Why pastoralists do what the do

Attempts to 'improve' livestock farming practices by agricultural practices have often failed in arid and semii-arid communally farmed areas (Ellis & Swift 1998). Ellis (1996) argued that this this is because appropriate management intervention are different for equilibrial and non-equilibrial ecosystems and also for communal versus commercial farmer. For example, Hoffaman et al. 1999 presented three main differences for the latter in the arid and semi-arid rangelands of the karoo; producer goals ( subsistence vs profit), the relatively greater emphasis on stocking rate as a management tool in commercial agriculture production system, and the institution arragements under which grazing occurs (common property in communal systems vs private and\ or state property in commercial economies). Unlike commercial livestock enterprises ( Jones & Sandland 1974), communal farmer neither aim to maximise yiekd of meat or other products from their herds for cashe sale (Behnke 1995) nor attempt to minimise the number of people per livestock unit in order to maximum profit per individual (Swift et al. 1996). Their objecives are more complex and varied (Behnke 1985 & 1994; Debeaudoin 2001; Dikeni et al 1996). they rather aim at maximum what they perceive as total benefit from livestock keeping (Tapson 1991) in an effort to manage livestock risks, reduce household vulnerability and enhance livelihood secirity (Cousins 1998; Damarah 2001; Ward 2000). in the context of the RNP, it is important tounderstand pastoralists' objective and the motives underlying herd management. Without such an understanding, it will be very difficult to develop mutually agreed strategies for both improving the livelihoods of pastoralists and the conservation objectives of the RNP.