Resource scarcity and insecurity in most pastoral and arid regions is a reality. The lack of strategies, particularly those that leverage community relations and intergovernmental commitments to regional peace, stability, economic development, and diplomacy, forces herders and traders to incur substantial costs to access production and market resources and maintain harmonious coexistence. The research conducted in the border regions of Turkana, Kenya, adjacent to Uganda, South Sudan, and Ethiopia, was founded on three strategic objectives: (i) to identify the triggers of resource-based conflicts and insecurity among local and cross-border pastoralist communities, (ii) to analyse the impact of these triggers on livestock production and the performance of livestock markets, and (iii) to ascertain critical strategies for managing livestock production and trade in conflict-affected and insecure areas of the eastern African region. Of the 180 sampled study participants, 167 responded to the study, comprising 30 percent women and 43 percent youths. The study prioritised low cash economy, poverty, cattle rustling, retaliatory practices, and marginalisation as the primary triggers of resource scarcity and insecurity in the study area. Nevertheless, the analysis identified market cartels, corruption, and territorial protection as minor triggers. This outcome is ascribed to the vigorous involvement of governments in cross-border livestock production and marketing activities through rules designed to safeguard herders and traders, while imposing penalties and sanctions on exploiters. The predominant impacts of resource scarcity and insecurity on pastoral economies and markets encompass competitive rivalry, livestock losses due to mortality and theft, exploitation of the principally illiterate herders and traders, market dysfunction, restricted equity, and intimidation in livestock production zones and markets. The primary solutions to alleviate the impacts of these triggers are unconditional access to livestock production resources, timely recovery of stolen animals, market functionality, competitiveness and profitability, as well as equitable trade in both domestic and cross-border livestock and commodity markets. Future study areas encompass the management of cross-border trade dynamics, climate resilience for pastoralists in arid regions, and the digitalisation of banking in rural areas.