League for Pastoral Peoples

Film on marketing camel products

2011-02-10T20:18:00.000+01:00

LPP project coordinator, Ilse Koehler-Rollefson, and director of LPP's Indian organization Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan, Hanwant Singh Rathore, describe efforts to market products such as camel milk and paper made from camel dung.
View film on YouTube.

Exploring Orissa's animal cultures

2011-01-27T13:01:00.004+01:00

The eastern Indian state of Orissa has a wealth of local livestock breeds, LPP's Ilse Koehler-Rollefson has learned. She visited farmers who raise Ghunsur cattle and goats, a group of nomadic pig herders, and duck keepers near the coast.
She also took part in a "roadside university", or pathe pathshala, run by Balaram Sahu, a veterinarian from Orissa, to discuss livestock health and management with local people.

Ilse Koehler-Rollefson. 2011. Exploring Orissa’s animal cultures with Dr. Balaram’s pathe pathshala. League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development.

Balaram Sahu. 2011. LPP moves with Pathe Paathshaalaa (PP) for scouting animal genetic resources and pastoral groups in Orissa, India.

10 days in a German village

2011-01-20T12:06:00.000+01:00

In May 2008, Indian veterinarian and LIFE member Dr Balaram Sahu spent 10 days in Germany on an LPP-sponsored exposure tour. He stayed in Wembach, a small village in the Odenwald in southwestern Germany, where LPP has its headquarters.
Now Dr Balaram has written a book about his experiences. Written in Oriya, the language of the eastern Indian state of Orissa, it is an ethnography from an Indian viewpoint. The book describes donkeys and horses, sheep salami, organic products, the mayor of Wembach, and other local people.

The book was launched during a field trip in rural Orissa to visit nomadic pig pastoralists. These pastoralists graze their animals on the stubble left after the rice harvest. A sustainable and eco-friendly way to raise livestock. A long way from Germany in terms of distance, maybe, but not so far in terms of a philosophy of life.

New in Animal Genetic Resources

2011-01-17T19:41:00.003+01:00

The newest issue of the journal Animal Genetic Resources contains two articles by LPP members:

Marketing products from local livestock breeds

An analysis of eight cases
Evelyn Mathias, Paul Mundy and Ilse Köhler-Rollefson

This 12-page article summarizes the book Adding value to livestock diversity published by LPP, LIFE Network, IUCN–WISP and FAO.

Abstract
Local breeds and minor species are hardy and able to thrive in harsh conditions. Their adaptive traits and unique characteristics (coloured wool or hides, extra-fine fibre, meat or milk with special tastes) offer opportunities for the marketing of speciality products and sustainable food production in marginal areas. This study discusses eight initiatives from Africa, Asia and Latin America that help communities to produce and market various products for niche markets: milk and dairy products from dromedaries; cashmere, wool and handicrafts from goats, sheep and Bactrian camels; and meat, meat products and handicrafts from goats and sheep. The main strategies were to seek new markets for existing or entirely new products (rather than trying to exploit existing markets). Most initiatives had some form of branding or labelling, and two had protected their products with geographical indications. Such marketing initiatives can be started with limited capital inputs but are skill and knowledge intensive. They require strong commitment to overcome seasonal fluctuations in production, the lack of infrastructure and services, and difficulties in institution building. But when well planned and carefully managed, they can help conserve breeds as well as provide a livelihood for people involved in the value chain, allowing actors earlier in the value chain – livestock keepers and small-scale processors – to capture a greater share of the value of the end product than they would by trying to serve a mass market.
Download article

Livestock keepers’ rights

The state of discussion

I.U. Köhler-Rollefson, E. Mathias, H. Singh, P. Vivekanandan and J. Wanyama

Abstract
Livestock keepers’ rights (LKR) is a concept developed by civil society during the “Interlaken process” and is advocated for by a group of non-government organizations, livestock keepers, pastoralist associations and scientists who support community-based conservation of local breeds. This study provides an overview of the rationale, history and content of LKR and suggests that biocultural or community protocols are a means of invoking the principles of LKR even in the absence of their legal enshrinement. It is concluded that besides striving for legal codification of LKR its principles should form the basis of pro-poor and ecological livestock development in general.
Download article

2010 retrospective for livestock keepers

2011-01-12T10:50:00.001+01:00

"It has been an amazing year for livestock keepers", says LPP's Ilse Koehler-Rollefson. "They have fought for their rights, all with the aim of bringing one big message across: our knowledge, our commitment, are important for rural livelihoods, for the environment and for consumers."
Read her summary of the year's events.

The cow is no climate-killer

2011-01-04T11:05:00.004+01:00

Die Kuh ist kein Klima-Killer

Wie die Agrarindustrie die Erde verwüstet und was wir dagegen tun können

Anita Idel, 2010.

Metropolis Verlag für Ökonomie, Marburg. In German.

Cows belch methane - a greenhouse gas 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. Concerns about a changing climate have led many to call for curbs on cattle and other ruminants such as sheep, goats and buffaloes.
This book by LPP member Anita Idel argues that cattle and other livestock are vital for food production and to use land that cannot be cultivated. But they must be managed in the right way. Feeding them with intensively cultivated maize and soybean indeed harms the climate: synthetic fertilizers require a lot of energy and release nitrous oxide - a greenhouse gas that is 295 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
This book looks at the relationships between the soil, vegetation and animals. It argues that all depends on the sustainable grazing management of the livestock. Allowing them to graze on pasture converts vegetation into meat and milk, protects and enriches the soil, and minimizes the production of extra greenhouse gases.
An English version of the book is planned for 2011.

Summary (in English)
Order book from publisher

Saving the camels of Rajasthan

2010-12-07T19:58:00.000+01:00

LPP's partner in India, Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan, has launched the Camel Conservation and Livelihoods Project. This aims to show that the conservation of animal genentic resources can go hand-in-hand with rural income generation and create jobs not only for the livestock keepers, but also for other rural people. The project aims specifically to serve widows in isolated desert villages who process camel wool.
The project is still at the beginning, but it opens up exciting vistas about how conservation can be integrated into other rural development activities and thereby more or less pay for itself.
It also shows the importance of collaboration with a wide range of other actors: in this case designers and technical experts are crucial.
"We believe that this approach has wide applicability", says LPP's Ilse Koehler-Rollefson. "It contextualizes indigenous breeds within the major policy debates (climate change, food security, poverty alleviation, etc.) and thereby turns breed conservation from its 'niche activity' status into a fundamental strategy for
addressing these issues."
"We would be glad to hear from anybody interested in this approach", adds Ilse. Contact her at ilse@pastoralpeoples.org
Download the project brochure.

Recognising ethnoveterinary medicine and community rights

2010-12-03T21:58:00.001+01:00

An investment in our future
Evelyn Mathias

Presentation at the conference on "Ethnoveterinary medicine: Tradition, science, cultural richness". Bologna, 29 October 2010. Società Italiana di Veterinaria e Zootecnia Tropicale per la cooperazione internazionale Veterinari Senza Frontiere Italia
Download presentation 1413 kb
Download summary 19 kb

Agrobiodiversity in drylands

2010-12-03T21:25:00.002+01:00

Evelyn Mathias
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), 2010

"When it rains and drylands bloom, one realises the remarkable diversity of living organisms they harbour. Long overlooked, this diversity is crucial to the food security of a large share of the world’s population."
This information brief describes the importance of dryland agricultural biodiversity, outlines the threats facing it, and points to the key role that local people play in conserving it.
Download 311 kb

Livestock Keepers’ Rights

2010-12-03T20:27:00.004+01:00

A rights-based approach to invoking justice for pastoralists and biodiversity conserving livestock keepers
Ilse Köhler-Rollefson and Evelyn Mathias
Policy Matters 17, pp 113-115. 2010

Adapted livestock breeds enable their keepers to take advantage of common property resources. They are an important resource for maintaining food security in remote areas and in the adaptation to climate change. To ensure their long-term survival, the livestock keepers who have bred and nurtured these breeds need a bundle of rights that enable them to continue keeping these breeds and make a living from them. Players in livestock development should support the struggle of the livestock keepers for recognition during the negotiations at various international forums.

This article summarizes the three principles and five rights that make up Livestock Keepers' Rights.
Download article 1341 kb
Complete issue of magazine

Common Voices covers biocultural community protocols

2010-12-03T13:29:00.002+01:00

Issue 2 of Common Voices, a magazine published by the Foundation for Ecological Security, focuses on pastoralism. It contains an article by LPP's Ilse Koehler-Rollefson: "Biocultural Community Protocols: A Tool for Pastoralists to Secure Customary Rights to the Commons?".
Click here to download.

Sign the Declaration on Livestock Keepers’ Rights!

