For at least a decade, the drylands of northern Kenya have been subject to a changing political economy with transformative implications for pastoralist livelihoods. Historically portrayed as remote, unused and unproductive land, drylands are increasingly becoming the focal point for capital investment and state expansion. At this LARRI webinar, we will focus on our attention on three important and concurrent forces of change that are taking place across pastoralist Kenya and how they create new, complex and contested conditions for pastoralist land rights: (1) Devolution of national government power and financial resources; (2) land investment and appropriation in the wake of the large-scale infrastructure projects; and (3) the introduction of the Kenya Community Land Act. How should we understand these emerging land rights dynamics and what are their implications for dryland governance in East Africa?
Per Knutsson, School of Global Studies at the University of Gothenburg will make an introductory presentation based on his past and ongoing research on pastoralist land rights in East Africa.
Moderator: Robin Biddulph
Registration: lassekrantz15@gmail.com
If you wish to learn more about the issues to be discussed at the webinar, the organisers of the webinar recommend reading Perspectives on enclosures in pastoralist drylands: From contradictory evidence to the formulation of innovative land management strategies by Per Knutsson et alt.
