Presentation short abstract

This article makes a case for a new approach to embracing flexibility and locally led adaptation in pastoral drylands. External interventions are often not linked to the dynamics that structure everyday adaptations in pastoral contexts. Implications for adaptation and pastoral development are major

Presentation long abstract

Based on in-depth field research in northern Kenya, this article makes the case for a new approach to embracing flexibility and locally led adaptation in pastoral drylands. External approaches geared towards drought-related adaptation strategies are often not commensurate with the socio-economic dynamics that structure everyday life in pastoralist contexts. Forms of delivery and channels for such adaptation programs tend to be oriented towards measuring climate vulnerability and households as the target, which may not be applicable in pastoralist contexts. These approaches often fail to account for local knowledge and skills of adaptation as well as emergent and relational rules of engagement by local groups and reliability networks. We highlight the importance of local knowledge and institutions in balancing adaptation, rather than relying on planned projects. Adaptation strategies are differentiated according to generation and gender yet emerge through collective approaches rooted in moral economies and solidarities. In the context of diminishing support and funding for external projects, we suggest new roles for external actors. The implications for pastoral adaptation and development are major.