Human Ecology (2019) 47:419–434

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-019-0072-9

Historical Ecologies of Pastoralist Overgrazing in Kenya: Long-Term

Perspectives on Cause and Effect
Oliver J. C. Boles 1,2,3 & Anna Shoemaker 4 & Colin J. Courtney Mustaphi 2,4,5 & Nik Petek 4 & Anneli Ekblom 4 &
Paul J. Lane 4,6,7

Published online: 18 May 2019

# The Author(s) 2019

Abstract
The spectre of ‘overgrazing’ looms large in historical and political narratives of ecological degradation in savannah ecosystems.
While pastoral exploitation is a conspicuous driver of landscape variability and modification, assumptions that such change is
inevitable or necessarily negative deserve to be continuously evaluated and challenged. With reference to three case studies from
Kenya – the Laikipia Plateau, the Lake Baringo basin, and the Amboseli ecosystem – we argue that the impacts of pastoralism are
contingent on the diachronic interactions of locally specific environmental, political, and cultural conditions. The impacts of the
compression of rangelands and restrictions on herd mobility driven by misguided conservation and economic policies are
emphasised over outdated notions of pastoralist inefficiency. We review the application of ‘overgrazing’ in interpretations of
the archaeological record and assess its relevance for how we interpret past socio-environmental dynamics. Any discussion of
overgrazing, or any form of human-environment interaction, must acknowledge spatio-temporal context and account for histor-
ical variability in landscape ontogenies.

Keywords Historical ecology . Compression effects . Rangeland management . Pastoralist mobility strategies . Eastern Africa .
Kenya

Introduction relationships among deforestation, rainfall, soil erosion, and

desertification (Grove 1996; Davis 2004). Eighteenth- and
As Europeans pushed to colonize and cultivate lands in the nineteenth-century observers linked the practices of indige-
intemperate tropics they became intensely interested in the nous communities with landscape degradation and loss of
productivity. In North Africa, for instance, French settlers’
belief that the Maghreb had once been ‘the abundant granary
* Oliver J. C. Boles of Rome’ (Perier 1847: 29), stripped of its productivity over
[email protected] centuries of misuse by nomadic pastoralists, was used to jus-
tify policies of land appropriation and forced-sedentarization
1
Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, (Davis 2004). This vilification of herders was widespread
Philadelphia, PA, USA across the continent throughout the colonial era, supported
2
York Institute for Tropical Ecosystems, Environment Department, by academic theorising. The ‘cattle complex’ as constructed
University of York, York, UK by Herskovits (1926), framed pastoralists as constantly and
3
Institute of Archaeology, University College London (UCL), irrationally seeking to accumulate livestock with little regard
London, UK for efficiency or sustainability (c f. Livingstone 1991) and was
4
Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala emblematic of attitudes in academic and political circles.
Universitet, Uppsala, Sweden Stock-keepers were perpetrators of the ‘tragedy of the com-
5
Geoecology, Department of Environmental Science, University of mons’ (Hardin 1968) wherein commonly-held land would
Basel, Basel, Switzerland invariably be maximally exploited by individuals to the detri-
6
Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Downing ment of the collective good. These ideas were at the core of
Street, Cambridge, UK land management policy in colonial eastern Africa, and pas-
7
School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, toralist inefficiency was viewed as anathema to productivity.
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa For example, the Chief Agricultural Officer in colonial Kenya

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420 Hum Ecol (2019) 47:419–434

during the 1950s considered the predominance of milk-based

economies over meat-oriented production, deemed more effi-
cient in terms of food provision per unit of forage, to be a
demonstration of pastoralists’ irrationality. He believed
overstocking was an unavoidable consequence (Brown 1971).
Since the mid-1980s, more sophisticated understandings of
the drivers of land degradation have emerged. These ap-
proaches apply new models of nonequilibrium ecosystem dy-
namics and awareness of the effects of long-term climatic
variability, emphasising the incorporation of local knowledge
into land use management and recognising the potential eco-
logical benefits of pastoralist settlement and grazing regimes
(Homewood 2008; Reid 2012). There is also growing recog-
nition (e.g., Blake et al. 2018) that contrasting disciplinary
perspectives, and information and implementation gaps be-
tween different stakeholders, can combine to limit the uptake
of alternative approaches to land management by govern-
ments and pastoralists, resulting in the exacerbation of pres-
sures leading to overgrazing. Notwithstanding these develop-
ments, established narratives of overgrazing still haunt recent
discussions of current degradation and its drivers in Africa in
both academic (e.g., Hein 2006) and public discourse
(Shanahan 2016), and in many parts of the African continent
continue to shape policy interventions (e.g., Gilbert 2013).
These arguments have also resurfaced in broader studies
concerning the antiquity of the Anthropocene (e.g., Zerboni
and Nicoll 2018) and in interpretations of the drivers of
palaeoenvironmental change (e.g., Wright 2017; for a
counter argument see Brierley et al. 2018). Fig. 1 Map of eastern Africa showing the three case study regions and
other key locations
Overgrazing and attendant changes to land are certainly im-
portant issues that have significant consequences for rural live-
frequently in debates on conservation, sustainability, changing
lihoods and the vulnerability of pastoralist communities to a
relationships between agriculturalists and herders, and the
variety of risks. However, understanding the connections be-
landscape-transformative potential of pastoralism for over seven
tween different agents and processes demands nuanced,
decades. Each ecosystem has been subject to active intervention
evidence-based analyses rather than a priori generalisation.
by governing authorities based on now-outdated paradigms in
This is well illustrated by a series of recent studies of transfor-
ecological theory. However, the removal of pastoralists from a
mations in the nature of land holding and access in semi-arid
landscape is not simply equivalent to the removal of livestock;
areas of Kenya over recent decades, where privatization of for-
centuries of anthropogenic fire regimes, for example, instituted
mer commons has not progressed in a simple linear fashion as
by herders in order to influence rangeland productivity, have
often predicted by common theories of property evolution
shaped savannahs as decisively as the nutrient re-distributive
(Galaty 2016), and even in the context of privatized land pasto-
capacities of grazing animals. Landscape histories must there-
ralists often seek to recreate social relations that are more char-
fore be understood with reference to the longue durée of human
acteristic of the commons (Archambault 2016). In a similar vein
interaction. With this point in mind, we consider how the com-
and with reference to some of these same areas, we argue in this
plex ontogenies of pastoral landscapes can be explored given the
paper that the impacts of livestock on African ecosystems are
limitations of archaeological and palaeoenvironmental records
highly variable and contingent on particular political, social, and
in terms of their spatial and temporal resolution.
environmental context. To account for the diverse drivers of
ecological change, analysis requires not only a longer temporal
perspective, spanning decadal-to-millennial scales, but must be
informed by multiple modes of enquiry. Here, we discuss the Case Study 1: Laikipia
historical and ecological trajectories of pastoralism in three case
studies in central areas of Kenya (Fig. 1). These three ecosys- The high-elevation rangelands of the Laikipia Plateau lie at the
tems – Laikipia, Baringo and Amboseli – have featured transition between the fertile, agricultural highlands of southern

