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Pathways of continuity and change: diversification, intensification and mobility in Maasailand, Kenya

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dc.contributor.authorBurnSilver, Shauna B., author
dc.contributor.authorGalvin, Kathleen A., advisor
dc.date.accessioned2024-03-13T18:50:54Z
dc.date.available2024-03-13T18:50:54Z
dc.date.issued2007
dc.description.abstractIn recent decades multiple drivers have been acting on Maasai pastoralists in the Greater Amboseli Ecosystem (GAE). The Kenyan government and international policymakers have made a systematic effort to modernize the Kenyan pastoral sector based on prescriptions of livestock intensification and a process of land tenure change that moves herders from communal land use to privatized land ownership. Additional drivers including population growth, competition for territory, greater engagement in the Kenyan economy, and frequent drought, are also pushing and pulling pastoralists to adjust their livelihood strategies. These drivers have created an atmosphere of unprecedented change in Maasailand, Kenya -- a situation with negative implications for pastoral well-being and resilience. How pastoral households cope with these challenges is the central question of this PhD study. Three key responses are identified and analyzed: economic diversification, livestock intensification and livestock mobility.
dc.description.abstractI demonstrate that economic diversification and intensification of livestock production strategies are occurring in Maasailand, and address some of the underlying complexities that accompany both processes. Results show that in spite of economic diversification, livestock in Amboseli remain a critical component of pastoral livelihoods.
dc.description.abstractPrevious efforts to document pastoral wealth were based almost entirely on the number of animals held per household or per capita. I develop two new indices of pastoral wealth and compare pastoral wealth status across wealth ranking methods in Amboseli. Results emphasize that while households are diversifying, rich and poor households are changing along different trajectories. This finding has implications for greater wealth stratification in this pastoral society in the future.
dc.description.abstractI also analyze the role of mobility in pastoral production, as conditions push for land privatization, but households continue to face significant climate variability and low levels of livestock infrastructure. A cultural-institutional system of grazing management in place in unsubdivided areas of the GAE seems to allow herders to access sufficient forage quantity under normal precipitation conditions, as well as forage quality in particular time periods.
dc.description.abstractMany of the changes occurring in pastoral Maasailand are common to the experiences of pastoral groups globally. As such, results from this study will contribute to an ongoing discussion regarding the future viability of pastoralism under conditions of change.
dc.format.mediumborn digital
dc.format.mediumdoctoral dissertations
dc.identifierETDF_BurnSilver_2007_3299802.pdf
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10217/237612
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherColorado State University. Libraries
dc.relation.ispartof2000-2019
dc.rightsCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.
dc.rights.licensePer the terms of a contractual agreement, all use of this item is limited to the non-commercial use of Colorado State University and its authorized users.
dc.subjectdiversification
dc.subjectKenya
dc.subjectland tenure change
dc.subjectland use
dc.subjectMaasai pastoralism
dc.subjectMaasailand
dc.subjectmobility
dc.subjectpastoral livelihood strategies
dc.subjectpastoral wealth
dc.subjectremote sensing
dc.subjectcultural anthropology
dc.subjectgeography
dc.subjectrange management
dc.subjectresearch
dc.subjectlivestock
dc.subjectregression analysis
dc.subjecttrends
dc.subjectanimals
dc.subjectdebates
dc.subjectproperty rights
dc.subjectecosystems
dc.subjectcattle
dc.subjectwildlife conservation
dc.subjectskills
dc.subjectecology
dc.subjectagriculture
dc.subjectfarmers
dc.subjectranches
dc.subjectflexibility
dc.subjectvariables
dc.subjectcopyright
dc.subjectdata collection
dc.subjecthouseholds
dc.subjectnational parks
dc.subjectrain
dc.subjectanimal populations
dc.subjectland tenure
dc.titlePathways of continuity and change: diversification, intensification and mobility in Maasailand, Kenya
dc.typeText
dcterms.rights.dplaThis Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights (https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/). You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
thesis.degree.disciplineEcology
thesis.degree.grantorColorado State University
thesis.degree.levelDoctoral
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

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