The World Bank/WBI’s CBNRM Initiative

Case Received : February 3, 1998

Author : Francisco Tunga Alberto, General Secretariat, FONGA

Telephone: +244 2 322637

The municipality of Gambos encompasses the sectors of Taca, Tchico and Panguelo. It is located in Huila province, in southern Angola, and covers an area of 8,420 square kilometers.

The altitude of Gambos ranges from 1100 to 1300 meters, sloping downward from north to south. The western portion is most rugged, particularly in the sectors of Taca and Panguelo.

The climate is that of a transitional zone of the Sahelian-Sudanian type or, according to Koephen, a hot and dry climate.

The average annual temperature ranges between 23° and 25°C. The rainy season runs from November to April, with heavy rains in January and February. However, there is occasionally a period of two or more extremely dry weeks during the rainy season.

The dominant Gabbro-Ornotozitic geological formation is reflected in the composition of the mountains. As they erode, they produce black laterite, derived from gabbro.

There is no year-round watercourse in the area. There are roughly one hundred dry riverbeds that hold rainwater over a period of time ranging from a few hours to two weeks during the rainy season.

"Mutiate" (Colophos Permum Mopane) and "Omupapa" (Spyrostachis Africana) are the dominant vegetation in the region.

The bushes are caduciferous species, while the herbaceous vegetation is of the terophytic type, characterized by regrowth at the beginning of the rainy season.

In certain areas, there are baobabs (Adansonea Digitata), "Omuhama" (Termi-nalia Prunioides), "Omutunda" (Boscia Foetida), "Omukangue" (Commiphora Africana), "Omaianga" (Eurphorbia Compiscua) and other species scattered through the region.

All the species present xerophytic characteristics and are adapted to low and irregularly distributed rainfall, a relative drop in humidity and a wide temperature range.

During the colonial era, livestock marketing in southern Angola was one of the main vectors of development.

Such activities date back to the 19th century and intensified around World War II, in the 1930s and early 1940s. The activities were conducted in a traditional manner without any disturbance. In the 1950s, commercial expansion led to the confiscation of lands from local inhabitants, culminating in the creation of "ranches" complete with all necessary infrastructure. The commercial success of livestock slaughtering operations greatly contributed to the construction of industrial slaughterhouses in the northern, central and southern regions of the country (Sofrio de Luanda, Lubango, Namibe, Camabatela, Concar no Huambo). European breeders occupied more than 1,500,000 hectares, a situation which led to serious land conflicts with the indigenous pastoral population.

Following independence (1975-1990), with the massive withdrawal of Portuguese colonists, several situations had a direct impact on the Gambos pastoral community:

1)     the nearly total breakdown of marketing channels;

2)     a breakdown in veterinary assistance;

3)     deterioration of more than 70% of all infrastructure (hand pumps, water storage, etc.);

4)     deterioration of social infrastructure;

5)     availability of space from former breeders.

From 1991 to 1996, there was a modest renewal of livestock marketing in the south. The local population competed to recover former compounds. The majority of claimants had no technical or economic capabilities. Development agencies began the process of rehabilitating and/or constructing social infrastructure, as well as water points for humans and livestock.

As seen above, the main problems confronting pastoral populations are linked to aspects of their survival and also their livestock's survival. In the areas occupied by indigenous herders, there is a problem of barbed wire. But the herders use sections of tree trunks to create enclosures. Water for humans and livestock, veterinary assistance, marketing, health and education are generally cited in decreasing order of priority. With the exception of veterinary assistance and marketing, which require targeted approaches, these issues should be participatory at all levels in order to ensure the sustainability of any project undertaken.

Difficulty in obtaining water in a semi-arid area is a common denominator around the world. In Angola, the solutions advocated by the government for pastoral areas are as follows:

-     tubewells with hand pump facilities;

-     construction of "Chimpacas" (water storage facilities dug by the local population);

-     construction of conventional dams.

Decision-making authority for finding better solutions rests with the specialized units of Geology and Mines, so far as groundwater is concerned, and with the provincial engineering brigade, for surface water. To alleviate water problems, tubewells are preferable to dam construction, given the heavy resulting costs. But there are also limits to the use of tubewells:

-     much of the prospecting is unsuccessful;

-     the stated water flow is not often adequate for proper operation of a hand pump;

-     the lack of outstanding technical competence on the part of Hydromine staff (the government agency responsible for prospecting and tubewells). Dug storage facilities are the best option when it is impossible to use manual pumps built as long ago as the 1950s and installed in locations with favorable geological conditions.

Prior to the proclamation of independence (November 11, 1975), the water supply program targeting the southern pastoral population had been in existence for some 15 years. At that time, there were approximately 2000 water points. Today, there are two diametrically opposed points of view. One defends transhumance as an inalienable value of the pastoral population and holds that the role of the government should be limited to support for the population in improving main roads and areas of concentration. The opposing, more conservative viewpoint supports the idea of expanding the ranch system and abolishing transhumance.

What mechanisms of survival do pastoral populations follow to get around the serious water problems encountered since independence? These problems cause other, equally serious problems for the Gambos ecosystem. They affect pasturelands, livestock and humans.

To deal with the current situation, the local population simply resorts to traditional "Chimpaca" holes to find potable water and uses the water resources of former breeders (colonists).

The sole activity organized by the government throughout the years is the campaign to vaccinate cattle against major diseases. Thus, government assistance has been limited to the prevention of bovine disease. All other matters have been virtually ignored, for example:

-     disease prevention in small livestock (goats, sheep, pigs);

-     medical prophylaxis for all species;

-     therapeutic activities;

-     veterinary clinics.

Yet the results of government-sponsored campaigns are doubtful. There is no clear analytical capacity for determining the true immunological value of vaccines at the time they are administered. We believe that the results are very weak. Vaccines used in rural areas are not properly handled and are often exposed to direct sunlight. Marginalized populations, recognizing the ineffectiveness of traditional remedies, pressure the veterinary services to take action. But the results are illusory and largely translate into livestock mortality. At the request of the local population, a pilot program of veterinary assistance is being carried out. The program consists of training for 28 livestock dealers selected by the local population with the cooperation of the provincial and municipal veterinary services attached to the Ministry of Agriculture. The goal of the program is to contribute to reducing livestock mortality.

The specific objectives are varied, but one of the most significant is to create alternative conditions for local populations to solve the problems of livestock disease.

Soon after independence, the Angolan government created a livestock marketing board, called Dinapropre. A record was set in 1987, with the sale of 25,000 head of cattle purchased from small herders. Dinapropre then began to gradually lose its supremacy to the detriment of the private sector. The lack of credit and the very limited financial capacity of economic agents as a result of generalized decapitalization (the war factor) contributed to weak livestock marketing.

Pursuant to this case study of the pastoral population of Gambos, we can conclude that pastoral resources management in local communities must consistently focus on the following issues:

-     Herd composition: species, breeds, population, health, relationship between livestock and pasturage;

-     Livestock managers: herders, ownership of livestock and pasturelands, individual and collective strategies, specific cultural traditions, relationship between livestock and farming, marketing, savings and crops associated with livestock;

-     Infrastructure and watering points;