Natural Resource Management in the Didinga Hills A Baseline Study from Budi County, South Sudan By Paul Makenzi December 2005 DCG Report No. 39 Natural Resource Management in the Didinga Hills A Baseline Study from Budi County, South Sudan On top of Didinga Hills - Nahichot Payam Paul Makenzi DCG Report No. 39 December 2005 The Drylands Coordination Group (DCG) is an NGO-driven forum for exchange of practical experiences and knowledge on food security and natural resource management in the drylands of Africa. DCG facilitates this exchange of experiences between NGOs and research and policy-making institutions. The DCG activities, which are carried out by DCG members in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Mali and Sudan, aim to contribute to improved food security of vulnerable households and sustainable natural resource management in the drylands of Africa. The founding DCG members consist of ADRA Norway, CARE Norway, Norwegian Church Aid, Norwegian People's Aid, The Strømme Foundation and The Development Fund. The secretariat of DCG is located at the Environmental House (Miljøhuset G9) in Oslo and acts as a facilitating and implementing body for the DCG. The DCG’s activities are funded by NORAD (the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation). Extracts from this publication may only be reproduced after prior consultation with the DCG secretariat. The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed in this publication are entirely those of the author(s) and cannot be attributed directly to the Drylands Coordination Group. © Makenzi, Paul. Drylands Coordination Group Report No. 39 (12, 2005) Drylands Coordination Group c/o Miljøhuset G9 Grensen 9b N-0159 Oslo Norway Tel.: +47 23 10 94 90 Fax: +47 23 10 94 94 Internet: http://www.drylands-group.org ISSN: 1503-0601 Photo credits: T.A. Benjaminsen, Gry Synnevåg, and Paul Makenzi. Cover design: Spekter Reklamebyrå as, Ås. Printed at: Mail Boxes ETC. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACRONYMS ............................................................................................................................. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTs....................................................................................................... vi EXECUTIVE SUMMARY......................................................................................................vii 1. INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Background .................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Rationale for the Study................................................................................................... 1 1.3 Description of the Study Area........................................................................................ 1 1.3.1 Location.............................................................................................................. 1 1.3.2 Climate ............................................................................................................... 2 1.3.3 Soils.................................................................................................................... 2 1.3.4 Topography ........................................................................................................ 2 1.3.5 Vegetation .......................................................................................................... 2 1.3.6 Ethnic and Socio-Cultural set up........................................................................ 3 1.3.7 Population........................................................................................................... 4 1.3.8 Socio-political set up.......................................................................................... 5 2. METHODLOGY................................................................................................................ 6 2.1 Data collection and tools used........................................................................................ 6 2.1.1 Spatial data ......................................................................................................... 6 2.1.2 Community Sketch Map of Budi County........................................................... 6 2.1.3 How the mapping exercise was conducted ........................................................ 7 2.1.4 Transect .............................................................................................................. 9 2.1.5 The transect exercises conducted during the study ............................................ 9 2.2 Temporal Data on NRM in Budi.................................................................................. 13 2.2.1 Historical Time Lines....................................................................................... 13 2.2.2 Trend Lines ...................................................................................................... 14 2.3 Social Data on Environment and NRM in Budi........................................................... 19 2.3.1 Institutional Analysis........................................................................................ 19 2.3.2 Ranking of the listed institutions...................................................................... 21 2.3.3 Livelihood Mapping......................................................................................... 21 2.3.4 Gender analysis in NRM.................................................................................. 24 3. ANALYSIS OF ENVIRONMENT AND NRM ISSUES IN BUDI................................ 27 3.1 NRM Problems Analysis.............................................................................................. 27 3.2 Problems ranking.......................................................................................................... 29 4. DISCUSSIONS AND FINDINGS……………………………………………………….31 4.1 NRM Problems in the Agro-Pastoral Areas................................................................. 31 4.2 Environment and NRM problems in Pastoral payams of Budi.................................... 31 4.3 Farmers’ Perception of Environment and NRM Problems in Budi County ................ 32 5. NRM STRATEGIC PLAN FOR BUDi COUNTY ......................................................... 34 6. NRM COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN (CAP) AND IMPLEMENTATION ................. 36 6.1 Implementation............................................................................................................. 40 7. SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................................. 41 8. REFERENCES................................................................................................................. 44 9. ANNEXES ....................................................................................................................... 46 Annex 1: List of Participants during the four days of community workshops ........................ 46 iii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Population based on food relief record ........................................................................ 4 Table 2: Historical Time Lines of Budi County as per the local community during group discussions........................................................................................................................ 13 Table 3: List of Institutions and their activities in Budi County.............................................. 20 Table 4 : Gender Activity Profile Analysis.............................................................................. 25 Table 5: Problem Analysis ....................................................................................................... 27 Table 6: Indicators of poor and unproductive land .................................................................. 33 Table 7: Strategic NRM plan for Budi County ........................................................................ 34 Table 8: Environment/NRM Management Community Action Plan. (E/NRM) Of Budi County .............................................................................................................................. 36 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Map of South Sudan showing the Regions and Counties. The study Area (Budi) is highlighted......................................................................................................................... ix Figure 2: Community Resource Sketch Map of Budi County showing the Buya and Didinga Hills .................................................................................................................................... 8 Figure 3: Transect through Komiri, Nahichot, Loudo and Lauro payams in the Didinga Hills .......................................................................................................................................... 11 Figure 4: Transect through Kimatong, Ngaric, Komiri and Lotukei, Komiri, payams in Budi county............................................................................................................................... 12 Figure 5: Trend line of the civil war ........................................................................................ 15 Figure 6: Trend line of cattle rustling (Raiding) ...................................................................... 16 Figure 7: Trend line of Forests................................................................................................. 16 Figure 8: Trend line of water Sources, mainly the rivers........................................................