2010-11-01T19:37:00.000+01:00

The Declaration on Livestock Keepers’ Rights lists three principles and five rights that make up Livestock Keepers' Rights, and provides the legal instruments underpinning these rights in international law.
The Declaration was distributed at the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 10) of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya, Japan, from 18 to 29 October 2010.
Nearly 30 organizations and numerous individuals involved in livestock development have signed the Declaration.
If you would like to sign, please contact: LPP's Ilse Koehler-Rollefson ilse.koehlerroll@googlemail.com or Sabine Poth, sabine@pastoralpeoples.org. Please indicate whether you would like to sign as an organization, an individual, or both.
Download the Declaration 70 kb

International collaboration among herders

2010-10-20T22:17:00.001+02:00

"The world's 120 million pastoralists have much in common", says LPP's Evelyn Mathias. "They face common problems and should work together to solve them."
Evelyn gave a presentation at a symposium on the European Sheep Trek in Brussels on 14 September 2010.
Most herders live in areas unsuited for cropping, such as dry areas and mountains. They rely heavily on their animals and on the environment. Many are mobile for at least part of the year. They are exceptional breeders, and maintain many unique local breeds. They are important in conserving the environment and producing food - but their role is often not appreciated by governments.
Such features are common not only in the developing world, but also among herders in Europe and other developed countries.
Groups of herders already collaborate internationally - for example through the LIFE Network. But herders should increase their collaboration to achieve recognition, supportive policies and appropriate opportunities in the future.
Download presentation (in German)

LEISA India magazine focuses on local breeds

2010-10-20T21:33:00.000+02:00

The latest edition of LEISA India, a magazine focusing on low-external input agriculture in India, features local breeds of livestock. It includes two articles by LPP's Ilse Köhler-Rollefson:

Women Livestock Keepers of South India prefer local to global breeds. LEISA India 12(1): 8-10 (Ilse Köhler-Rollefon and Karthikeya Sivasenapathy)
Download

Livestock Keepers Rights and Biocultural Protocols : Tools for Protecting Biodiversity and the Livelihoods of the Poor. LEISA India 12(1):35-36 (I. Köhler-Rollefson, P. Vivekanandan and HS Rathore)
Download

Visit LEISA India.

Pakistan floods threaten livelihoods of livestock keepers

2010-09-02T23:14:00.001+02:00

The floods in Pakistan have decimated stocks of animals, says Abdul Raziq Kakar, president of the Pakistani NGO SAVES. It is vital for people's livelihoods to save as many animals as possible, and to help farmers and livestock keepers restock their herds.
"Every animal we save is a productive asset that poor families can use to rebuild their lives when the floods finally pass. The main priority and challenge is to get feed to those animals that have survived as much of the country’s traditional animal feed straw and forage has been lost in the floods", says Abdul Raziq. "For buffalo and cattle, it is essential to enable the herds to rebuild quickly during the next breeding season. It is also imperative to get medicines to animals that have fallen weak or sick because of the disaster."
Download Abdul Raziq's report "Floods, river Indus and the local livestock breeds in Pakistan"

People-centred livestock development: A tool for sustainable development?

2010-09-02T15:00:00.002+02:00

Ellen Geerlings

People-centred livestock development builds on livestock keepers’ own initiatives and efforts, while helping them to use the best of both local and outside knowledge and resources. This literature review summarizes and analyses the experiences of 16 projects and organizations in Africa, Latin America and Europe that use such approaches.

Geerlings, Ellen. 2010. People-centred livestock development: A tool for sustainable development? League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development. Ober-Ramstadt, Germany.

Download 704 kb

Call for in-situ conservation of livestock breeds

2010-09-02T12:00:00.003+02:00

A group of non-government organizations has called on governments and international organizations to support the conservation of livestock breeds in their original habitats - and by the livestock-keeping groups that developed them.
Members of the LIFE Network, a grouping of organizations focusing on local livestock breeds, made the call at a conference at Kuttapalayam, in Tamil Nadu, India, on 13-15 August 2010.
The final statement from the conference calls on the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to promote agro-ecosystems approaches to the management of animal genetic resources and support indigenous and local production systems.These goals are already incorporated in the Global Plan of Action on Animal Genetic Resources.
The NGOs also demanded that livestock keepers be included in the debate about the future of livestock production and to be recognized as guardians of livestock biodiversity.
The conference statement was signed by 21 NGOs from India, South Africa, Kenya, Spain and Germany.
Blog posting from Natural Justice, a South African NGO that participated in the conference.
Download the Kuttapalayam Confirmation document 123 kb

Ugandan cattle keepers document their breed

2010-08-20T12:02:00.002+02:00

Ankole cattle in southwestern Uganda are well-known for their massive horns. Now this breed has been documented by the people who keep it for the first time.

Elizabeth Katushabe of the Pastoral and Environmental Network in the Horn of Africa (PENHA) coordinated the documentation effort, in collaboration with LPP and the Local Livestock for Empowerment (LIFE) Network. The resulting book is available in English and Kinyankole, the local language.

Katushabe, E. 2009. The need to conserve the Ankole Longhorn cattle of Uganda: A community perspective. Pastoral and Environmental Network in the Horn of Africa (PENHA), League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development (LPP) and the LIFE Network.
Download English version
Download Kinyankole version

Minister launches LPP book on biocultural protocols

2010-08-18T12:00:00.003+02:00

Tamil Nadu's Minister for Animal Husbandry, Thiru Pongalur N. Palanisamy, has launched LPP's latest book, Biocultural community protocols for livestock keepers.

Biocultural community protocols are a new approach with great potential for empowering pastoralists and other traditional livestock-keeping communities. They are both a process and a document in which communities invoke their rights as guardians of biological diversity under Article 8j of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. Claiming rights for in-situ conservation, they also help promote Livestock Keepers’ Rights to maintain their breeds and continue their traditional management practices.

Biocultural community protocols put on record traditional knowledge and the biodiversity that communities steward, in a process that the communities themselves drive. In developing a biocultural community protocol, communities become informed about national and international laws that protect their rights. The book provides an overview of the process as well as its legal background and describes the first experiences with implementing this approach by livestock keepers in Asia and Africa.

The Minister launched the book at a meeting of livestock keepers at Kuttupalayam, Tamil Nadu, India, in August 2010.

League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development, and Local Livestock for Empowerment Network. 2010. Biocultural community protocols for livestock keepers. Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan (LPPS). Sadri, Rajasthan, India
Download book 825 kb

Raikas demand grazing rights in forest land

2010-08-02T17:14:00.002+02:00

Raika pastoralists in Rajasthan, India, have protested against restrictions to their grazing rights.
Traditionally, the Raikas would graze their sheep, goats and camels in the forest during the monsoon season, when crops are growing in the fields. After the harvest, they would lead their animals to graze on the stubble, fertilizing the soil on the crop fields.
But the designation of large areas of forest as nature reserves means that the Raika have nowhere to go.
The Raika cite international law as supporting their case: the Convention on Biological Diversity requires India to "respect, preserve and maintain knowledge innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities embodying traditional lifestyles relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity".
Hundreds of Raika staged a demonstration in Sadri, Rajasthan, in July to draw attention to their case. The protest attracted national press coverage. See www.hindu.com for more.

Endogenous Development Magazine features biocultural protocols

2010-07-01T13:34:00.001+02:00

Issue 6 of the Endogenous Development Magazine contains two articles on biocultural protocols relating to livestock.
A biocultural protocol is a document that records a community's role in ecosystem management, and states its rights to benefit from the ecosystem. Several groups of livestock keepers have created biocultural protocols describing their animal breeds and their indigenous knowledge about their breeds.
The articles in the magazine are:

How Bio-cultural Community Protocols can empower local communities by Kabir Bavikatte and Harry Jonas of Natural Justice, a South African NGO specializing on social and environmental law
Bio-cultural Community Protocols, starting point for endogenous livestock development? by Ilse Köhler-Rollefson of the League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development.

Bio-cultural Community Protocols enforce Biodiversity Benefits: A selection of cases and experiences. Endogenous Development Magazine 6, July 2010. COMPAS, Leusden, Netherlands

Download the magazine 3 MB.

German sheep marathon in Brussels on 17 September

2010-07-01T13:05:00.000+02:00

A four-country sheep trek across Europe to draw attention to the role of mobile herding in maintaining biodiversity and grassland will arrive in Brussels on 17 September 2010.
The shepherds and their animals were due to arrive in the European capital one day earlier, but have delayed their arrival so they can meet with members of the European Parliament.
The sheep trek has already attracted a great deal of attention in the local German press, says Guenther Czerkus of the German Shepherds' Association.
More information (in German)

Lingayat biocultural protocol published

2010-06-26T12:45:00.000+02:00

The biocultural protocol of the Lingayat community, who live in the Bargur forest in the Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu, details the Bargur breed of cattle and Mala erumai (Hill buffalo) breeds.
Download (1.4 Mb)

German shepherds begin sheep marathon

2010-06-21T15:31:00.003+02:00

Shepherds in Germany have started a marathon, four-country relay trek to draw attention to the role of mobile herding in maintaining biodiversity and grassland in Europe.
The trek began on 5 June with a rally under the Brandenburger Gate in the heart of Berlin. It will take in Paderborn (1 August), Duisburg (21 August), Maaseik in the Netherlands, before reaching Brussels in Belgium on 17 September. The trek will pass through the Ardennes in Belgium and through Luxembourg before ending in Trier on 16-17 October.
The League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development is joining the German Shepherds' Association in activities along the route.
Press release (English)
Press release (German)
More information (German)
Photos
Website of German Shepherds' Association (German)

Practical guidelines on Livestock Keepers' Rights

2010-06-21T13:25:00.000+02:00

Livestock Keeper's Rights are three principles and five rights that ensure that livestock keepers can continue raising their animals.
Supporting livelihoods and local livestock breeds: Guidelines for putting Livestock Keepers’ Rights into practice gives practical guidelines on how development professionals, private companies, researchers, governments and policymakers can turn the rights into practice.
Download 232 kb.

