On 17 April, our first Pastoralism and Drylands Development Seminar Series featuired Professor Gufo Oba sharing ‘historical ecological perspectives on pastoralism in the Greater Horn of Africa’.
This lecture analysed the ecological history of pastoralism in East Africa and the Horn of Africa, and the application of imperial science for pastoral development. Professor Oba presented a historical analysis of East African pastoralism and ecology between 1600 and the present, examining both development research and the newly emerging use of ‘big science’ for analyzing the ecological and economic challenges of African drylands. Placing the study in a spatial context (i.e., regional) and organizing the analysis chronologically, the lecture compared the application of imperial science for development across the Eastern and the Horn of Africa, seeking to upscale ongoing debates using the so-called ‘new thinking’, considering both its challenges and promises.
Gufu Oba, Professor Emeritus at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, has 30 + years of experience in interdisciplinary research and training in the drylands of Africa, with a particular focus on eastern Africa and the Horn. His research focuses on rangeland ecology, pastoralism and environmental history. He has led large-scale education and training programs in several sub-Saharan countries, including Kenya, Mali, and Botswana. In addition, he has led research funded by the Norwegian Research Council 2003-2006 on community participation in international global conventions, a project through which more than four PhDs were trained. In collaboration with others, he has participated in a diversity of research programs ranging in focus from conflict and climate change to indigenous knowledge application and indigenous water systems. Professor Oba has published five books, along with 83 peer-reviewed journal articles.
More information on the seminar series
Convened by the Jameel Observatory for Food Security Early Action, the Dryland Futures Academy and the Rift Valley Institute, the monthly series is hosted by the British Institute in Eastern Africa.