ABSTRACT
There are at least two reasons why people living in pastoral areas need specifically designed social protection. First, pastoralists face very different vulnerabilities to farmers and other ‘vulnerable groups’. Second, many different types of people live in pastoral areas — including different types of pastoralists, but also people who are not pastoralists — yet social protection instruments are rarely adapted to these different livelihood systems. This chapter critically reviews the evolution of social protection interventions for pastoralists, from food aid to ‘drought cycle management’ to ‘index-based livestock insurance’. A fundamental principle of social protection is to ensure that essential assistance — whether in the form of food or cash — is delivered to all people who need it, when they need it. New telecommunications technology allows for innovation in social protection delivery mechanisms, and this potential is being explored in both pastoral and non-pastoral contexts.
