Managing Climate Change Risks in Pastoral Systems in Kenya : a Review and Research Agenda

The agricultural sector is increasingly under pressure from a wide range of environmental threats. Particularly, the pastoral and agro-pastoral systems are facing immense damages and losses from climate-related risks forcing governments and other actors to explore measures to avoid future catastrophes. A systematic literature review of interdisciplinary articles between the years 2000 and 2020 on climate-related risk management in pastoral and agro-pastoral systems was conducted. The thematic and descriptive analysis identifies sources, impacts and mitigation measures for the climate change risks. The studies show climate-related risks emerged from high temperatures, high but erratic rainfall, the occurrence of floods and variation in rainfall onset and cessation among other indicators, which could translate into the increased spread of existing vector-borne diseases and macro-parasites, accompanied by the emergence and circulation of new diseases. Climate change-related risks significantly heighten the vulnerability of pastoral systems and reinforce existing challenges, such as rapid population and economic growth, rising demand for food and products, and conflict over scarce grazing resources. The analysis further establishes that pastoral systems are important mitigation and adaptation strategies integrating livestock into broader environmental services. The study finds that research into the climate change risks in the pastoral system is still limited, but offers important evidence to mainstream risk management and to secure the provision for the growing demand for livestock-based products. The study contributes to pastoral and agro-pastoral systems risk management body of knowledge by capturing the nexus between climate change and pastoral and agro-pastoral systems. Keywords: climate change, pastoral, agro-pastoral systems