure legislation, agroforestry methodologies, and support in fodder production systems.

Keywords

African drylands; enclosures; land tenure; pastoralism; agro-pastoralism

Published in

Journal of Land Use Science
2019, volume: 14, number: 1, pages: 110-121
Publisher: TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD

SLU Authors

• Nyberg, Gert

  • Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Global goals (SDG)

SDG2 Zero hunger
SDG12 Responsible consumption and production
SDG15 Life on land

UKÄ Subject classification

Ecology

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1747423X.2019.1636147

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/101036