Dignity, Heritage and Desirable Development: Grounding the Sustainable Development Goals with Pastoralist Communities in Tanzania

The question of how to bring dignity and heritage to the fore of sustainable development initiatives is foundational to pastoralists’ contests over development. For decades East African pastoralist communities have been an epicenter of community-based activism and development initiatives, often in conflict with official visions for pastoralist people. These contests show that pastoralist visions of prosperity and a good life, derived from the conceptual pillars of land, livestock and culture, and founded on healthy ecosystems, hinge on dignified treatment of pastoral heritage.

This project aims to: 1. examine how dignity and heritage can be brought to the centre of sustainable development in specific communities; 2. understand how formal policy processes that form around the Sustainable Development Goals and other similar international and national targets engage with heritage and dignity; and 3. explore how insights from these instances can facilitate critical scholars’ engagement with sustainable development agendas and alternatives to them.