This is the first comprehensive study of Hadendowa Beja pastoralism in Sinkat Province, Eastern Suda. The book discusses the effects of the drought in the 1980s and shows the strategies for survival and for pastoral rehabilitation. The various chapters deal with the effects of drought and of human activities on the natural environment; how pastoral migration patterns were affected and how links to commodity and labour markets aggravated the effects of drought; socio-cultural changes are dealt with as well, following increased interaction between regional populations. The final chapter discusses planning problems in the region and argues that in areas such as the Red Sea Hills, the recurrent pastoral disasters cannot be blamed only on the pastoralists and their activities, but must be related to wider economic and political contexts, in which the pastoral groups are becoming increasingly marginalised. The book is based on material from the Red Sea Area Programme, a joint research venture between the universities of Khartoum and Bergen.

The Sudan can demonstrate that while there is no short-cut to progress there is one to decay and misery. After eleven years of peace, the second civil war has now lasted for more than ten years. Regional, ethnic and religious conflicts are intensifying all over the country. The economy is in shambles while a small lite is enriching itself.