Restocking Pastoralists

Restocking can be an effective means of poverty alleviation, which enables poor households to be incorporated back into the social and economic fabric of pastoralism. Nevertheless, at present the sustainability of projects is low. Hence the intention of this manual is to offer 'best practice' and decision support tools that can increase the number of positive project outcomes. Further, as many practitioners are new to restocking, the manual offers a background to important concepts and the literature. For those readers to whom the full explanation is not necessary, at the end of each chapter a summary of key points is offered. The manual is the result of a two-year global study on restocking policy and practice. It is based on discussions with over 30 NGOs, donors and governments involved in restocking. More specifically, 85 restocking projects representing a wide range of agencies from donors to Community based organizations (CBO), were analyzed for key design and implementation issues. Overall approximately 700 restocked households participated in the study.

Claire Heffernan is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Reading and the Director of the Livestock Development Group.