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Hum Ecol (2019) 47:419–434 421

Kenya and the drier plains of the north and have hosted pasto- (Letai 2011). The number of cattle in Laikipia is thought to
ralist economies for several millennia. Dates from Ol Ngoroi be in the region of 200,000 and sheep and goats nearly half a
rockshelter in the Lolldaiga Hills indicate that domesticates million (2011–2013 estimates, Ogutu et al. 2016).
have been present in Laikipia since the fifth millennium BP, Importantly, though these numbers are similar to pre-
among the earliest such dates south of Ethiopia (Lane 2015). twentieth century levels (Hughes 2006), there has been a sig-
This presence continued throughout the Pastoral Neolithic and nificant contraction of rangelands since the expansion of ag-
Pastoral Iron Age (Lane 2011; Boles and Lane 2016). riculture in the verdant southern plateau. Furthermore, low
In the early twentieth century, following multi-year stock-densities within the private conservancies mean that
droughts and disease epidemics (e.g., rinderpest) that had dec- community ranches bear the greatest burden. The larger pri-
imated livestock numbers across eastern Africa (Waller 1988), vate ranches can generally afford to operate within their car-
the Laikipia region was designated the ‘Northern Maasai rying capacities and, indeed, such surplus is vital to their suc-
Reserve’ by the colonial administration. The proclamation of cess as wildlife reserves (e.g., Mizutani 1999). These relative-
the reserve facilitated colonial appropriation of prime grazing ly economically-secure enterprises can afford to be flexible
and farming resources in the Central Rift Valley and the high- with regard to their intensity of production (Sundaresan and
lands around Nairobi. However, the reserve was withdrawn in Riginos 2010) – for example, cessation of milk production
1911 following an agreement – now contested – between the during drought (Mizutani 1999). The community ranches are
British and certain Maasai leaders. Laikipia was apportioned mainly located in the drier northern part of the plateau (Letai
for European holdings, and African pastoralists along with 2011) and host livestock numbers that often exceed recom-
some one million sheep and 200,000 cattle were moved to mendations (Sundaresan and Riginos 2010).
the ‘Southern Reserve’ near the border with German East Over two decades ago Livingstone (1991: 81) made the
Africa (now Tanzania) (Hughes 2006). Delayed by the out- point that although the group ranches can be said to be
break of the First World War, by the 1920s much of the re- ‘overstocked’ in terms of an observed year-on-year reduction
gion’s productive land was appropriated through soldier set- in available herbage, average household livestock holdings
tlement schemes. Nonetheless, vast empty areas remained and are considerably below that required for subsistence, as doc-
by the 1930s many potential farmers were declining to settle, umented among the Mukogodo Maasai in eastern Laikipia.
citing the poor quality of the often-water-deprived soil. Issue While in some areas arrangements with landowners allow
was also taken with the size of the holdings available, which local pastoralists controlled-access to grazing and water with-
were normally in the region of 1000–5000 acres; a viable in the private ranches, land invasion is an ongoing problem
livestock farm was widely considered to require upwards of and Laikipia has garnered notoriety in the international media
15,000 acres. However, various processes whereby unoccu- following the murders of several European ranchers, Kenyan
pied land could be leased during periods of drought as well as rangers, and police reservists over recent years. These inva-
a relaxed approach towards ranchers exceeding the limits of sions can bring tens of thousands of cattle into the ranches
their licensed lands ensured that European control persisted with dramatic impacts on local ecologies and though usually
throughout the colonial period (Vaughan 2005). associated with periods of drought (e.g., 2011–12 and 2016–
While the process of ‘Africanisation’ that followed 17), their motivations cannot be divorced from political con-
Kenya’s independence in 1963 led to the sale and division text (Iaccino 2017). Tensions arising from efforts to conserve
of certain ranches, over half remained under European own- and protect Laikipia’s elephant populations, including debates
ership in the early-twenty-first century (Wambuguh 2007). over the need for, and contributions of, fencing (Bond 2015;
Presently, many properties maintain some commercial live- Evans and Adams 2016), further complicate the situation. As
stock operations, often alongside interests in wildlife ecotour- noted by Galaty (2016: 717), in some parts of Laikipia over
ism, while others are now dedicated to conservation. Other the last decade or so, and as a consequence of these frictions,
land is designated for community ownership in the form of ‘land has gone through a transition, from being managed as
‘group ranches,’ and many properties in the southern part of private holdings - both large and small-scale - through a stage
the plateau were subdivided around independence for small- of ‘open access’ as owners have ‘abandoned’ them, to being
scale farming by communities from the densely-populated relatively stable common holdings, governed by the pastoral-
former Kikuyu Tribal Reserve (Köhler 1987). The long-term ists who have moved in and asserted rights.’ The rules
prospects of these farms are unclear; however, of the 8.4% of governing access to grazing land are also changing, with the
the district already under cultivation only 1.7% is considered significance of older practices based on traditions of reciproc-
to have high agricultural potential (Huber and Opondo 1995). ity diminishing, and an increased emphasis on rights being
Inequalities in land ownership in Laikipia are stark. Since acquired through membership of formal, territory-based insti-
the mid-1960s the population rose from around 60,000 to over tutions (such as group ranches or community conservancies).
half a million by the early twenty-first century, yet around This has had a number of spatial and temporal consequences
40% of the district is controlled by 48 wealthy individuals for mobility patterns that can further exacerbate lines of

