Dryland communities in the Horn of Africa exist on the fringes of the development process, facing systemic barriers that weaken their resilience and livelihoods. Although they possess a wealth of resources and invaluable traditional knowledge, local actors and institutions are consistently excluded from the design of development programs and the formulation of policies.

The lack of secure land tenure in drylands, worsened by climate change, ineffective governance, and fragile institutional frameworks, poses a significant threat to the survival of pastoralists and the economies of dryland regions. Current government policies do not reflect the realities faced by those who rely on these vital dryland resources, while the government institutions responsible for pastoralist development remain severely under-resourced and disorganized, hindering transformative social and economic changes.