Biocultural protocols for Samburu and Pashtoon published

2010-06-21T13:00:00.001+02:00

The Pashtoon of Pakistan and the Samburu of Kenya are the latest groups of pastoralists to develop biocultural protocols that detail their community’s breeds, their traditional knowledge of their animals, and their lifestyle in relation to the environment.
They join the Raika of Rajasthan in documenting their breeds and culture in an attempt to defend their traditional knowledge and lifestyle.
Click here for more.

Die Maasai Leiden, und niemand will ihre Schreien hören

2010-06-21T09:39:00.004+02:00

"The Maasai are suffering, and no one hears their cries"
A radio segment was broadcast on the Deutschlandfunk (a international German radio station) on 18 June 2010. It describes how pastoralists in Africa are being driven from their traditional grazing lands so farming concerns can plant crops for biodiesel, or to create wildlife reserves that attract tourists.
The segment (in German) features Tanzanian activist and member of the LIFE Network Eliamani Lalteika and LPP's Ilse Köhler-Rollefson.
Listen to the programme
Read the transcript

Imagine the world in black and white...

2010-06-20T11:54:00.004+02:00

Imagine if all cows were black and white... if all the pigs were pink... if every sheep, and every chicken, were white...
This booklet draws attention to the threat to local livestock breeds, and describes what the Local Livestock for Empowerment (LIFE) Network is doing to help pastoralists and small-scale livestock keepers to maintain them.
LIFE Network. 2010. Local Livestock for Empowerment: The LIFE Network. Ober-Ramstadt, Germany.
Download 1.7 Mb

LPP annual reports online

2010-05-29T22:42:00.000+02:00

After some delay, the 2008 and 2009 annual reports of the League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development are now online.
Click here to read them.

Internationale Tagung Tierhalterrechte und Biologische Vielfalt

2010-05-19T13:11:00.000+02:00

International conference on Livestock Keepers' Rights and Biodiversity
Lichtenberg Castle, Odenwald, 19 May 2010.

On 19 May 2010, the League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development organized a conference on Livestock Keepers' Rights and biodiversity in the historic Lichtenberg Castle in the Odenwald, Germany.
The conference included presentations and discussions by livestock keepers and specialists from Germany, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Spain and Tanzania.
Download conference report 1 Mb (in German)
Download press release 37 kb (in German)
Article in Echo Online (Darmstadt newspaper) on visit by Indian herders to Germany (in German)
Article in Echo Online on Lichtenberg conference (in German)

Herders lobby German parliament

2010-05-18T20:40:00.000+02:00

A group of pastoralists has lobbied members of the German parliament to raise awareness of their role in maintaining biodiversity.
The group, sponsored by the League for Pastoral Peoples and Endougenous Livestock Development, met members of the Committee for Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection of the German parliament on 18 May 2010.
The delegates explained the need for sustainable livestock production and for policies to support livestock keepers in develoiping countries as part of negotiations with the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations and the Convention on Biological Diversity
Read full article (in German).

This blog has moved

2010-05-01T14:40:00.004+02:00

Because of changes in Google's blogging service, this blog is now located at http://pastoralpeoples.blogspot.com/.

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New Agriculturist covers livestock issues

2010-04-20T17:41:00.000+02:00

The April 2010 issue of the online magazine New Agriculturist contains two items of interest to LPP supporters:

New guidelines for livestock keepers' rights: A news brief about the Local Livestock for Empowerment (LIFE) Newtork's guidelines on supporting livelihoods and local livestock breeds.
Adding value to livestock diversity: Marketing to promote local breeds and improve livelihoods: A review of LPP's latest book on marketing niche products from local livestock breeds.

The New Agriculturist frequently carries stories about livestock and pastoralism. Subscribe to its service to get email alerts about new issues.

Livestock Keepers' Rights online discussion

2010-03-01T09:37:00.001+01:00

Livestock Keepers' Rights: An important concept for food security?
Online discussion on the FSN Forum and on the Community of Practice for Pro-poor Livestock Development, from 8 March 2010

Do we pursue global food security better by supporting smallholder farmers, agro-pastoralists and pastoralists or commercial producers?
How can we make sure Livestock Keepers rights become a general broadly accepted principle?

The Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition and the Community of Practice for Pro-poor Livestock Development invite interested parties to discuss these and other questions related to the future of Livestock keepers.
The topic is raised by Ilse Koehler Rollefson from the League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development. Among the participants will be Antonio Rota from IFAD, Walter Mwasa from CARE International and livestock experts from FAO.
Results of the debate will help with advocacy work and in preparation for the Convention on Biological Diversity 2010 at Nagoya. The main outcomes of the discussion will also be presented at the InterAgency Donor Livestock Group (IADG) Annual Meeting which will be hosted by IFAD in May 2010.
To join the discussion please register on the FSN Forum (register online at: http://km.fao.org/fsn) or on the CoP-PPLD website (http://www.cop-ppld.net/).
Contributions can be made in English, French or Spanish.
For further information please contact: fsn-moderator@fao.org or secretariat@cop-ppld.net

Leveraging the potential of livestock for dryland development

2010-02-28T13:03:00.000+01:00

Leveraging the potential of livestock for dryland development:: Why a paradigm shift is needed was the title of a presentation by LPP's Ilse Köhler-Rollefson at an international conference on Nurturing Arid Zones for People and the Environment at the Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur, India, on 25 November 2009.
Download presentation

Raika publish details of their breeds and indigenous knowledge

2010-02-25T11:46:00.001+01:00

Raika Samaj Panchayat. 2009. Raika biocultural protocol. Lokhit Pashu Palak Sansthan, Sadri, Rajasthan, India.

This declaration by the Raika pastoralists of Rajasthan, India, details the livestock breeds they have developed, their traditional knowledge about their animals, and their lifestyle in relation to their environment.

A biocultural protocol is a new way for livestock keepers to assert their claim to the breeds they have developed, as well as to traditional rights and intellectual property associated with their animals.

Download (1.6 Mb)

Biocultural community protocols on YouTube

2010-02-19T17:03:00.001+01:00

Biocultural community protocols document livestock keepers' contribution to conserving the environment and their livestock breeds. Indian filmmaker Moving Images has made two videos on this new approach.

Video 1: Biocultural protocols and access and benefit sharing
Video 2: Developing biocultural protocols among the Raika (India) and Samburu (Kenya)

Consultations on camels and biocultural protocols

2010-02-19T15:58:00.001+01:00

LPP is co-organizing two meetings in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India, on 24 and 25 February 2010 to discuss the future of livestock keepers.

National Consultation for Saving the Camel, 24 February

Organized by Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan and the Jaisalmer Camel Development Society. Government, private enterprise, NGOs, scientists, camel lovers and all who feel concerned are cordially invtied to discussions, brainstorming, camel competitions and camel product demonstrations.
More details

Biocultural Community Protocols for Livestock Keepers, 25 February

Biocultural protocols are a new method of documenting livestock keepers' contribution to maintaining breeds and conserving the environment. Organized by LIFE Network India, the Rain-fed Livestock Network, and Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan, this meeting is an opportunity to share experiences with the development of biocultural protocols, identify the potential and pitfalls, and better understand their implications for local livestock keepers.
More details

Stunning images of camels

2010-02-17T19:55:00.000+01:00

Australian photographer Tim Cushan visited Rajasthan to photograph camels in India's desert state. He was hosted by LPP's Ilse Koehler-Rollefson and Hanwant Singh of Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan. See his beautiful photo essay here.

Adding value to livestock diversity: Marketing to promote local breeds and improve livelihoods

2010-02-16T15:24:00.002+01:00

Many local livestock breeds and minor species are in decline and may be lost because they cannot compete with high-yielding exotic breeds. Conserving these breeds is important: many have unique traits, such as hardiness and disease resistance, that are vital for future livestock production. One way to help ensure their survival may be to sell products from these breeds to high-value, specialist markets.

This publication by LPP and its partners describes eight examples of marketing of livestock products (wool, cashmere, milk, meat and hides) from local breeds of Bactrian camels, dromedaries, goats and sheep in seven countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. It shows how they have kept local breeds in use, while enabling the small-scale livestock keepers and pastoralists who raise them to improve their livelihoods.

