The nine communities studied are all located in arid and semi-arid regions (ASALs) of Sub-Saharan Africa. However, it is important to note that while there are many similarities in the types of stresses and adaptive strategies faced, there are also significant differences which affect their livelihoods. The most stark difference probably emanates from the fact that some of the communities are completely sedentary, e.g., Mudzi in Zimbabwe and Tshunelani in South Africa, while others are migratory pastoralists, settling in their villages for part of the year and moving with their herds as the seasons and availability of water and grazing for their livestock demands. Such is the case with the Afar and Boran in Ethiopia, and the Maasai of Kenya. However, in general there is a movement towards a more settled lifestyle. In some cases, such as in the Mlambaphele Village case, only some members of the village move with the livestock to alternative water sources as the water near the village becomes insufficient to supply all human and animal requirements.

The above is important in trying to extract insights, especially for policy, because it underscores the fact that not all pastoralists in Sub-Saharan Africa face the same kind of lifestyle, and that indeed there is a certain dynamism in the lives of inhabitants of the ASALs. There is clearly a need to distinguish more among different types of pastoral communities in designing policy intervention, rather than just referring to a "homogenous" group of "African pastoralist", as is often done in the literature.