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422 Hum Ecol (2019) 47:419–434

conflict between pastoralists and other land users in Laikipia herding in Laikipia exerted no ‘traumatic influence’ prior to
(Pas Schrijver 2019). 1960 – at which point Kenyan national independence
At the same time as rangelands are divided, the population heralded a population boom and a reduction of pastoral mo-
of Laikipia is increasingly sedentary. Besides the growing bility – is supported by the example of the Lolldaiga Hills
importance of agriculture in the southern part of the plateau, Ranch, where stock numbers and management practices have
this can be linked to the influx of small-holder farmers from seen little demonstrable intensification since the early twenti-
adjacent counties. Recent decades have also brought a trend eth century (Mizutani 1999).
towards sedentism on the part of formerly peripatetic herders,
with many males abandoning herding in favour of employ-
ment on private ranches as professional stockmen and wild- Case Study 2: Baringo
life rangers (Yurco 2017). High rainfall associated with a
strong El Niño-Southern Oscillation in 1997–1998 saw many The Lake Baringo basin lies immediately to the west of the
pastoralists establish permanent settlements in the Mukogodo Laikipia Plateau, extending over 6200 km2 along the Rift
area of eastern Laikipia (Strum et al. 2015). Livestock are Valley, and is characterised by bare soils, severe erosion, and
now perennially present where herders previously moved sea- invasive plants (Bessems et al. 2008; Becker et al. 2016).
sonally in accordance with grazing conditions (e.g., Huho Though herding has been the dominant subsistence strategy
et al. 2010). The ecological consequences of this are palpa- for the past 3000 years, the intensity of pastoral occupation
ble: for example, the introduced invasive Opuntia stricta has fluctuated; this is apparent in the large number of sites
(prickly pear), a stress-tolerant species that thrives in degrad- associated with Pastoral Neolithic Turkwel ceramics (c. 200–
ed semi-arid environments, has spread throughout the ranches 1100 AD) coeval with a more arid period in the Lake Bogoria
(Strum et al. 2015), reducing available pasture. Mechanical basin, and an almost complete lack of Pastoral Iron Age sites (c.
removal is time consuming and difficult, while biological 900–1700 AD) during the wetter Little Ice Age (c. 1250–1750)
controls, such as introduced beetles, have proven ineffective (Ashley et al. 2004; De Cort et al. 2013; Petek 2018). The form
(Paterson et al. 2011). Notably, although O. stricta is also of agro-pastoralism practiced by the Ilchamus and Tugen peo-
present in the adjacent Lolldaiga Hills Ranch – a privately- ple was established in the Baringo basin and surrounding areas
managed 200 km2 ranch and wildlife conservancy – it is in the late nineteenth century (Anderson 2002), and Pokot,
found in much lower densities. At Lolldaiga, grazing is man- Samburu, and Maasai pastoralists have been present in the
aged according to a seasonal rotation between the hills in the region since at least the 1800s (Bollig 2016), at which point
southern part of the property and the plains in the north, such the climate was considerably drier.
that no single pasture is subject to the perennial grazing that Narratives of pastoral overgrazing in Baringo emerged dur-
Strum et al. (2015) assert to be the principal degrading factor ing the severe droughts and locust infestations of the 1920s,
in Mukogodo (Fig. 2). Indeed, Taiti’s (1992) claim that when colonial officials began to question why the region, once
famous as a granary due to its irrigated field systems, could
not sustain its own population (Anderson 2002; Petek and
Lane 2017). The notion that Baringo could be restored to a
prior fertility was propagated in the following decades during
deliberations about the expansion of the native reserve and
developments such as the Perkerra Irrigation Scheme
(Kramm 2015). Begun in 1952, this initiative was intended
to feed the inhabitants of Baringo through grain cultivation
and provide income through the export of cash crops, enticing
people away from herding. However, the scheme incurred
huge financial losses and was insufficiently productive to
meet local needs (Kramm 2015).
Baringo is generally a dry region marked by a high inter-
annual variability in rainfall, and early colonial maps describe
vegetation in the lake basin as thornbush or shrub with rare
grasses (Fig. 3). European explorers also remarked on barren
lands and dust storms (Thomson 1885; von Höhnel 1892),
indicating that the area might not have been as productive as
Fig. 2 ASTER L1B satellite image showing the boundary line between
the privately-owned Lolldaiga Hills Ranch (bottom half of image) and the
reported in second-hand accounts written during the late
Mukogodo Group Ranch (top half). Note the paler colouring north of the 1800s. Some doubt existed during colonial times about the
fence depicting much-reduced grass cover imagined past verdancy of the basin (Little 1992: 47;

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Hum Ecol (2019) 47:419–434 423

Fig. 3 Colonial maps with

vegetation descriptions showing
Lake Baringo and Laikipia. a map
of the Expedition made by the
East Africa Syndicate Ltd. from
November 181,902 to
March 41,903 (map# WOMAT-
AFR-BEA-92 held by the British
Library); b Map of Masailand
(map# WOMAT-AFR-BEA-41
held by the British Library)