More information and download

Biocultural protocols event in Rome

2009-11-22T11:22:00.002+01:00

LPP and the LIFE Network held a side-event during the meeting of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture on 19 October 2009, entitled Biocultural/Community Protocols and a Code of Conduct on Livestock Keepers' Rights. The session focused on new tools for strengthening the role of small-scale livestock keepers in the implementation of the Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources.

This side-event shared insights and results of the LIFE Network's most recent activities with livestock keeping communities in Africa and South Asia. It included presentations by

Ilse Koehler-Rollefson, League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development. Tools for strengthening the role of small-scale livestock keepers in the implementation of the Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources
Download 1.76 Mb
Raziq Kakar, SAVES (Pakistan): Results of a participatory livestock breed survey in Baluchistan.
Download 3.19 Mb
Elizabeth Katushabe, PENHA (Uganda): Herders' workshops for community documentation of livestock breeds.
Download 1.29 Mb
Kabir Bavikatte, Natural Justice (South Africa): Biocultural or community protocols of livestock keeping communities: Experiences and implications.
Evelyn Mathias, League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development. Developing a code of conduct on Livestock Keepers' Rights
Download 1.06 Mb
P. Vivekanandan, SEVA (India): Processes to strengthen livestock keepers and their rights in India.
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More information: Side-event invitation

Contact: Ilse Köhler-Rollefson, ilse@pastoralpeoples.org

Ilse joins the blogosphere

2009-11-09T16:20:00.002+01:00

LPP's founder and project coordinator Ilse Koehler-Rollefson has started a blog detailing her work with and for pastoralists. The blog is hosted by Rolex Awards (Ilse is a 2002 Laureate). Read it at http://blog.rolexawards.com/author/ilse/

Livestock keepers: Guardians of biodiversity

2009-10-23T10:52:00.006+02:00

Smallholder farmers and pastoralists fulfil an invaluable yet undervalued role in conserving biodiversity. They act as guardians of locally adapted livestock breeds that can make use of even marginal environments under tough climatic conditions and therefore are a crucial resource for food security and possibly for adapting to climate change. But in addition, by sustaining animals on natural vegetation and as part of local ecosystems, these communities also make a significant contribution to the conservation of wild biodiversity and of cultural landscapes.

The Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources acknowledges and seeks to support this crucial contribution of smallholder farmers and pastoralists to keeping our planet healthy and diverse. The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues backs up this strategic approach and calls for it to be strengthened, while the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity also commits its signatories to support in situ conservation by local and indigenous communities.

This publication provides a glimpse into the often intricate knowledge systems that pastoralists and smallholder farmers have developed for the management of their breeds in specific production systems. It also describes the multitude of threats and challenges these often marginalized communities have to cope with and suggests interventions that can sustain valuable human-animal-environment relationships and combine conservation of breeds and their ecosystems with poverty alleviation.

Prepared by Ilse Köhler-Rollefson (LPP) with contributions from Evelyn Mathias (LPP) and Irene Hoffmann (FAO).

Contents

Background
Economic and ecological roles of smallholder farmers and pastoralists
Creators and guardians of breeds
Conservation
Why livestock keepers give up their breeds
Motivation and incentives to keep a breed
Improving small-scale livestock keepers’ participation in the implementation of the Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources
References

Citation: FAO. 2009. Livestock keepers – Guardians of biodiversity. Animal Production and Health Paper 167. Rome.

Vier Hände für einen Höcker / Four hands for one hump

2009-10-10T19:00:00.008+02:00

This article (in German) in the July 2009 issue of the nature magazine Natur+Kosmos describes the work of LPP's Ilse Koehler-Rollefson and Hanwant Singh Rathore, director of LPP's partner organization in Rajasthan, Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan.

Local breeds, livelihoods and livestock keepers’ rights in South Asia

2009-04-27T10:09:00.003+02:00

Ilse Köhler-Rollefson, H. S. Rathore and E. Mathias. Tropical Animal Health and Production. 22 Nov 2008.

Abstract

In South Asia, and throughout the developing world, the predominant official approach to livestock development has been improvement of production by means of upgrading local breeds via cross-breeding with exotic animals. This strategy has led to the replacement and dilution of locally adapted breeds with non-native ones. This has resulted in an alarming loss that has been estimated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to amount to one breed every two weeks. Based on selected case studies this paper argues that development strategies using locally adapted breeds and species are much more likely to benefit livestock keepers whilst also maintaining domestic animal diversity and bearing a smaller ecological footprint. It also analyses the rationale for “Livestock Keepers’ Rights”, a principle that grew out of the struggle of traditional livestock keepers to retain control over their production resources, such as grazing areas and breeding stock, in the face of unfavourable policy environments.

Draft version (93 kb)

Order published version

FAO highlights role of livestock keepers in breeds

2009-04-26T11:30:00.006+02:00

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has recognized the contribution of smallholders and pastoralists to the development, use and conservation of animal genetic resources.

FAO's Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture presented a 42-page paper detailing the role of livestock keepers in developing and maintaining breeds at an intergovernmental working group on animal genetic resources in Rome on 28-30 January 2009.

The paper highlights the value of these breeds, the genes they contain and the ecosystem services they provide (such as maintaining landscapes, preventing fires and restoring soil fertility). It warns about the dangers to local breeds from the promotion on exotic breeds, the spread of uniform, mass-marketed animal products, and the extension of cropping into marginal grasslands.

The League welcomes FAO's support of these ideas, which have long been promoted by LPP and the LIFE network.

Click here to download the full paper.

LPP in United Nations panel

2009-04-17T10:31:00.002+02:00

The League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development (LPP) will be a member of a panel discussion on "the crucial role of genetic resources in ensuring food security in a changing climate" at the United Nations in New York on 13 May 2009.

The discussion is hosted by the Nordic Council of Ministers at the UN headquarters as part of the 17th session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. It will be preceded by presentations by the Global Crop Diversity Trust and the Southern Africa Plant Genetic Resources Centre. Other panellists include the Food and Agriculture Organization and the WorldWatch Institute.

LPP founder Ilse Koehler-Rollefson will represent the League.

Visit www.norden.org/CSD17 for details.

LPP founder awarded Trophée de femmes 2009

2009-03-09T21:28:00.002+01:00

The Yves Rocher Environmental Foundation has awarded its 2009 Trophée de femmes to LPP founder Ilse Koehler-Rollefson.

"The start of her engagement was a meeting with camel herders in Rajasthan," says the foundation's website. "They told her about their difficult situation and she discovered that the root of their problems was the loss of their traditional grazing grounds."

Since then, Ilse has campaigned for offical recognition of the role herders play in conserving biological diversity. "Pastoralist cultures are keepers of important knowledge about how people can interact with nature in a sustainable way," she says.

Click here for more (in German)

Return of the nomad

2009-03-09T19:03:00.007+01:00

The BBC's Susie Emmett discovered why ancient nomadic ways are still relevant with the Maasai in Kenya and Raika in Rajasthan.

These two radio programmes were broadcast as part of the series One Planet on the BBC radio World Service on 26 Feb and 5 Mar 2009. They were produced in collaboration with LPP and its India partner Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan, and feature interviews with LPP's Ilse Koehler-Rollefson and LPPS's Hanwant Singh Rathore.

In the Indian segments, Susie Emmett talks to Raika pastoralists, visits a dairy making "Desert Dessert" (camel milk ice cream promoted by LPPS), and checks on camel prices at the annual Pushkar camel fair.

Click here to listen to the programmes.

News from Drynet

2009-02-02T19:56:00.001+01:00

The fourth edition of News from Drynet has three articles relating to LPP:

Obliterated African animal cultures leave behind genetic treasures. LPP project coordinator Ilse Köhler-Rollefson visited South Africa in December 2008, and learned that indigenous livestock breeds have been given a new lease of life by commercial breeders.
Livestock Keepers’ Rights and Niche Marketing Workshops in Cape Town, South Africa: A report on LPP's back-to-back workshops on Livestock Keepers' Rights and on niche marketing from local livestock breds.
LPPS launches an innovative product : Paper from camel dung: LPP partner Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan's world first eco-friendly paper.

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Watch out, they spit

2009-01-31T20:57:00.002+01:00

"It is remarkable to see the interconnectedness of the economy in vivid relief," says The Economist. "Today's story... involves the cross price elasticity of demand between oil and...well, just read for yourself."

The article quotes LPP's Ilse Koehler-Rollefson and LPPS's Hanwant Singh talking about the price of camels in Rajasthan.

Desert dessert: Camel milk ice cream

2009-01-05T21:09:00.001+01:00

LPP partner Lokhit Pashua-Palak Sansthan in Rajasthan, northwest India has launched camel ice cream.

Click here for a picture essay about this delicious product.

Click here for more infomation.

Niche marketing of local livestock breeds

2008-12-08T22:16:00.000+01:00

In December 2008, LPP held a writeshop in South Africa to develop a book on niche marketing of local livestock breeds.

