Case Study

User-centered early warning system protecting over 500,000 pastoralists and livestock from drought in Borana zone and Somali Region, Ethiopia

author(s)

Gebre, Liyuneh

themes
  • Climate action
regions
  • Ethiopia
original file download
full citation

Gebre, L.; Alemayehu, S.; Workeneh, S.; Tesfaye, L.; Tegegne, G.; Abdulhamid, N. (2026) User-centered early warning system protecting over 500,000 pastoralists and livestock from drought in Borana zone and Somali Region, Ethiopia. Study AFR-2501. Rome (Italy): Bioversity International; Cali (Colombia): International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). 3 p.

The Livestock Water and Pasture Monitoring and Early Warning System (LWPM-EWS) strengthened climate resilience among pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in Ethiopia’s Borana Zone, Oromia Region, and the Somali Regional State. Implemented with the Ministry of Agriculture, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research Institute, Regional Research Institutes, NGOs and development partners, the 2024–2025 initiative integrates near-real-time monitoring, seasonal forecasts, and community dissemination tools—Community Information Centers (CICs), SMS alerts, and radio—to enable anticipatory drought responses, improve resource governance, and support gender-inclusive, evidence-based adaptation through Human-Centered Design.