Anderson 2002: 231), and it remains to be established how discouragement of interethnic communication, as well as
natural and anthropogenic factors interplayed to form the pre- inhibited access to pastures controlled by other communities
colonial woodland savanna. Soils in semi-arid regions regu- where access could previously be negotiated (Little 1992;
larly experience high erosion even without human influence Anderson 2002; Bollig and Österle 2013). Externally-
(Dunne et al. 1978: 131), and in Baringo are especially prone imposed boundaries and decreased mobility made grass a
to erosion by wind and water due to a silty, poorly-developed contested resource. Access to it had to be controlled and pas-
and powdery structure, high sodium levels that preclude water ture allocated for either wet or dry season grazing (Bollig and
infiltration, and low organic matter content derived from Österle 2013). With the establishment of group ranches, large
scarce and rapidly decomposing vegetation (Republic of numbers of livestock were present in varying densities within
Kenya 1984; Kiage 2013). Sedimentary evidence shows in- a fragmented landscape that experiences decadal-scale
creased terrestrial sediments being deposited into Lake droughts and sporadic rains. Little movement was allowed
Bogoria in recent decades linked to anthropogenic soil erosion beyond designated boundaries, resulting in enduring damage
in the watershed (de Cort et al. 2018). to some of the most intensively-grazed areas (Anderson 2002;
The consequences of colonial intervention in Baringo in- Anderson and Bollig 2016). Fire setting, used by pastoralist
cluded reduced social mobility between ethnic communities, communities to suppress woody plant growth and create or

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424 Hum Ecol (2019) 47:419–434

maintain pastures, was forbidden in Baringo under colonial State-led initiatives to manage water and land resources for
rule and controlled burns eventually diminished (Vehrs and wildlife have a long history in Amboseli, beginning at the
Heller 2017). onset of the colonial period (Lindsay 1989). Early policy in-
Wildlife too played an important role in keeping the land- terventions identified Maasai-owned cattle, sheep, and goats
scape open, alongside domestic livestock and fire. Early as drivers of overgrazing, environmental degradation and de-
European explorers and colonial officials describe large herds sertification (Lewis 2015). Justification for gazetting a
of buffalo, wildebeest, zebra, and other grazers and browsers, National Reserve in 1948 and the creation of Amboseli
including elephant and rhinoceros (Thomson 1885; von National Park in 1974 lay in part in the perceived need to
Höhnel 1892; Dundas 1910). At the beginning of the twenti- safeguard water, pasture, and wildlife in the basin from threats
eth century, Baringo was popular with sport hunters, which posed by pastoralism. An overarching trend in the Amboseli
brought in considerable revenue at the expense of significant ecosystem throughout the twentieth century was the adjudica-
reductions in game animals (Powell-Cotton 1904; Chapman tion and commodification of communal rangelands into par-
1908). Limited resources also exacerbated human-wildlife cels of ever-diminishing size, transformations often driven by
conflict and large wild mammals in Baringo were nearly ex- the notion that privatisation would reduce overstocking and
tirpated by the late 1940s (Little 1996). Defaunation contrib- increase investments in ranching and agricultural production
uted to the disappearance of grasses and the encroachment of systems (Rutten 1992). The fragmentation of rangelands has
the bushes and acacia trees that now dominate the landscape had deleterious effects on pastoralists and wildlife alike, how-
(Vehrs and Heller 2017). Pollen records from nearby Lake ever, as rangeland subdivision and increased sedentarization
Bogoria show an ongoing decrease in grasses from c. 50% have encouraged the forced concentration of grazing pressure
of the record in c. 1910 to 18% in the past decades and an around diminishing resources (Western et al. 2009; Groom
expanding woodland component associated with acacias, and Western 2013). The negative effects of sedentarisation
Amaranthaceae and Asteraceae (van der Plas et al. in and subdivision are evident in a comparative study between
review). Remote sensing data show that the initially dispersed a subdivided and unsubdivided group ranch in Amboseli,
settlements of the early twentieth century also become more which found that despite livestock densities being equal, pas-
concentrated at specific centres around grass-rich swamps as ture was diminished on the subdivided ranch and the capacity
pastures diminished, more land was put aside for farming, and for grass to regenerate after drought was more limited (Groom
people became more sedentary (Petek 2018). Although the and Western 2013).
population has continued to grow, livestock numbers have Parallels can be drawn between overgrazing caused by
stagnated since the mid-twentieth century and many farms insularized and sedentary livestock and that associated with
are not economically viable or able to support households elephant populations in Amboseli (Fig. 4). A study by
(Little 1992; Anderson 2002) as a consequence of the contin- Western et al. (2015) has found a doubling in grazing pressure
ued application of colonial policies even after independence. in Amboseli National Park between 1982 and 2010, concom-
itant with a long-term fall in biomass yield per unit of rainfall.
Estimates of livestock and most wild migratory grazing her-
bivore populations in eastern Kajiado between 1977 and 2011
Case Study 3: Amboseli indicate their numbers have been falling, whereas the number
of elephants is calculated to have increased by 115% (Ogutu
The Amboseli ecosystem is centred on a 600 km2 palaeolake et al. 2014). Elephants in Amboseli have also become less
basin in Kajiado County, south-eastern Kenya, with a further mobile since the mid-twentieth century due to a regional con-
nearly 8500 km2 of rangelands utilized seasonally by migra- traction in habitat and the threat of poaching (Moss 2001;
tory wildlife. The area includes the Amboseli National Park Croze and Lindsay 2011: 27–28). Such a localized population
and its spring-fed wetlands, charged by orographic precipita- increase is consequential, as elephants have significant im-
tion onto nearby Mount Kilimanjaro. These perennial wet- pacts on vegetation structure and woody plant coverage
lands have persisted throughout the late Holocene (Githumbi (Morrison et al. 2016). Over the last half-century woodland
et al. 2018a, b) and provide water and pasture to a diverse and bushland vegetation zones within the National Park have
community of large mammals, including livestock (Western been in sharp decline, and along with this loss of habitat di-
1975). Archaeological research in Amboseli suggests that versity has been a decrease in large mammal diversity
livestock herding has been practiced since the Pastoral (Altmann 1998; Western and Maitumo 2004). This loss in
Neolithic, with conclusive evidence dating to the Iron Age biodiversity is linked to elephants seeking refuge in the park
(Shoemaker 2018). Stock keeping remains a major livelihood (owing to intensifying human presence and a regional contrac-
component for many households in the region, often in com- tion in habitat), where they have extensively grazed on acacia
bination with agriculture and ecotourism (BurnSilver 2009; woodlands (Western and Maitumo 2004). During the dry sea-
Homewood et al. 2012). son elephants in Amboseli shift their diets from grass toward

