Perceptions of land tenure security in pastoral areas in Marsabit, Kenya

This report examines land tenure and governance among 550 households in the Waldaa community of northern Marsabit, Kenya, near the Ethiopian border. Pastoral tenure is vested in the collective, where household rights to graze and water livestock coexist with collective rules governing resource use.

For nearly five decades, the Waldaa have retained rights to land and natural resources without formal registration, relying on flexible, overlapping patterns of access that enable pastoralism to thrive. Vulnerable groups, including widows and orphans, report equal rights within the collective.

However, tenure security faces mounting pressures: the Community Land Act (2016) and efforts to register lands, unpredictable weather shortening wet-season grazing, and rising population and settlement. These dynamics risk favouring privatisation of collective lands and intensifying resource conflict.

Findings underscore the importance of community-based governance and strengthening inclusive institutions, with change rooted in participatory dialogue that respects traditional systems.