The Past, Present and Future of Pastoralists and the Pastoral Commons in the Sahel

The paper begins with popular narratives on climate change and food insecurity in the Sahel, painting a brief history of how pastoralists and their lifestyles have been understood by external scholars dealing with the theme of natural resource commons. This leads into a deeper analysis of multiple understandings of the productive political potential of the common/s as articulated by economists, historians and academics, and an exploration of the implications of these theories for the Sahel. This includes various government policies managing the commons, ranging from open-access to ranch-based systems, and the privatisation or exploitation of the commons by capitalist actors. The paper further explores three design principles, namely, mobility, inclusion and conflict mediation, for better governance in the region, and ends with a note of caution against the green-washed pursuit of growth rates, tempered by a note of hope in the figure of the vigilant and empowered pastoralist.