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Posner and her Research Assistant, Noor Hussein Noor, piloting the questionnaire with a Samburu pastoralist at his ³¾²¹²Ô²â²¹³Ù³Ù²¹Ìý(homestead) March 2025.

Sarah Posner is a PhD candidate in the Department of GeographyÌýadvised by Professor John O’Loughlin. Her current work focuses on the role of local institutions used by four pastoralist societies to manage resources and associated conflict and thus sustain their livelihoods in an arid region of Northern Kenya.

The arid rangelands of Northern Kenya support the livelihoods of diverse pastoralist and agro-pastoralist communities, which depend on natural resources including grazing areas and waterÌýsources that are seasonally available and thus proneÌýto environmental pressures. When conflicts arise over resource use, traditional reconciliation forums exist which have evolved alongside mechanisms implemented by formal county and national governments as well as NGOs and other non-state actors, creating increasingly hybridized local institutions.

In March 2025, with CU support from the CARTSS grant, Posner conducted pilot dissertation fieldwork in Isiolo County, Northern Kenya. At the time, US federalÌýfunding remained uncertain, and her recently awarded NSF-DDRI (Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement)Ìýgrant had not yet been disbursed. Posner piloted her questionnaire through focus group discussions (FGDs) to refine theÌý design of a large survey (N=1000) and ensure contextual relevance. These FGDs were conducted in three of her four field sites in ethnically distinctive wards. Posner sought to identify the roles and practices of local committees, specifically those responsible for grazing, water, and conflict management. These FGDs built upon earlier participatory mapping exercises Posner conducted in summer 2024 and had two primary aims: first, to validate the participatory maps with a new set of respondents in each site; and second, to understand the institutional architecture governing the management of water and pasture resources, as well as mechanisms for resolving associated conflicts.

Posner and her RA taking notes during a focus group discussion with the local grazing committee in Ngaremara, Isiolo county March 2025.

Posner found that each community manages peace, water, and grazing through committees that range from customary to formalized structures. In two wards, the Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT), which oversees 43 conservancies in Northern Kenya, manages these committees. Respondents generally viewed NRT positively due to its provision of essential services often lacking from the state. However, in one ward, Borana respondents criticized NRT over transparency, accountability, and alleged land appropriation. The Borana rely on a customary system, dedha, governed by elders to manage grazing and water, but its lack of formal recognition hinders negotiations with other groups, including Somali communities in neighboring Wajir and Garissa County. Posner will conclude this phase of fieldwork in eastern Isiolo county to gather Somali perspectives on rangeland management and conflict, particularly over frequent cattle raids with the Borana.

Data from the FGDs was instrumental to Posner’s dissertation work as she used the local knowledge to inform a questionnaire that is more locally appropriate and context specific. The large N survey will be implemented in Summer 2025 to investigate whether the efficacy of these local institutional arrangements is associated with attitudes towards armed conflict and cooperation arrangements.