SECURING LAND RIGHTS OF PASTORALISTS IN ETHIOPIA: PROCESSES, CHALLENGES AND LESSONS

The Federal Rural Land Administration and Use Proclamation No. 456/2005 treats pastoral lands exactly the same way as crop lands by not providing specific provisions for pastoral lands. Because the 1995 constitution confers powers on the regional states to enact their own laws and Proclamation No. 456/2005 affirms this right with specific provisions for the formulation of land administration and use laws and regulations, the Afar and Somali regional states have taken steps to formulate their own land administration and use laws with special attention to cater to the particular needs of pastoral areas. While the Somali regional state is at the beginning stage of drafting its land policy, the Afar Regional State has gone much further. It issued its land administration and use policy in 2008 and enacted its proclamation in 2009. It is now in the final stages of issuing its regulations.