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Hum Ecol (2019) 47:419–434 425

Fig. 4 a Maasai settlement in

Amboseli. Note the adjacent dark
patch which marks the site of a
previous settlement (Photo P.
Lane); b Elephants crossing into
Amboseli National Park (Photo
A. Shoemaker)

woody browse to enable them to better cope with the lack of region suited to flexible and mobile stock-based production
pasture (Lindsay 2011: 68). In addition, the patchy distribu- but not intensive agriculture. By limiting pastoralist mobility
tion of water and woodlands in the arid and increasingly colonial authorities intended to prevent the degradation of
fragmented rangelands encourages elephants to cluster in high potentially high-yield areas reserved for Europeans
densities around vegetation and wetland refugia during pe- (Anderson 2002), yet these programmes alienated pastoralists
riods of drought, depleting local forage resources (De Beer from rangelands ill-suited to other forms of production.
et al. 2006; Chamaillé-Jammes et al. 2008). As the mortality Amboseli has seen similar processes of rangeland fragmenta-
of trees has exceeded the recruitment of woody vegetation in tion and a push from successive authorities towards
the area, the landscape has become more open. The extent to sedentism, creating the conditions for overgrazing both on
which elephants are driving the contraction of woodlands in and off conservancies. It is also clear that degradation there
Amboseli remains contentious (see Spinage 2012), yet there is may be partly attributed to mismanaged conservation strate-
evidence in Amboseli indicating that as elephants are com- gies implemented in the early and mid-twentieth century. In all
pressed into drought refugia, rangeland productivity declines cases, landscape change, degradative or otherwise, is funda-
(Western et al. 2015). In contrast, outside protected areas it is mentally a product of particular historical and socio-political
said that ‘cattle create trees’ (Reid 2012: 184). Here, the pres- conditions as opposed to being an inevitable outcome of pas-
ence of humans to a large degree deters elephants from remov- toral production.
ing woody vegetation, and livestock grazing has been found to
promote seedling growth by cropping the herbaceous layer
Maintaining ‘Balance’
and increasing space and access to light (Western and
Maitumo 2004).
As well exemplified in Baringo, the mismanagement of eastern
African rangelands stems from widespread misunderstandings
of the dynamic variability of water and grazing resources, and
Discussion a lack of awareness of the strategies pastoralists employ to
navigate this variability. Non-equilibrium ecological theory
The variety of approaches to land use policy and rangeland highlights the environmental stochasticism seen in many
management employed in Laikipia, Baringo, and Amboseli, semi-arid landscapes and cites variability as the principal driver
and the ecological consequences of these interventions with of ecological persistence (Ellis and Swift 1988). In grazing
reference to overgrazing must be considered within the con- systems with predictable rainfall and forage (so-called
text of each area’s colonial and post-colonial history, as we equilibrial systems), livestock populations are moderated by
have shown here (Fig. 5). The disparity in resources between competition, and conservative stocking rates are encouraged
Laikipia’s private and community ranches is reflected in the so that pasture shortages during dry years do not bring drastic
productivity and sustainability of their respective management drought-induced mortality (Caughley 1979). However, in
strategies. Surplus resources within the private ranches ame- grazing systems where forage production is unpredictable
liorate abiotic unpredictability in the form of climatic and and variable (non-equilibrium systems), competition over re-
environmental change, while overpopulated communal lands sources features minimally in regulating populations (Wiens
with restricted access to pastures are often inefficient and left 1977; Ellis and Swift 1988). It has been suggested that biotic
vulnerable to drought and blight. In Baringo, landscape reha- factors like grazing have no lasting impact in systems where
bilitation projects were based on a failure to comprehend the inter-annual rainfall varies by a coefficient of >30% (Stafford
significant local hydroclimatic variability that makes the Smith 1996). Under such conditions, livestock populations are

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426 Hum Ecol (2019) 47:419–434

Fig. 5 Conceptual table

summarising: a) theoretical
developments in rangeland
ecology and their relevance and
application; b) the causal
relationships between historical
interventions and ecological
modification and degradation in
our case study areas

controlled by drought and disease, making overgrazing unlike- good times milk yields can be relied upon for sustenance, but
ly (Sullivan and Rohde 2002). Overall, there is growing accep- under stressful conditions milk production falls and people
tance that ecosystems can fluctuate between equilibrium and consume their animals to reduce stocking rates and to meet
non-equilibrium dynamics (Briske et al. 2003; Vetter 2005). dietary requirements, ultimately improving the health of the
Periodic deficits in forage are therefore unavoidable in herd. After severe droughts, when continued offtake has re-
semi-arid savannah ecosystems, and pastoralists have devel- duced the rate of herd recovery, the rapid metabolic rate and
oped strategies to cope with such challenges. Mobility is em- milk response of cattle during realimentation is of importance,
braced to maximize production in areas that have spatially and favouring dairy- rather than meat-based pastoral production
temporally uneven resource distributions (Western 1982; strategies (Western and Finch 1986). Pastoralists in drought-
Shetler 2007). Livestock breeds favoured by pastoralists in prone parts of eastern Africa therefore maintain large herds
highly seasonal and drought prone rangelands are able to ad- that are managed for their ability to produce milk over meat
just physiologically to food and water deprivation (Nkedianye and for their capacity to withstand periodic grazing deficits.
et al. 2011). In anticipation of stock losses, large herd owners Temporary participation in non-pastoralist economies and
can also distribute their animals more widely to those with economic re-distributions also allow individuals who have
whom they have kin and non-kin alliances as a form of insur- taken large herd losses to re-enter herding following cata-
ance or ‘risk-pooling’ (Aktipis et al. 2011). Pastoralists stra- strophic losses (Shetler 2007). Pastoralists in Laikipia,
tegically manage their herds and model their livelihoods Baringo, and Amboseli have all seen these strategies and their
around ecosystems where losses are to be predicted. In this potential effectiveness severely curtailed: land divisions have
sense, large herds built up over good seasons are a way of restricted mobility and disrupted risk-pooling networks, and a
storing surplus reserves to be used in poor seasons. During lack of resources encourages overstocking in order to

