Borana Indigenous knowledge on water resource management

Abstract

Borana pastoralists in Ethiopia inhabit areas where there are scarce water resources and extreme climatic conditions that limit the options for alternative livelihood systems. Accordingly, the agro-ecology of Borana pastoralists is predominantly arid and often subjected to variable and uncertain rain fall patterns. It is characterized by recurrent drought that in turn disrupts livelihood of the people and biodiversity of the area. In order to cope up with such natural calamities, Borana Pastoralists have been able to develop indigenous institutions applicable to key pastoral resource management. This article explores Borana indigenous knowledge in scarce water resource management so as to bring the concept and contribution of indigenous knowledge on resource management to rhetoric views of higher education academia. There are two major water points in Borana rangeland namely: wells and ponds. Borana indigenous institutions on water resource management are led by a person holding an indigenous title known as Abba Herrega, who is responsible for maintenance of the water points and fair distribution of the available water to the community members. Besides, Borana pastoralists have an indigenous mechanism to initiate an establishment of new water sources. To this end, a person who motivates a new water source is given an indigenous title known as Ababa Konfi. A water source initiated by Abba Konfi is to be named after the name of the Konfi title bearer. Nevertheless, the water source remains to be communal property of the Borana and never a private property of the Konfi title holder. Borana indigenous knowledge plays a key role in conserving the scarce water resources of Borana rangelands where intervention of modern technology that centre on the knowledge of the community is very limited. However, Borana indigenous knowledge is in a declining trend for several factors now a day. For sustainable development in Borana rangelands, policy makers and other development agents along with the academy have to identify and make use of indigenous knowledge of the community rather than imposing alien methods.