Chasing the Water: New perspectives on water security for pastoralists at World Water Week

These interconnected challenges were at the heart of the session “Chasing the Water – Pastoralists and Grazing”, held on 25 August during World Water Week 2026 as part of the UN International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026.

Bringing together perspectives from research, civil society and international organisations, the session explored how groundwater, green water, rangeland restoration and governance can contribute to more resilient pastoral systems across East Africa.

Groundwater – a hidden lifeline under pressure

Groundwater plays a crucial role in many of Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands, where it is estimated to provide 45–60% of domestic water. Yet these resources are coming under increasing pressure.

Wario Bonaya from Gatsby Africa’s Water Programme described how groundwater is being affected by a combination of factors, including growing settlement, fragmented rangelands, increasing water demand and weak or fragmented governance. In some areas, critical aquifers are being depleted faster than they can naturally recharge.

Rather than viewing groundwater development simply as a way of increasing water access, Bonaya emphasised the importance of managing it as part of a wider rangeland system. This includes improving borehole management, investing in groundwater recharge, carefully considering settlement growth and water use, and strengthening institutions that enable pastoral communities to participate in water governance.

The challenge, in other words, is not only how to access more water, but how to ensure that water resources remain viable over the long term.

Water development must support mobility

This broader perspective was also central to Sajila Pamita of IMPACT Kenya – Indigenous Movement for Peace Advancement & Conflict Transformation, who highlighted the importance of mobility in pastoral livelihoods in Northern Kenya.

Water infrastructure can be transformative for communities, but its effects depend on how and where it is developed. Pamita pointed to the risks of concentrating water use around individual boreholes. Solar-powered boreholes, for example, can significantly improve access to water, but if introduced without considering wider ecological and social dynamics, they may also encourage more permanent settlement around water points. This can increase pressure on grazing areas and, in some circumstances, contribute to tensions and conflict.

Pamita presented an approach in which different types of water infrastructure complement rather than replace one another. Surface-water systems such as sand dams, pans and shallow wells can be combined with strategically located solar boreholes, helping communities make use of different water sources across seasons.

Integrating water development with communal land-use planning can also help maintain access to both wet- and dry-season grazing areas and support the mobility on which pastoral production depends.

An important part of this approach is recognising that pastoral communities already have institutions for managing shared resources. Systems such as the Borana Dheeda, Rendille Naabo, Samburu Laigwenak and Maasai age-set systems have historically played important roles in regulating access to water and grazing, as well as migration routes and relationships between communities.

Strengthening and working with these institutions, rather than overlooking them, can contribute not only to more sustainable resource management but also to conflict prevention and peacebuilding.

The key message is not that solar boreholes are the problem, but that their benefits depend on how they are integrated into broader, locally governed water and land-use systems.

From rainfall to resilient rangelands

While much of the discussion focused on visible water infrastructure, Annrose W. Mwangi from the Department of Forest Ecology and Management at SLU drew attention to a less visible but equally important component of water security: green water.

Green water refers to rainfall that is stored in the soil and subsequently used by vegetation. For pastoral systems, this soil moisture is fundamental to the productivity and resilience of rangelands, ultimately supporting livestock, food security and livelihoods.

In her presentation, Mwangi shared findings from a systematic review of rangeland restoration in East Africa and highlighted the Restore4More initiative. Her contribution broadened the understanding of water security beyond wells, boreholes and other infrastructure. Managing green water is also about maintaining the capacity of landscapes to capture, store and use rainfall effectively.

Building policy coherence across borders

The relationship between water, land use and governance becomes particularly complex in border regions. This was illustrated through a discussion of the Karamoja–Turkana Complex (KTC) along the Uganda–Kenya border.

Alan Nicol of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), together with Jackie Akot Abalo, Lucky Sarafina Nakiru and Simon Thuo, examined how fragmented policies and institutions can contribute to water insecurity in the region.

They emphasised three interconnected forms of policy incoherence. The first is vertical, where responsibilities and priorities may not align between national and local levels. The second is horizontal, where sectors such as water, mining and land management operate with limited coordination. The third concerns the relationship between formal institutions and local communities, particularly when customary governance systems and local knowledge are not adequately reflected in formal planning.

Addressing these gaps requires cooperation at several levels. Proposed measures included stronger coordination within Uganda, renewed bilateral cooperation between Uganda and Kenya, joint monitoring of water and grazing conditions, greater recognition of pastoral mobility corridors and stronger representation of women, youth and pastoralists in water-management institutions.

Such measures are particularly important in landscapes where people, livestock, water resources and ecosystems all move across administrative boundaries.

A shared call for more integrated solutions

Although the speakers approached water security from different angles, their contributions pointed towards a common conclusion: water management in pastoral landscapes cannot be separated from land, mobility, livelihoods, governance and peace.

The discussions at World Water Week highlighted the value of combining scientific evidence with the knowledge, practices and institutions of pastoral communities. They also underscored the importance of looking beyond individual interventions. A borehole, a restored rangeland or a new policy may each provide benefits, but their long-term impact depends on how they interact with the wider social and ecological system.

As the UN International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists 2026 continues, the session offered a timely reminder that water security for pastoralists is not simply about bringing more water to people. It is about managing water and landscapes in ways that sustain mobility, livelihoods, ecosystems and communities over time.

In that sense, chasing the water is ultimately about understanding the landscape around it — and the people who depend on it.