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Hum Ecol (2019) 47:419–434 427

maximise milk production, with consequent negative impacts on studies of soil nutrient and seed redistribution linked to
on herd and ecosystem health. pastoralist activity. Cycles of daytime grazing and nightly cor-
ralling lead to concentrations of nutrients and seeds within
Ecologies of Herding temporary settlement sites that repel animals like elephants
and which persist as ‘glades’ in savannah landscapes (e.g.,
The notion that pastoralists are environmentally irresponsible Reid and Ellis 1995; Young et al. 1995; Veblen 2013;
and stand in opposition to rangeland conservation goals has Fig. 6). The particular species that are represented within
been challenged for several decades (e.g., Ellis and Swift glades varies widely and appears dependent on highly specific
1988; Warren 1995; Homewood 2008; Reid 2012). That live- local ecological conditions. While nutrient rich grasses are a
stock and wildlife are incompatible is contradicted by evi- common feature, species differ through space and time.
dence that the presence of wildlife enhances cattle perfor- Porensky and Veblen (2015), for example, observe high den-
mance (survival, fecundity and weight-gain) and vice versa sities of Cynodon plectostachyus within glades in central
(Odadi et al. 2011). Similar arguments have been made based Laikipia, yet this species was not recorded by Young et al.

Fig. 6 The possible impacts and

outcomes of pastoralist settlement
activity in savannah landscapes in
eastern Africa. Photographs (P.
Lane) show aerial view of Maasai
settlement and degrading houses
within an abandoned settlement,
both in Amboseli

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428 Hum Ecol (2019) 47:419–434

(1995) when working in the same area; instead, Digitaria in shaping management plans that would avoid overgrazing on
milanjiana was found to dominate. In Botswana, Cenchrus a year-by-year basis. However, they are more challenging to
ciliaris is strongly associated with Iron Age pastoralist settle- understand from an archaeological or palaeoecological perspec-
ments (Denbow 1979), yet elsewhere in southern Africa, such tive. Conservation management generally focuses on the short-
locations host anomalous concentrations of woody taxa like term, decadal-scale effects of pastoralism and human occupa-
Vachellia (Acacia) tortilis within a Burkea africana-- tion, and can be limited to a single species (see Solbraa 2002).
dominated background (Blackmore et al. 1990). A similar This level of specificity is not usually available to the palaeo-
pattern observed in northern Kenya is attributed to the trans- sciences. There is no clear method for identifying overgrazing
port and deposition of acacia seeds in the dung of browse- in palaeoenvironmental proxy records, where generally only
feeding livestock (Reid and Ellis 1995). long-term consequences of certain actions are visible. At the
As distinct ‘patches’ within a wider savannah mosaic, Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area, Tanzania, for example,
glades encourage habitat heterogeneity with associated bene- pastures were observed to be overgrazed in terms of unsustain-
ficial consequences for biodiversity (Young et al. 2018); rich able livestock densities, yet without exhibiting conspicuous
grasses attract wild grazers (e.g., Augustine 2004), while edge symptoms of long-term degradation (Homewood and
effects ensure that their influence extends beyond the perime- Rodgers 1987) - i.e., the transformative changes that might be
ter of former herder settlements (Young et al. 1995; visible on the centennial and millennial scales that archaeolo-
Cadenasso et al. 2003). In addition, many pastoralists utilise gists and palaeoecologists generally work with.
controlled burning in order to promote grazing resources, with
wider ecological implications. In woody savannah areas on Overgrazing and the Historical Record
the eastern edge of Amboseli, controlled seasonal burning
by pastoralist communities reduces overall biomass and pre- In order to be identifiable in the historical record, the effects of
vents hotter fires that damage trees (Kamau and Medley overgrazing must constitute environmental or socio-cultural
2014). A co-benefit of anthropogenic burning is the reduction change at a scale sufficient to leave recognisable traces.
of disease vector-harbouring habitats through burning, report- Archaeologically, ecological degradation might lead to chang-
ed across eastern Africa (Shetler 2007; Butz 2009; Kamau and es in hunting and herding patterns or a reduction of livestock
Medley 2014). This has a similar effect to synthetic acaricides densities, perhaps evident in zooarchaeological assemblages,
used to combat tick-borne infection of livestock and exercises or depopulation and significant change in settlement patterns.
a positive impact on biodiversity by reducing transmission to Geological and palaeoecological traces might include in-
wild animal populations (Goodenough et al. 2017). creased soil erosion (possibly resulting from bare grounds),
Most of the data generated and cited in support of these reduced water infiltration into soils and increased runoff, dam-
counter-arguments to narratives of declination are based on age to soil seed-banks, reduced grass cover and increased bush
contemporary observation; questions remain over how best encroachment, expansion of niches and thus increased
to access and integrate the longer-term dynamics of herder- chances of species-invasiveness, reduction of coprophilic fun-
rangeland interaction in present day ecological syntheses and gal spores, biogeochemical signals, and a general reduction of
rangeland management policy. Rangeland health is linked to biomass and faunal and floral diversity. However, these must
more than simply rainfall and stocking densities, but rather is also be distinguished from the effects of non-anthropogenic
shaped by the cumulative (i.e., long-term) effects of how re- drivers such as climate change.
source access and use is regulated (see also Lambin et al. In the historical sciences, overgrazing is more closely con-
2001). Equally, socio-cultural processes must be considered nected to degradation and ideas of thresholds or tipping points
alongside environmental drivers and legacies. It is further im- than in rangeland ecology or conservation (Mysterud 2006).
portant to acknowledge that while this paper is highly focused Due to the nature of archaeological and palaeoecological data,
on livestock rearing aspects of pastoral production systems, overgrazing is more likely to be evaluated as a longer-term
pastoral livelihoods have long incorporated diverse pursuits process with long lasting environmental and social effects
such as cultivation, iron-production, hunting and fishing, the leading to irreversible environmental change and degradation.
impacts of which cannot be overlooked when investigating Wright (2017), for example, argues that the emergence of
East African ecologies through time (Shoemaker 2018). The pastoralism in the Sahara may have breached an ecological
entanglement (sensu Lane 2016) of cultural, political, eco- ‘tipping point’ that contributed to the abrupt termination of
nomic, and environmental dynamics is such that single- the African Humid Period (deMenocal et al. 2000). Wright’s
disciplinary approaches to issues like overgrazing are inade- hypothesis explicitly avoids monocausal explanations for re-
quate and prone to motivated reasoning. gime shifts, contending that an ecosystem already under stress
Concepts of carrying capacity - the maximal population and close to the ‘precipice’ of change might be triggered in
(e.g., of livestock) an ecosystem can support, beyond which response to new, external dynamics such as overgrazing (see
productivity declines - and equilibrium have been instrumental Scheffer and Carpenter 2003). Various models trace steadily

