EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Horn of Africa comprising Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda covers approximately 5.2 million square kilometers with more than 65% of the land receiving less than 500mm of rainfall annually. This region is home to over 217 million people with diverse and rich culture, resources and opportunities which have enabled them to harness livelihoods over the years.
However as the region is increasingly confronted by climatic, demographic, political, social and economic changes; new challenges and immense opportunities for the people and governments are emerging. The Region is subject to protracted crises caused mainly by frequent droughts, conflicts and insecurity, high human population growth, land pressure and high food prices, exposing the population to increasing levels of vulnerability. This is further aggravated by low investments over the years especially in the drought prone areas, unfavorable policies, poor quality and access to services and infrastructure.
Following the drought crisis of 2010-2011 in the HoA region, it was recognized that there was need for holistic and focused investment to enhance linkages between policy and practice for change and enhanced resilience among (agro) pastoralists. It was acknowledged that there were substantive actions that needed to be undertaken to consolidate the efforts made by communities, their traditional institutions, governments and partners aimed at reducing vulnerability among (agro) pastoralists. The FAO Regional Office HoA put together a proposal and submitted it to the European Commission’s Food Security Thematic Programme (FSTP) for consideration.
It is out of this proposal that the Regional Initiative in Support of Pastoralists and Agro-pastoralists (RISPA) in the Horn of Africa (RISPA) project was funded through the signature of a standard Contribution Agreement between the European Union and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO-UN), Agreement No DCI-FOOD/2010/250711. The FAO Regional Office and the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), coordinated the implementation of this cross-border, regional policy and institutional support project across the Horn of Africa and in particular in the countries of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda and Kenya.
The Project supported community action plans, government coordination structures and regional policies/ institutions in support of pastoral livelihoods in order to strengthen the resilience of agro-pastoral and pastoral communities and to diversify their livelihoods strategies and options. The following is a summary of the Project’s objectives and expected results over a period of 3 years (November 2010- February 2014).
