The hegemonic perspective on adaptation solely focuses on climate
stimuli as the driving force behind people's adaptation. Such a
perspective underestimates the role played by historical trajectories of
political and social forces of change in shaping current adaptation
practices. In doing so, it also separates the environment from processes
of social change. This work challenges this dominant view by arguing
that adaptation practices pursued by pastoral communities need to be
seen at the intersection of state-environment-pastoralists-interactions.
In other words, the understanding of pastoralists' risk management and
livelihood practices requires a perspective that situates local actors
into their broader socio-political and environmental contexts. By using
a political ecology approach that emphasizes on the agency of pastoral
actors, this work demonstrates how the Karrayyu pastoral groups of upper
Awash valley develop and use various risk management and livelihood
practices under the influence of both socio-political and ecological
sources of change.