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Hum Ecol (2019) 47:419–434 429

decreasing precipitation and increasingly xeric conditions fol- spores) in combination with spatial ethnography (e.g.,
lowing the Holocene Climate Optimum at c. 8200 BP, while Shetler 2007), historical mapping, and remote sensing.
contemporaneous pollen records point to swift transitions However, for integration to be successful, geochronological
from grass- to shrub-dominated taxa seemingly coeval with constraints and chronological and metrical uncertainties in all
archaeological evidence for the emergence and spread of datasets need to be clearly presented and interpretive caveats
stock-keeping. Indeed, a significant increase in the number clarified (e.g., Trachsel and Telford 2017).
of radiocarbon-dates from archaeological sites across the In some cases, experimental work on the inclusion and
Sahara indicates rapid population expansion around the same exclusion of fire and herbivory (wild and domestic) can in-
time (Manning and Timpson 2014). Wright (2017: 9) attri- form and be used to test historical research questions as well as
butes the vegetation change, albeit provisionally, to anthropo- modern land management or savannah rehabilitation (e.g.,
genic fire suppression and livestock grazing. An increase in Riginos et al. 2012; Young et al. 2018). Anthropogenic glades
albedo commensurate with such an ecological shift has been and their associated ecological effects - such as localised soil
modelled to affect monsoon flow to the extent required for the enrichment (e.g., Muchiru et al. 2009) - have been shown to
observed drop in rainfall (Claussen and Gayler 1997). persist for centuries and are thus viable subjects for archaeo-
Wright (2017) offers a persuasive synthesis of the climatic, logical investigation (e.g., Boles and Lane 2016; Marshall
ecological and demographic evidence for anthropogenic land- et al. 2018). Such analyses might be refined through experi-
scape change and its broader consequences, supported by mental work to differentiate between the specific drivers of
more recent historical observations from New Zealand and local glade formations. Co-location of archaeological and
North America where the introduction of domestic livestock palaeoenvironmental studies can also lead to stronger narra-
by Europeans demonstrably impacted vegetation regimes. tives of long-term human-environment interactions and each
However, at a basic level, it is difficult to accept that the can support the limitations of the other (e.g., Taylor et al.
functional ecology of colonial European stock-keeping should 2005; Marchant et al. 2018).
be analogous to mid-Holocene herding in the Sahara. Advances in GPS-tracking technology provide means to
Moreover, given the scale of the region that was opening up explore herding strategies and livestock grazing behaviour at
- i.e., the breadth of the Sahara - pastoralist population densi- high spatial and temporal resolutions (Coppolillo 2000; Butt
ties and livestock counts were likely to have been relatively 2010; Liao et al. 2018). Integrating empirical mapping data
low during the early phases of domestication, even during the with knowledge of social, historical, and ecological contexts
apparent demographic peak at c. 7500 BP (Manning and presents a more complex and variable picture of pastoralist
Timpson 2014). As is clear from our case studies, the degree livelihoods, one that brings into question models of past land
of overgrazing required to exceed ecological regime transi- use constructed using immutable typologies (e.g., mobile,
tions can often be linked to restrictions placed on pastoral semi-mobile, sedentary, or pastoral vs. agro-pastoral) and de-
mobility, itself akin to a self-policing mechanism that negates terministic parameters like resource locations (Liao et al.
excessive exploitation of a single resource area (Krätli et al. 2018). Rather, production systems are shown to be influenced
2013; see also Butt 2010). It seems unlikely that early Saharan by dynamic relationships between diverse ecological and
herders were forcibly restricted in their movements. Indeed, socio-cultural factors that vary through time. That such varia-
the scholars on whose data Wright’s hypothesis is based sug- tion should be significant even at relatively short-term season-
gest a very different scenario: that the spread of pastoralism al and intra-annual scales furthers the argument for the devel-
may in fact have increased vegetation biomass and prolonged opment and integration of historical data. Again, this com-
the ‘Green Sahara’ (Brierley et al. 2018). plexity and dynamism highlights the need for subtler interpre-
Studies like Wright’s (2017) - whose findings we cannot tations of herding strategies in the archaeological record using
entirely discount, even if they can be refuted - reinforce the diverse datasets rather than reconstructions based on formula-
importance of minimising generalisation and incautious anal- ic conceptual models.
ogy when exploring past human-environment relationships.
Such research demands approaches that combine archaeolog-
ical and palaeoenvironmental data framed by detailed under- Conclusions
standings of ecology, ethnography, and history, and how they
are entangled (Gillson and Marchant 2014; Marchant and Our case studies offer strong support to the argument that
Lane 2014). Though the principal generator of knowledge of adaptive mobility is key to the ecological resilience of both
the human past, archaeology is beholden to draw on lessons pastoralist livelihoods and rangeland ecosystems. As tourism-
from other disciplines if its interpretations are to maintain led conservation and rapid urbanisation dominate land politics
accuracy and retain relevance. Likewise, palaeoenvironmental in eastern Africa, the pattern of pastoral-marginalisation that
research should incorporate empirical data relating to land began with British colonialism (see Neumann 2002; Hughes
cover and land use (e.g., sedimentology, charcoal, fungal 2006) has continued, with herders being denied access to

