herders
Newsletter
Credit: Nataly Reinch/Big Stock Photo
Cattle block Nigerian capital’s roads as herders struggle to find grazing land
Nigeria's capital city Abuja is increasingly disrupted by cattle blocking roads as climate change and urban development force Fulani herders to seek pasture in the city.
In short:
- Climate change and urban expansion have destroyed traditional grazing lands in northern Nigeria, pushing herders into urban areas like Abuja.
- Fulani herders, who dominate West Africa’s cattle industry, now struggle with reduced access to free grazing, leading to frequent clashes with city life.
- Proposals to solve the issue include reviving government grazing reserves and providing financial incentives to herders.
Key quote:
“The government should revive the gazetted grazing reserves fitted with the infrastructure for water and fodder production, training and veterinary services and generate jobs and revenues.”
— Baba Ngelzarma, president of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria
Why this matters:
The conflict between herders and urban development reflects broader challenges in balancing traditional livelihoods with modernization, exacerbated by climate change. Addressing this requires coordinated action to support both the livestock industry and urban planning.
Read more: West Africa's early heat wave signals climate change's impact
Keep reading...Show less
Newsletter
Photo by Tengis Galamez on Unsplash
Dust, hail and bank loans: the Mongolian herders facing life without grass
The climate crisis is bringing more storms, colder winters and drier summers which is threatening to extinguish a whole way of life on the Mongolian steppes.
Newsletter
Big Stock Photo
Climate change spells cultural extinction for Nepal’s nomadic herders
The nomadic herders of Mustang who’s livestock have grazed the pastures in the Nepalese Himalayas for generations, fear the dramatic change in weather patterns may consign their traditions to the history books forever.
The real story behind Morocco's tree-climbing goats
Is it instinct or spectacle? Drought, desperation, and tourism combine to create a surprising tableau.
Photo by vahid kanani on Unsplash
UN: Droughts, less water in Europe as warming wrecks crops
“Herders and farmers have their feet on the ground, but their eyes on the sky.” The old saying is still popular in Spain’s rural communities who, faced with recurrent droughts, have historically paraded sculptures of saints to pray for rain.
Newsletter
Photo by Patrick Schneider on Unsplash
On the move with Mongolia’s nomadic reindeer herders
Facing growing uncertainties, the Dukha people are being forced to make difficult decisions about their traditions and their future.
e360.yale.edu
Species or ecosystems: How best to restore the natural world?
What's the best way to protect nature and restore what has been lost? A series of new scientific papers offer conflicting views on whether efforts should focus on individual species or ecosystems and point to the role humans can play in conserving landscapes.
ORIGINAL REPORTING
MOST POPULAR
CLIMATE