Many local breeds are being replaced by high-yielding exotic breeds, pushing the local breeds to the brink of extinction. Yet the exotic breeds are expensive to keep and succumb quickly to disease if conditions are not exactly right. Local breeds, on the other hand, still produce meat or milk even if the rains fail and fodder is poor.

How to persuade livestock keepers to keep raising their hardy local breeds? One way is to find a market for their products: local food specialties such as cheese or meat, or distinctive handicrafts such as wool or leather work.

This writeshop, held in Kalk Bay, near Cape Town, discussed eight cases from Asia, Africa and Latin America where pastoralists and small-scale livestock keepers have succeeded in making money from their breeds.

A book describing the cases will be published by LPP in 2009.

Workshop on pastoralism and conservation

2008-10-01T13:31:00.003+02:00

Pastoralists frequently come into conflict with conservationists who accuse them of causing overgrazing and soil erosion. But that is far from the truth, according to recent research. On the contrary, pastoralists are often custodians rather than destroyers of biodiversity and the environment.

LPP is organizing a workshop on "Enhancing the role of pastoralism in the conservation of dryland eco-systems" at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona on 7 Oct 2008.

The evening workshop will feature presentations by pastoralists and experts with hands-on experience in India, Tanzania, Mongolia and Spain.

The workshop will provide pastoralist support groups with information and assistance in making their case, as well as give conservation practitioners insights into the role and potential of pastoralists in conserving drylands. The purpose is to distil some best practices about the integration of pastoralists into conservation efforts.

More information

Community conservation of Alashan camels in Inner Mongolia

2008-10-01T12:47:00.003+02:00

Efforts by the Alxa Camel Conservation Association, an organization of camel herders in Inner Mongolia, in China, have halted the decline in numbers of the Alashan or Alxa, camel, a double-humped Bactrian breed.

Read Ilse Koehler-Rollefson's report of their work for the DryNet initiative here.

Role of livestock keepers in the Global Plan of Action

2008-08-28T12:42:00.003+02:00

LPP member Evelyn Mathias gave a presentation on the role of livestock keepers in the conservation of farm animal diversity and the Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources at a meeting of European national coordinators on animal genetic resources in Vilnius, Lithuania, on 21 August 2008.

Click here to view her presentation 151 kb.

LPP 2007 annual report

2008-08-17T16:51:00.003+02:00

The 2007 Annual Report of the League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development is now available here.

The lead article describes the League's role in advocacy for Livestock Keepers' Rights.

"Intellectual property rights on animal genetic resources are an issue that is now on the international agenda", says the report. "Due to the Livestock Keepers’ Rights movement, pastoralists and other livestock keepers will be seen as legitimate stakeholders with an interest in policy development regarding intellectual property rights on animal genetic resources. Much remains to ensure they are automatically involved in such decision making, but we are on the right road."

Biofuels in drylands threaten pastoralists

2008-06-16T21:41:00.003+02:00

High fuel prices have boosted interest in growing crops such as jatropha on sparsely populated drylands. But these lands are not empty: they are home, and vital grazing, for millions of pastoralists around the world.

This press release, issued on the World Day to Combat Desertification, draws attention to this new threat.

Download 38 kb

Protected areas and Livestock Keepers' Rights

2008-05-31T19:02:00.003+02:00

"How to destroy biodiversity in protected areas?" asks this poster.

"Easy! Just ban traditional grazing there."

Banning pastoralists from traditional grazing areas alters the balance of wildlife, making scarce species such as leopards, lions and bustards even scarcer.

This poster by LPP's Ilse Koehler-Rollefson and Hanwant Singh Rathore of Indian partner Lokhit Palu-Pashak Sansthan, outlines how pastoralists are fighting such bans. It was prepared for the Working Group on Protected Areas on 11-15 February 2008 in Rome.

Download poster 722 kb

Livestock farming with nature

2008-05-31T18:38:00.003+02:00

"Pastoralists and small-scale livestock keepers are crucial to conserving farm animal genetic resources", says this poster, presented by LPP at the 13th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice of the Convention on Biological Diversity, 18-22 Feb 2008 in Rome.

The accompanying abstract, published in the CBD Technical Series 34, outlines the LIFE approach to documenting indigenous breeds, lobbying and advocacy for Livestock Keepers' Rights, and exploring value addition and marketing for livestock products.

Download poster PDF, 473 kb
Download abstract PDF, 371 kb

Pastoralism and biodiversity

2008-05-21T13:30:00.002+02:00

There is no such thing as wasteland. Cattle owners in Madeira herd their animals on the mountaintops - too steep and cold for crop cultivation

Pastoralists and support organizations attending an international meeting on biodiversity have issued a statement demanding recognition for the role of pastoralists in conserving biodiversity.

The ninth meeting of the Conference of Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity is taking place in Bonn, Germany, from 19 to 30 May 2008.

"When land is taken away for crop cultivation or for 'Protected Areas', pastoralists are denied access to traditional grazing lands and pastures. There is no so-called 'wasteland'. Land that is considered 'waste' by the state is used by pastoralists for grazing their animals and managing herds", says the statement.

"We demand that the contribution of pastoralists to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity is recognised and rewarded... Pastoralists do not want food aid but the capacity to produce and market their speciality products."

Download full statement (1 page, 42 kb)

Herders care for biodiversity

2008-05-13T12:18:00.004+02:00

Every month, one more livestock breed becomes extinct...

This 8-page booklet and accompanying poster, published by the League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development and the LIFE Network, highlight the issues and offer some solutions.

Download booklet 393 kb (in English)

Download poster 423 kb (in English and German)

Booklet on endogenous livestock development

2008-05-09T19:00:00.003+02:00

Endogenous livestock development means putting small-scale livestock keepers and pastoralists at the centre of their own development. It means building on what they already do, and supporting their initiatives to improve their livelihoods, instead of imposing "solutions" from outside.

LPP and the Endogenous Livestock Development Network have published a 24-page booklet outlining the endogenous livestock development approach and introducing the ELD Network.

Download booklet (786 kb)

Visit the Endogenous Livestock Development Network

The bright side of livestock

2008-04-30T12:37:00.004+02:00

The United Nations continues to see pastoralism as a main reason for desertification, says Drynet, a global initiative on drylands. But a large number of scientific studies contradict this, and instead show the positive effects of pastoralism as a land-use strategy.

LPP's Ilse Koehler-Rollefson and Silke Brehm have collated some of the bright aspects of pastoralism.

Read the full article.

Rolex features LPP founder

2008-04-27T23:34:00.002+02:00

Rolex Awards for Enterprise 2008 provides an update of the work of LPP founder Ilse Koehler-Rollefson.

An Associate Laureate of the 2002 Rolex Awards, Ilse has been working with and campaigning for the Raika people in India and their animals for 17 years.

"Almost without being aware of it, the world is gradually losing one of its major assets, the product of a combination of human ingenuity and natural resources", says the Rolex report.

"About one-third of the 5,000 officially documented livestock breeds are threatened with extinction and are dying out at the rate of almost two breeds per week."

Ilse praised African delegates to the International Conference on Animal Genetic Resources in Interlaken, Switzerland, in September 2007, for standing up for herders' rights. She regretted the fact that little support had come from Western countries.

"Herders and their animals not only enhance the landscape, they also represent important bio-cultural heritage for all humankind," she says.

Click here for the full report.

League to coordinate workshop at Planet Diversity

2008-04-27T23:14:00.003+02:00

LPP will coordinate a workshop on Tuesday 13 May 2008 as part of the Planet Diversity world congress on food and agriculture in Bonn, Germany.

The workshop is entitled "Indigenous livestock breeds and livelihoods in marginal areas: From 'destroyers of the environment' to custodians of biodiversity: How can pastoralists change their image?"

In Europe, pastoralism is now acknowledged as essential for conserving biodiversity and retaining the attraction of cultural landscapes. But in many other countries, pastoralists are still seen as inimical to nature conservation and within major international frameworks, such as the UNCCD, they are held responsible for causing overgrazing and desertification. How can we change these outdated opinions? How can pastoralists in developing countries achieve recognition for their role in conserving breeds an agro-ecosystems? What can we learn from the European experience? How would institutional set ups and policy frameworks have to change to harness the potential of mobile livestock keeping for nature conservation? How can scientists support pastoralists and their advocacy efforts?

The purpose of the workshop is to arrive at a strategy for changing the image of pastoralism among major policy-makers and to develop ideas for mechanisms that would support and strengthen the official role of pastoralists in conservation.

Workshop participants must be registered with the Planet Diversity Conference.

Click here for more information.

Now drink daily to your health: camel’s milk….

2008-04-27T23:04:00.002+02:00

The Hindu, a leading English-language newspaper in India, carried a front-page story on 9 April 2008 about efforts to promote camel milk in Rajasthan.

Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan, LPP's partner in Rajasthan, is forging links between camel herders and the dairy industry.

"Enquiries are pouring in from various parts of India on the availability of camel milk," says Ilse Koehler-Rollefson, LPP project coordinator and advisor to the project.

Click here for the full story.

