Competition on Rangeland Utilizations Conflict Source among Users in Semi–Arid Areas at Eldebeibat, South Kordofan State–Sudan

This study was conducted at Eldebeibat area in South Kordofan State, Sudan. The aim of this study was to assess the role of competition on rangelands utilization in the occurrence of conflicts between land users in the semi-arid areas of Eldebeibat, Sudan. Two target questionnaires were designed to collect data from two groups of land users namely nomadic pastoralists and sedentary farmers that are using the area. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). The results showed that illiteracy was high in both groups. The crop production was the main source of income in the sedentary communities while pastoralists practiced cultivation beside livestock rising at the same time. However, both groups preferred raising mixed species of livestock in their herd structure. In addition, it was found that milk production represented the main goal of livestock keeping for the both groups. The results also indicated that the main reason of the livestock health deterioration was shortage of forage. Moreover, pastoralists followed the restricted routes to practice grazing. All respondents included in this study considered the occurrence of conflicts among them as a normal phenomenon and the causes of conflicts are different between them. Most of the nomad pastoralists considered blockage of routes of livestock movement by farms as the main cause of conflicts whereas sedentary groups attributed the occurrence of conflicts for damaging their farms by pastoralists’ livestock for entrance to and exit from grazing land and during grazing that was increased during rainy seasons in particular. The two groups resort to traditional local administration (Godeyah) for reconciliation and solving the conflicts among them.