Assesses the effect (balance or imbalance) of the present relationships between the natural resource base and human activities; examines the role of some potentially destabilising forces, i.e, international markets, government programmes and socio-economic stratification; and reviews government's role in terms of its contributions to prudent natural resource management and options for the promotion of sustainable rural development.

The study was carried out in Shinile and Erer districts of Shinile Zone of the Somali National Regional State. The objectives of the study were: to characterize the production system and phenotypic characteristics of the Blackhead Somali; to evaluate on-farm survivability/ mortality of Blackhead Somali lambs during pre- weaning period and to determine the best fitted regression model for prediction of live weight of Blackhead Somali sheep breed based on body measurements under field conditions.