Pastoralists seek recognition as stewards of biodiversity

2008-03-10T12:51:00.004+01:00

Official convention

Planet Diversity event

The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity commits it signatory countries to protect and encourage customary use of biological resources in accordance with traditional cultural practices that are compatible with conservation and sustainable use requirements (Article 10c).

Many traditional pastoralist communities would qualify for support by their governments. Alas, in reality, they are generally ignored or scorned upon by policy makers.

On 19-23 May 2008, the government parties to the Convention will meet in Bonn, Germany, to discuss progress in implementing the Convention.

Parallel to the official meetings, a Planet Diversity event will bring together grassroots organizations that promote cultural and biological diversity.

The League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development and Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan (India) will use the opportunity to lobby for an official acknowledgment of the role of pastoralists in conserving various aspects of biodiversity, including those of domestic animals, certain wild plants and animals, as well as landscapes.

LPP and its partners have gained allies among shepherds in Germany, who often get paid to herd sheep on land to maintain its biodiversity. Another strong supporter is the LIFE Network for community-based conservation of animal genetic resources.

More information

Convention on Biological Diversity (official government meetings)
Planet Diversity (parallel event)

German TV features Raika

2008-02-14T20:43:00.005+01:00

The Raika camel pastoralists of Rajasthan were featured on the German TV travel programme VOXTours on 26 January 2008.

The programme highlighted the work of LPP project coordinator Ilse Koehler-Rollefson and LPP's partner organization Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan to develop alternative sources of income for the Raika.

Environmental service payments for pastoralists?

2008-01-14T18:56:00.000+01:00

An article in the first issue of News from Drynet contains a call for rewarding pastoralists for their environmental services.

The article, by LPP's Ilse Koehler-Rollefson, stresses the need to maintain livestock diversity. "Studies have shown that drylands have produced a disproportionately high number of well known breeds which are basically the result of the efforts and the indigenous knowledge of pastoralists," says Ilse.

"Scientific programmes to increase drought resistance of organisms are funded with millions of dollars," she says. "Yet the day-to-day efforts of pastoralists to keep and develop animals under drought conditions and thereby sustain crucial gene pools – that will prove priceless during climate change - remain entirely unrewarded."

The Drynet project, funded by the European Union, involves 14 partner organizations around the world.

Download newsletter 1.2 Mb

Rajasthan Chief Minister commits to camels

2008-01-12T12:59:00.000+01:00

LPP's Ilse Koehler-Rollefson (right) discusses with Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje

Vasundhra Raje promises support for camels

Thousands of Raika commemorated the death of Bhopala Ram Raika

11 January 2008 was the first death anniversary of Bhopala Ram Raika, a famous leader of the Raika camel pastoralists of Rajasthan. Thousands of Raika gathered to mark the event, with Vasundhra Raje, Chief Minister of Rajasthan, as guest of honour.

Ilse Koehler-Rollefson of the League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development, and Hanwant Singh, director of Rajasthan NGO Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan, also attended.

Ilse was invited to give a speech to the political dignitaries and a crowd of Raika estimated at 5000-7000 people. She recalled that Bhopala Ram Raika had introduced her to the Raika community in 1992, laying the foundation of LPP's and LPPS's work in Rajasthan. LPP later invited him to an international meeting in Tanzania and a tour of a camel farm and dairy in Kenya.

Hanwant and Ilse had the opportunity to meet the chief minister and brief her about the needs of camel pastoralists in the state.

During her speech, the Chief Minister held up a copy of a Drynet newsletter with an article about a visit by a Raika delegation to Switzerland and Spain. Their visit had been arranged by LPP and LPPS as part of efforts to promote the rights of livestock keepers. The newsletter is part of LPPS's contribution to the European Union-funded Drynet project, a worldwide initiative to combat land degradation.

"This is how far the Raika can go", she said, promising support for camels, which are iconic animals in Rajasthan.

The following day, the Rajasthan Patrika newspaper carried a special article in Hindi about the state government's commitment to save the camel.

More information

Interlaken conference report online

2007-12-11T12:14:00.000+01:00

"Advocating livestock keepers' rights", a report of LPP's work at the International Technical Conference on Animal Genetic Resources at Interlaken, Switzerland in September 2007, is now available.

The report details LPP's work in the build-up to the conference and during the conference itself, analyses the outcomes and outlines plans for future work.

LPP's preparatory work included organizing two workshops for livestock keepers and government delegates, in India and Ethiopia, and producing a film "Keepers of genes" and a book with the same title.

LPP enabled a delegation of Raika pastoralists to attend the Interlaken conference. Along with other members of the LIFE and Endogenous Livestock Development networks, LPP also facilitated representatives from Africa, Latin America and Asia to attend. LPP and its partners organized four side events at the conference, focusing on the livestock genetics industry, livestock keepers' rights, endogenous livestock development, and animal genetic resources in India. Media and advocacy work tied to the conference have resulted in numerous press articles and broadcasts.

Members of the LIFE Network were invited to participate in the regional government meetings to discuss technical issues and the wording of legal documents.

The global plan of action, adopted by the government delegates at the end of the conference, recognizes the important role of local and indigenous communities in upholding livestock diversity. However, it casts animal genetic resources as an issue to be controlled and managed by the state, and gives livestock keepers only a supporting role.

LPP's work on this topic has been possible because of support from numerous organizations, including Miseroer, GTZ, FAO, EED, Swedbio, the HIVOS-NOVIB-OXFAM Biodiversity Fund, DEZA, Bread for the World, Swissaid, and the Christensen Fund.

Download complete report 255 kb

Camel kisses BBC comedian

2007-12-10T23:11:00.000+01:00

Sanjeev Bhaskar, host of the BBC television programme The Kumars at No. 42, featured Rajasthan on his BBC2 travel documentary series "India with Sanjeev Bhaskar".

During his visit to the state, Mr Bhaskar met the Maharajah of Jodhpur, along with Lokhit Pashu Palak Sansthan director Hanwant Singh and LPP's Ilse Koehler-Rollefson. Part 4 of the film series is entitled "A camel called Sanjeev". The camel was born during Mr Bhaskar's visit to the herd of Adoji Raika, a respected Rajasthani camel pastoralist, and was named in Mr Bhaskar's honour.

The picture on the left shows Kotar, Ilse's camel, greeting Mr Bhaskar. Click on the picture for a closer view (photo courtesy of the BBC).

Hanwant, Ilse, Kotar and camel milk (a product promoted by Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan) all feature prominently in the documentary.

The programme has been broadcast in Britain and several times in India.

Keepers of Genes film available

2007-12-10T14:09:00.001+01:00

Keepers of Genes, a 28-minute documentary produced by award-winning filmmaker Moving Images, documents the role played by pastoralists in preserving animal biodiversity and the key issues confronting them today.

The film accompanies a 2007 book, Keepers of genes: The interdependence between pastoralists, breeds, access to the commons, and livelihoods, by Ilse Koehler-Rollefson and the LIFE Network.

Order copies of the film and book from LPP, or the film from Moving Images

Simply explained

2007-11-21T21:11:00.000+01:00

Intellectual property rights and animal genetic resources

League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development, 2007

Confused about patents and how they relate to the livestock breeds? What's the difference between a patent and a trademark? A geographical indication and a sui generis system? What are Livestock Keepers' Rights?

This two-page leaflet explains it all in simple language.

PDF 57 kb
Word version 264 kb

Interlaken conference reports

2007-11-18T19:57:00.000+01:00

The State of the World report

LPP and Raika delegates at the Conference

The official report from the International Technical Conference on Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, held in Interlaken, Switzerland, on 3-7 September 2007, is available from FAO. This document includes the Interlaken Declaration on Animal Genetic Resources as well as a Global Plan for Animal Genetic Resources, both adopted by the official delegates to the conference.

The conference also adopted a comprehensive summary on livestock breeds. Titled The State of the World’s Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, this report includes inputs from LPP's Ilse Köhler-Rollefson, Evelyn Mathias and Paul Mundy.

Non-government organizations organized a side event that ran at the same time as the main conference. This side event focused on aspects that the official government delegates to the conference risked neglecting: the important role of livestock keepers in conserving breed diversity, the role played by the livestock industry in eroding diversity, and the need to switch the focus of livestock development away from animal productivity and towards the needs and potential of the livestock keepers.

LPP was involved in several of the side event activities:

Susanne Gura organized a session on the livestock genetics industry and its impact in developing countries
Ilse Köhler-Rollefson organized a session on conserving genes, creating livelihoods - not without livestock keepers rights
Evelyn Mathias organized a session on endogenous livestock development - supporting poor livestock keepers
P. Vivekanandan of the LIFE Network (of which LPP is a member) organized a session community level conservation of indigenous animal breeds in India.

In addition, Ilse Köhler-Rollefson and other LIFE members provided reactions to papers presented during a Scientific Forum that immediately preceded the main conference.

Official conference report
Conference website
Conference report from the International Institute for Sustainable Development
State of the World’s Animal Genetic Resources report
Side event website
Scientific Forum on Animal Genetic Resources

Raika campaign covered by The Hindu newspaper

2007-11-18T18:19:00.000+01:00

A major Indian daily has reported on the Raika delegation's lobbying visit to Europe in favour of livestock keepers' rights.

