Policy-driven Inter-ethnic Conflicts in Southern Ethiopia

Persistent inter-ethnic conflicts in southern Ethiopia have created a crisis in security of customary land tenure in the grazing lands. This article explores the links between government administrative policies and inter-ethnic conflicts on grazing resource borders by discussing the historical relationships between contesting pastoral groups, their perceptions of resource borders and how the groups used government policies of ethnic-based decentralisation and referendum to claim ownership rights to grazing lands. The article contextualises the discussions within the politics of land use. Inter-ethnic conflicts have interfered with customary resource allocations by undermining customary institutions for resource sharing. There is a need for urgent dialogue between the government and different pastoral communities for negotiating access to key resources supported by conflict resolution in the southern rangelands of Ethiopia.