General presentation of the area

This chapter will describe, after a very short presentation of the geographical aspects, the characteristics of the different groups living in the studied area and their dynamic relations over the course of history, while they attempted to access water and rangelands. The research doesn't privilege one particular group and the livelihoods analysed in the value chains is performed by all of them. The people met during fieldwork are mainly Garri and Borana, but there are also other groups described in this chapter.

The studied area is located in southern Ethiopia, across the Somali and the Oromo national regional states. The western part of the southern lowlands in Ethiopia is known as the Borana Plateau, while the eastern side extends to the area between the Dawa and Genale rivers. The area is between 750 and 1.700 m a.s.l., with a highly variable bimodal rainfall pattern, concentrated in two rainy seasons: the long rains between April and June known by the Borana as gaana rains and gu among the Somali and the hagaya rains (the short rain) between October and November, or deyr in Somali. Total rainfall ranges between 350 mm and 900 mm with a coefficient of rainfall variability between 21% and 68%190. The spatial distribution of the rainfall is highly unpredictable, and areas where rainfall is less than 200 mm are not uncommon, mainly on the Somali side, while on the Oromia side, pockets of better endowed patches make agriculture a possibility.

Figure 2. The Southern Lowlands of Ethiopia191

190 _{Kamara A., Kirk M., Swallow B., Property rights and land use change: Implications for sustainable resource} management in Borana, southern Ethiopia, Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, Vol. 25, 2004.

191 _{All borderlines are unofficial. In most of the cartography previously available, the territory south of Dawa and}

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The studied area was limited to 4 woreda: Moyale Somali woreda in Liben zone – Somali regional state; Moyale Oromia, Dhas and Dire woreda in Borana zone (where Yabelo is the capital town) – Oromia regional state. Referring to the Moyale area in this research, it is intended to mean all these 4 woreda, that have been found interlinked while carrying on the value chain of resins and gum in the area. In particular on the map, the town of Moyale is the woreda capital city of both Oromia (west side) and Somali (east side), while Mega is the woreda capital city of Dire.

From these 4 woreda, gum and resins are produced and the first two steps of the analysed value chains are placed in the villages of these 4 woreda. Then while the value chains continue, by meeting well-identified markets and stocking points, the chains go beyond these 4 woreda, until reaching Yabelo and finally, Addis Ababa. The focus of this research was mainly on these 4 woreda in order to identify strategies and livelihood options of pastoral people living there. Moyale town is around 780 kilometers south of Addis Ababa. The studied woreda border each other and Moyale is found at the most southern point. The town of Moyale is at the centre of an ample pastoral area, and, at the same time, is at the meeting point of two border lines: the border which separates Ethiopia and Kenya and the border which separates two Ethiopian Regional States: Somali and Oromia.

The southern lowlands border the Kenyan districts of Marsabit, Moyale, Wajir and Mandera in the south, from west to east, respectively. The north-east part borders with the Dawa river. On the other side of the river there are Filtu and Dollo woreda of Liben zone, Somali regional state. North to Moyale towards Negele Borana there is Hudet woreda, a Somali region territory, which recently became an autonomous woreda. Again to the north, proceeding from east to west, the studied area is bordering Arero, Yabelo and Teltele woreda of Borana zone. In Moyale area, the ethiopian and kenyan sides are economically well integrated and movements from one side to the other are usually frequent and smooth. The people of both sides generally call the other one gambo which means the other side in Swahili, the language spoken in Kenya and also by some people of the target area. This study is concentrated on the ethiopian side, but I will refer to gambo, for some specific products like Agarsu and when mentioning the contraband phenomena.

Region was limited to the territory of the present Dolo Odo Woreda. The borders shown here do not take into account the recently constituted Hudet Woreda in Somali NRS that cuts through the eastern part of Arero, neither the more recently constituted Dhas Woreda in Oromia side and Miyo Woreda within Dire Woreda. The border between the two NRS is a long-standing and, until now, unresolved issue not only in the Southern Lowlands. Fekadu (2005) reminds that up to 2003, Somali NRS was claiming 702 PAs administered by Oromya, and that number was reduced to 400 later on.

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Moyale in Ethiopia is divided into two areas with separate administrations and territories. They are also inhabited mainly by two different ethnic groups: the Garri, a Somali group, on the east side and the Borana, an Oromo group, on the west side. Other Somali people (as the Marehan and Digodia) inhabit the area, as well as other pastoral groups such as the Gabbra, a Borana speaking group whose livelihoods are based on camels. A large number of immigrants from the surrounding agricultural areas have also settled, especially in the urban centres (Guji, Arussi, Konso, and others). After the sedentarization process started, it has been possible to differentiate in the target area a small portion of urban population and a larger portion of rural population.

The size of the villages in the area varies in both area and estimated population. They resemble on one side the small towns (El Leh in Somali side, or Hidilola, Dubluk, Bokuluboma and Tuka in Oromo side) and on the other to very small temporary encampments of nomadic people (generally composed of around 15-20 households).

The small towns are the consequence of settlement, a quite recent phenomenon among pastoralists. In recent time the phenomenon is becoming more intensive, so in the last 20 years many small villages increased in dimension. This is the case for example of Bokuluboma and Dubluk on the Oromia side and the case of El Leh on the Somali side. Only a few years ago these villages were composed mostly of traditional pastoral houses and a small number of mud houses (chica house), while now it is possible to find many mud houses refined by cement plastering and covered by iron sheets, shops and some restaurants. In all the 3 cited cases, the villages are also in a favourable position along the major and commercial roads, close to infrastructures and services, and in a strategic position during food relief distributions192.

3.2 Human population and ethnic composition