"A delegation of 'Raikas' (camel breeders) from Rajasthan who visited Europe recently to meet fellow pastoralists and share traditional wisdom on livestock keeping, have returned after successfully convincing the decision-makers at global forums of the need to preserve livestock bio-diversity and indigenous production systems", reported The Hindu on 17 November 2007.

"Attending a series of high-level meetings in Europe, they advocated the rights of herding communities and sought recognition for their role in bio-diversity conservation," said The Hindu.

The Raika delegation attended a United Nations-sponsored conference in Interlaken, Switzerland, followed by a global gathering of pastoralists in Segovia, Spain.

"For the visiting camel breeders the high point of the trip was a rally through the heart of Madrid together with Spanish shepherds and their colleagues from Africa, Asia and the Americas," said the paper.

The Raikas' visit to Europe was supported by the League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development, and its Indian partner organization Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan.

Full report in The Hindu

Rolex features LPP's work on conserving breeds

2007-11-12T17:50:00.000+01:00

Rolex Awards for Enterprise has again featured the work of LPP founder Dr Ilse Köhler-Rollefson.

The Rolex Awards website describes how Ilse is campaigning to conserve livestock breeds, and the rights of livestock keepers to control their animal genetic resources.

Rolex quotes Ilse as saying that "if companies are allowed to control animal genetics... the result could be just a few varieties of livestock... being raised worldwide, instead of a huge range of varieties adapted to their environments and to the economic needs of those who raise them."

"The only way to preserve them is to enable livestock-keepers to generate income, so that their way of life continues,” Ilse explains. “For the camels in Rajasthan, we have developed niche products, like camel milk ice cream, which is proving a success. We can thus help the herders and the camels to survive."

Ilse was named an Associate Laureate by Rolex Awards for Enterprise in 2002.

Livestock industry study revised

2007-11-12T17:02:00.000+01:00

A revised and updated version is now available of Susanne Gura's groundbreaking study on "Livestock genetics companies: Concentration and proprietary strategies of an emerging power in the global food economy".

This study describes how a few large multinational companies dominate the breeding of cattle, pigs and poultry, and the effects this has on the economy, ecology and society.

The revised study is available in English, German and (soon) Spanish.

People and Livestock newsletter focuses on innovations

2007-10-03T18:43:00.000+02:00

The September 2007 issue of the People and Livestock newsletter focuses on participatory innovation development - an approach where scientists and development workers work together with farmers and livestock keepers to build on their indigenous knowledge, identify local innovations, and generate new ideas to improve their production and livelihoods.

Read online or download 75 kb, 8 pages

Rajasthani herders to campaign for their rights at international summits

2007-08-03T13:33:00.000+02:00

A group of Raika herders from Rajasthan, India, will be leaving on 26th August for Europe to speak up about their rights at a series of international gatherings dealing with issues crucial to the continuation of their traditional livelihoods. The Raika are the nomadic camel and sheep breeders of Rajasthan who are famous for having created some of the country’s best livestock breeds, but whose future is on the brink, as their traditional pastures are dwindling away. The government has been given preference to irrigation agriculture, and is now in the process of allotting so-called wastelands – that actually represent customary grazing areas – for bio-diesel cultivation.

From 1-7 September, the delegation will attend the First International Conference on Animal Genetic Resources in Interlaken (Switzerland), together with more than 200 government delegates from around the world. This conference has been convened by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations to discuss strategies for countering the dramatic rate of extinction of farm animal breeds that is regarded as a threat to future food security. The reason for this trend, among others, is that industrialized livestock farming systems are expanding while the farmers and herders that keep locally adapted breeds are being squeezed out.

The goal of the Raika and other representatives of herding cultures is to convince the governments that they should be given an official role in efforts to conserve animal genetic resources. They emphasize that many breeds will only survive, if they themselves are given grazing rights and are lobbying for reference to Livestock Keepers’ Rights in the official documents of the meeting. Livestock Keepers Rights are a bundle of rights or principles that would ensure that traditional livestock keepers can continue to make a living from their animals and thereby sustain the diverse breeds that compose biodiversity and are considered essential for long-term human food security. While African countries have strongly supported inclusion of Livestock Keepers Rights, other countries have not taken up the issue, and the term remains "bracketed" (subject to further discussion).

From 8-12 September, the Raika will attend an International Gathering of Nomads and Pastoralists held near Segovia in Spain. They will also participate in a meeting convened in Madrid by the governments that have signed the United Nations Convention on Combating Desertification (UNCCD) to emphasize that pastoralism (or herding) makes an important contribution to conserving biodiversity in drylands. While scientists have accumulated evidence for the positive interlinkage between grazing and biodiversity, the UNCCD has not yet acknowledged this connection.

The group composed of Mangilal Raika, Ramu Ram Raika and Srimati Daili Devi Raika will be accompanied by Tola Ram Bhil, a Bhopa (traditional musician) who is specialized in performing the story of how their ancestor, Harmel Ram Raika, brought the first female camels to Rajasthan. The tour is facilitated by the NGO Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan, whose director, Hanwant Singh Rathore will act as translator for the group.

On the way to Switzerland, the group will spend time in Germany at the invitation of the League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development, an organization that is supporting pastoralists and other marginalized livestock keepers throughout the world through training and advocacy for favourable policy frameworks. In Germany, the Raika will interact with local sheep and cattle herders and learn from them about the use of herding animals in nature conservation. In many countries in Europe, grazing with sheep and other species is used to conserve certain cultural landscapes as well as types of plants, and therefore supported by the government.

Contacts

Hanwant Singh Rathore, Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan (India), www.lpps.org, mobile +94-148-18564; phone +94-2934-285086

Ilse Koehler-Rollefson, League for Pastoral Peoples (Germany), www.pastoralpeoples.org, +49-6154-53642, ilse@pastoralpeoples.org

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What can we do to stop the fast erosion of domestic animal diversity?

2007-07-20T10:28:00.000+02:00

Six experts from different parts of the world answer this question in interviews with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

“Veterinary services have been privatized - drugs are too expensive”, says Thomas Loquang (left), a Ugandan livestock keeper and representative of the pastoralist community of Karamoja in Uganda. The community depends very much on indigenous knowledge for taking care of their livestock, including animal health and production. Thomas urges for support in conserving Karamoja’s indigenous breeds and strengthening livestock keepers' rights through better infrastructure and veterinary services.

Patrick Mulvaney of British NGO Practical Action says that livestock keepers' rights are needed to protect livestock and livelihoods.

Click here to listen to all six interviews.

Industry concentration study now in Spanish

2007-07-11T15:23:00.000+02:00

Susanne Gura's groundbreaking 2007 study on "Livestock genetics companies: Concentration and proprietary strategies of an emerging power in the global food economy" is now available in Spanish.

Click here to download:

English 267 kb, 30 pages
Español 282 kb, 31 pages

League joins Drynet

2007-07-10T18:49:00.000+02:00

The League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development is a founder member of Drynet, a project focusing on:

Desertification, drylands and land degradation
Communities living in affected areas and their coping strategies
Efforts to combat desertification and land degradation due to unsustainable practices and climate change.

This European Union-funded project, launched on 17 June, the United Nations World Day to Combat Desertification, aims to strengthen civil society networks, such as farmers' collectives, indigenous groups, women's organizations, trade unions and non-governmental organizations with knowledge and visibility to influence dryland development policies in affected countries.

The League's Indian partner, Rajasthan-based Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan, is also a founder member of Drynet.

Other partner organizations are from Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Mauritania, South Africa, Senegal, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, and France. BothEnds, an organization based in the Netherlands, coordinates the project.

Click here to access the Drynet website.

Click here for more information. 17 kb

Questions? Send an e-mail to drynet@bothends.org or contact Danielle de Man at the Both ENDS office: +31 (0)20 623 0823

Draft State of the World report published

2007-06-20T12:39:00.000+02:00

The first draft report on the State of the World’s Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture has been published by FAO.

This report covers the state of agricultural biodiversity in the livestock sector, livestock sector trends, capacities in animal genetic resource management, the management of animal genetic resources, and needs and challenges.

The report is expected to be adopted by the First International Technical Conference on Animal Genetic Resources on 1-7 September 2007 in Interlaken, Switzerland.

Section 1C, on flows of animal genetic resources, was prepared by LPP's Evelyn Mathias, Ilse Koehler-Rollefson and Paul Mundy.

Click here to download Section 1C only 1240 kb

Click here to download whole document 2.43 Mb (for first section, which gives access to other chapters as separate downloads)

Managing animal genetic resources in Africa

2007-06-12T15:50:00.000+02:00

About 50 stakeholders in livestock keeping, breeding and management from nine African countries, Europe and India met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 24-25 May 2007, to discuss the future of Africa’s domestic livestock and poultry breeds and diversity.

