Climate-related vulnerability and adaptive-capacity in Ethiopia’s Borana and Somali communities

The document reports that pastoral communities in Ethiopia's Borana and Somali zones are facing unprecedented climate variability, including increasing temperatures and drought frequency, which are rendering traditional coping strategies ineffective. It identifies significant barriers to adaptation, such as land degradation, resource conflicts, and limited access to information and financial services. The brief recommends that the Ethiopian government protect pastoral land, improve weather information sharing, and enhance social safety nets. It advises civil society to integrate climate projections into programming and leverage traditional knowledge, while urging international donors to provide funding flexibility for climate emergencies.

• Pastoral communities in the Borana and Shinile zones of Ethiopia are experiencing unprecedented climate variability, characterized by rising temperatures, more frequent droughts, and unpredictable, intense rainfall episodes.
• The speed and scale of current climate change, combined with social and political factors, are making traditional coping mechanisms unsustainable, which in turn increases food insecurity and environmental degradation.
• Adaptation is hindered by several systemic barriers, including land degradation, conflicts over scarce resources, limited education, inadequate government coordination, and social or gender inequalities.
• Communities have proposed various adaptation strategies, such as diversifying livestock and livelihoods, improving water infrastructure, enhancing rangeland management, and increasing local awareness of climate projections.
• There is a observed shift in livelihood strategies where some pure pastoralists are moving toward agro-pastoralism for reliability, while some agro-pastoralists are abandoning agriculture due to erratic rains.

APA

Riché, B., & Hammill, A. (2009). Climate-related vulnerability and adaptive-capacity in Ethiopia’s Borana and Somali communities. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/climate_ethiopia_communities_brief.pdf

Chicago

Riché, Béatrice, and Anne Hammill. Climate-related vulnerability and adaptive-capacity in Ethiopia’s Borana and Somali communities. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2009. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/climate_ethiopia_communities_brief.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Riché |first1=Béatrice |last2=Hammill |first2=Anne |title=Climate-related vulnerability and adaptive-capacity in Ethiopia’s Borana and Somali communities |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=August 2009 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/climate_ethiopia_communities_brief.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rich2009climaterelated, author = {Riché, Béatrice and Hammill, Anne}, title = {{Climate-related vulnerability and adaptive-capacity in Ethiopia’s Borana and Somali communities}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2009}, month = aug, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/climate_ethiopia_communities_brief.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }