Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p>Climate change poses a major challenge for pastoral communities in West African rangelands, where livestock mobility is increasingly constrained by environmental and socio-institutional pressures. This study examines the spatial constraints and socio-economic drivers shaping pastoral adaptation strategies in Burkina Faso. Using survey data from 231 pastoral households in the Mankarga and Gadghin pastoral zones, we combined spatial analysis with a multivariate probit (MVP) model to capture the simultaneous adoption and interdependence of adaptation strategies. The results show that pastoralists primarily perceive climate change through increasing fodder and water scarcity, obstruction of transhumance corridors, and recurrent farmer–herder conflicts. Spatial analysis further identifies Burkina Faso as a central hub of regional transboundary transhumance, while revealing critical conflict hotspots and mobility barriers along major north-south corridors. In response, livestock farmers adopt multiple complementary strategies, including fodder storage, feed supplementation, preventive vaccination, and mobility-based responses. The MVP results indicate that livestock size, education, and gender significantly influence adaptation choices. Strong positive correlations among strategies suggest that pastoralists rely on integrated portfolios of responses rather than isolated practices. These findings highlight the need for integrated policies that secure transhumance corridors, strengthen climate information services, and support targeted capacity-building to enhance pastoral resilience in Sudano-Sahelian systems.</p>