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430 Hum Ecol (2019) 47:419–434

historic rangelands, often with direct citation of overgrazing force us to think beyond ‘overgrazing’ in our interpretations of
and misuse (Brockington 1999; Brockington and Homewood past and present transformations of rangelands.
2001). This has had severe consequences not only for the
herders themselves (Msoffe et al. 2011) but also for the eco- Acknowledgements The background research for this paper has been
supported by a variety of funding bodies, all of whom are warmly thanked
systems from which they are excluded. Certainly, vegetation is
here: Initial research in Laikipia was undertaken under the auspices of
extremely quick to change in the absence of cultural controls. Kenya Research Permit MOEST 13/014 issued by the Ministry of
In the Masol Plains northwest of Lake Baringo, for example, Education to PL. The archaeological surveys and excavations between
there was a 26% increase in bushland area and a 25% decrease 2002 and 2005 were funded by the British Academy, under the BIEA’s
Landscape and Environmental Change in Semi-Arid Regions of Eastern
in grassy areas over a period of 5 years between 1973 and
and Southern Africa – Developing Interdisciplinary Approaches project.
1978 when the Pokot abandoned the plains due to interethnic Follow-up excavations and survey work in 2010 were undertaken as part
conflict (Conant 1982). In the case of state-supported evic- of the Historical Ecologies of East African Landscapes (HEEAL) project
tions from wildlife reserves, lack of foresight in the planning funded by a European Union Marie Curie Excellence grant (MEXT-CT-
2006-042704) awarded to PL. OB was permitted to undertake research in
process has sometimes deleteriously impacted the biodiversity
Laikipia by the National Commission for Science, Technology and
of ecosystems that land-managers had sought to prioritise Innovation (NACOSTI), Kenya (permit no. NACOSTI/P/14/5093/383).
(e.g., Bhola et al. 2012; Veldhuis et al. 2019). This contributed to PhD research supported by the Arts and Humanities
The scale of the ecological footprint of pastoralism is Research Council and UCL Graduate School. Research by NP-S, AS, and
CCM was supported as part of the European Commission Marie
exemplified in a study undertaken in the Iremito region of
Skłodowska-Curie Initial Training Network titled Resilience in East
Amboseli (Western and Dunne 1979). Nine new Maasai set- African Landscapes (REAL) FP7-PEOPLE-2013-ITN, project number
tlements were established within 157 km2 between 1969 and 606879 awarded to PL. CCM’s work was also supported by the
1970; assuming an impact radius of 225 m and allowing for Adaptation & Resilience to Climate Change (ARCC) in Eastern Africa
project funded by the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet),
a 68% resettlement rate - i.e., the re-use of previously occu-
Formas and the Swedish International Development and Cooperation
pied locations - over a century, it was predicted that almost Agency (SIDA), grant number 2016-06355 awarded to PL and AE.
25% of the total area - nearly 40 km2 - would be directly Research by OB, AS, CCM, and NP-S, was conducted under the follow-
affected (Muchiru et al. 2009). Given the millennial time- ing research permit numbers NACOSTI/P/14/5093/383, NACOSTI/P/
15/4357/3327, NACOSTI/P/14/6965/1096, NACOSTI/P/14/7542/2843,
scales over which pastoralism has been present in African
respectively. We also wish to thank all other collaborators on these pro-
ecosystems, its potential consequences for shaping savannah jects, our numerous field assistants, local hosts and community interloc-
ecologies is vast. However, pastoralism comes in many utors for facilitating and enabling the research and their enduring hospi-
forms throughout its history and there is a pressing need to tality and goodwill. Particular thanks are due to the staff of the British
Institute in Eastern Africa for logistical and other support over the years,
move beyond normative models of pastoralists’ behaviour
and equipment loans and provision of field vehicles; as well as partners at
and impact if we are to understand their interactions with the National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi. ASTER L1B data used in Fig.
rangeland ecosystems. Heterogeneity is central to the func- 2 are distributed by the Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center
tioning of these systems, which the curtailment of pastoralist (LP DAAC), located at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Center for
Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) http://lpdaac.usgs.gov.
and wildlife mobility, observed in our case studies, threatens
We are grateful to the editors of Human Ecology and our various
to further homogenise and weaken. reviewers for their insightful comments and support in seeing this paper
The examples of Laikipia, Baringo, and Amboseli illustrate through to publication.
how damaging and unsustainable levels of grazing can fre-
quently be attributed to external pressures such as conflict, Compliance with Ethical Standards
restrictions on mobility, and the cascade effects of non-
grazing resource exploitation. In Laikipia, the imposition of Conflict of Interest The authors declare they have no conflict of interest.
physical boundaries and the effective ghettoisation of small- Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative
scale herders in densely-stocked group ranches has seen those Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://
pastures suffer, while large landowners with fewer stock have creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use,
seen biodiversity increases; similarly, in the early-to-mid- distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appro-
priate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the
twentieth century restrictions were placed on herders in Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
Baringo in order to limit their ‘degradative’ impact, only to
increase pressures on an already relatively unproductive area;
the contraction of rangelands in Amboseli and constriction of
migratory wild animals to isolated zones and corridors has
dramatically altered local ecologies, yet here again pastoralists References
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