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.