Pastoralism and climate change

Abstract (English)

Traditional pastoral systems have thrived for millennia all over the world by navigating climatic variability, yet dominant climate change narratives place them amongst the most vulnerable groups. This chapter examines the complex interplay between climate change, socio-economic factors, and pastoralist adaptation, challenging assumptions that frame pastoral vulnerability as primarily environmental. Instead, it highlights how constraints on mobility, land tenure changes, and policy shifts undermine pastoralists’ adaptive strategies. Drawing on examples from Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America, the chapter explores how pastoralists leverage mobility, herd diversity, and customary institutions to mitigate climate risks. It also analyses how climate change has been absorbed into existing narratives on pastoralism, reinforcing long-standing misconceptions and policy biases. By shifting attention away from structural inequalities and governance failures, dominant climate narratives depoliticise pastoralist challenges. Recognising climate variability as the context of evolutionary advantage in the case of pastoralism, is key to understanding the new challenges associated with climate change, and designing helpful policies. Ultimately, the chapter calls for a reframing of pastoralism in climate discourse, emphasising its ecological integration and the importance of safeguarding its adaptive capacity rather than imposing external interventions that weaken it.