The participants urged that Livestock Keepers’ Rights be adopted into the agenda of the intergovernmental Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. They also pointed to the need to investigate the implications of patenting and other forms of intellectual property rights on the sustainable management of animal genetic resources.

The meeting was organized by the Ethiopian Society of Animal Production, the Ethiopian Institute of Biodiversity Conservation, the International Endogenous Livestock Development Network, the LIFE Network, LPP, and Pastoralist Forum Ethiopia.

Summary report 56 kb

No patents on seeds and farm animals

2007-06-12T10:57:00.000+02:00

A new coalition called "No Patents on Seeds" www.no-patents-on-seeds.org has called for a global ban on patents on seeds and farm animals. The coalition includes Greenpeace, SwissAid and Coldiretti (the biggest Italian farmers' organization) , and is supported by more than 30 farmers' organizations and hundreds of other organizations worldwide.

pdf 18 kb

LPP annual report 2006

2007-05-18T14:36:00.000+02:00

LPP's annual report for 2006 is now available online.

The lead article, by LPP Project Coordinator Ilse Köhler-Rollefson, focuses on "Patents on animals: Preparing for Interlaken".

The First International Technical Conference on Animal Genetic Resources will be held on 1-7 September 2007 in Interlaken, Switzerland. LPP has been heavily involved in preparing for this conference, helping organize pastoralists and small-scale livestock keepers to ensure their voice is heard.

Download 2006 annual report 119 kb, 12 pages

Reclaiming Livestock Keepers’ Rights

2007-05-11T03:33:00.000+02:00

Reclaiming Livestock Keepers’ Rights to produce and have continued access to their diverse livestock breeds

2-page call for support for efforts to protect the rights of livestock keepers.

Download 106 kb

Also available in French as:

Reconquérir les droits des éleveurs de produire et de sécuriser leur accès aux races animales

Download 108 kb

Keepers of genes

2007-05-04T14:10:00.000+02:00

The interdependence between pastoralists, breeds, access to the commons, and livelihoods

This book by Ilse Köhler-Rollefson and the LIFE Network focuses on a key threat to the survival of pastoralists and their livestock breeds: the loss of access to grazing and water. Pastoralists are losing their traditional pasturelands for many reasons - new restrictions on grazing in nature reserves, the expansion of irrigated agriculture, expropriation by settled villagers, and the elimination of fallow land because of intensified cropping.

Less grazing land means that pastoralists cannot maintain a herd large enough to be economic. Many are forced to give up livestock production altogether. That does not just mean the loss of livelihoods for the pastoralists themselves. It also means settled villagers can no longer rely on the hardy stock from pastoralists to pull their ploughs and provide them with meat and milk. And it spells doom for many valuable livestock breeds and the gene pool they represent.

Based on years of research in rural India, this book has wide applicability to other parts of the world where pastoralism is important. It forms a valuable input to the First International Technical Conference on Animal Genetic Resources, to be held in Interlaken, Switzerland, in September 2007.

Download:

Complete book 1257 kb, 80 pages
Text only 355 kb, 70 pages
Cover 996 kb
Photos 324 kb, 8 pages

Endogenous versus globalized

2007-04-12T19:46:00.000+02:00

An alternative vision of livestock development for the poor

This discussion paper by Ilse Köhler-Rollefson criticizes the dominant approach to livestock development, which focuses on cash and productivity, and focuses on the animals rather than on the people who keep them.

It offers an alternative, "endogenous" approach, basing development on livestock keeper's own knowledge and resources, with appropriate inputs from outside.

The paper concludes that following in the tracks of Northern livestock development may be disastrous for developing countries that cannot absorb rural poor into the urban labour force.

Download 255 kb, 23 pages

People and Livestock newsletter

2007-04-12T17:51:00.000+02:00

The April 2007 issue of the People and Livestock newsletter focuses on endogenous livestock development. The newsletter is now published by the Endogenous Livestock Development Network, www.eldev.net. LPP is a founding member of this network.

Read online or download 158 kb, 9 pages

White gold of the desert

2007-04-09T17:04:00.000+02:00

Conserving animal biodiversity and creating rural employment can go hand in hand – an Indian NGO is showing the way.

Camels are part of the past? Not according to Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan, a Rajasthan-based NGO and LPP partner.

The Indian NGO is running a project to boost the value of camel products such as milk and ice cream. Camel milk, the "white gold of the desert", is highly nutritious and is used traditionally to treat tuberculosis and typhoid. According to scientists, it may also have a positive effect on patients with HIV/AIDS, cancer and Alzheimer's disease.

Further details 63 kb

Organising around breeds pays dividends

2007-04-09T16:38:00.000+02:00

Pastoralists present a statement to Dr DK Sadana, Director of the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources

Lobbying by LIFE-Network India, an alliance of NGOs and pastoralist groups, is beginning to bear fruit as policy changes that benefit indigenous livestock and rural livelihoods.

For example, the scope of the “Recognition of Forest Rights Bill 2005”, that originally only gave rights to forest-dwelling tribes, was expanded to include the grazing rights of nomadic and settled pastoralist communities in
forests. This legislation was passed by parliament on 7 December, 2006.

The National Draft Policy on Farmers emphasises the close relationship between livestock keeping, sustainable livelihoods, and access to grazing land. It spells out the need for securing pastoralists’ forest grazing rights, including in national parks and other protected areas.

An increasing number of Indian government actors are starting to take notice of the role of pastoralists as custodians of livestock breeds and their role on conserving biodiversity.

Further details 27 kb

Livestock Keepers and the Management of Animal Genetic Resources: Roles, Rights, and Responsibilities

2007-03-28T13:42:00.000+02:00

Pastoralists and other livestock keepers should have the right to participate in formulating national policies. That was one of the conclusions of a workshop on Pastoralists, Livestock Keepers Rights and Animal Genetic Resources, on 24 to 26 February 2007.

Around 100 pastoralists from all over India attended the workshop in Sadri, Rajasthan, along with delegations from Mongolia, Iran and the Philippines.

The workshop also demanded official recognition for pastoralists as custodians of animal genetic resources. Their mobile way of life and their traditional rights to use forest lands and other natural resources must be protected, said participants.

An international meeting followed immediately after the national workshop. Participants from Bangladesh, China, Germany, India, Iran, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand, the UK and Vietnam, along with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, clarified the concept of Livestock Keepers' Rights. This a bundle of rights and recommendations for strengthening the role of livestock keepers in animal genetic resource management.

Issues discussed included:

The loss of grazing land and traditional knowledge, leading to the erosion of animal genetic resources
The dangers of intensive, industrial food production systems and their narrowing of animal genetic diversity
The threat to the right of livestock keepers to breed their own animals
The lack of support for Livestock Keepers’ Rights from governments worldwide
The need to build the capacity of livestock keepers

Report from the two meetings: 326 kb

Concentration in the world's livestock genetics

2007-02-27T09:40:00.000+01:00

Consumers are usually not told which breed or hybrid line of chicken, cattle or swine have produced the eggs, milk and meat offered in the supermarkets or the butchery shops.

They should get interested, since they are contributing to the development of a global genetic monoculture. Meat processing factories and factory farms want uniform animals. Hardly noticed by the public, a concentration process is taking place not only in livestock production and processing, but also in the livestock breeding industry, increasing environmental pollution and animal welfare problems, and causing serious losses not only of biological diversity, food diversity, and cultural diversity.

With patents on animals and other appropriation strategies, the livestock genetics companies are increasing their power, acting as if consumers all over the world want ever larger quantities of ever cheaper meat, milk and eggs without caring for environmental, social and cultural impact.

LPP has produced a study on the global livestock industry and how they influence the animal breeds raised by farmers worldwide: Livestock Genetics Companies: Concentration and proprietary strategies of an emerging power in the global food economy.

Click here for the report (pdf, 267 kb).

International workshop on Livestock Keepers and the Management of Animal Genetic Resources

2007-01-31T10:30:00.000+01:00

The LIFE Network will host an international workshop on "Livestock Keepers and the Management of Animal Genetic Resources: Roles, Rights, and Responsibilities" in Sadri, Rajasthan, India, on 26-28 February 2007.

Registration and accommodation are free, but participants must cover their own expenses. The organizers may be able to provide assistance in certain cases.

Further information: 47 kb

The LIFE Network supports community-based conservation of animal genetic resources and seeks to strengthen rural livelihoods through the development of indigenous livestock breeds and species.

Bonn Workshop on the Future of Animal Genetic Resources

2007-01-02T12:48:00.000+01:00

A workshop on “The Future of Animal Genetic Resources: Under Corporate Control or in the Hands of Farmers and Pastoralists?” was held 16-18 October, 2006, in Bonn, Germany. While concentration in the livestock breeding industry is fast increasing, and exotic breeds are transferred to the South in large quantities, local smallholder livestock keepers are losing access to grazing lands. The recent large scale biofuel plantations may add to the pressures.

Seventy percent of the world’s poor keep livestock, while factory farm products are generally not within immediate reach of the poor. The loss of breeds is accelerating, and livelihoods are lost as well. Participants have emphasized the importance of livestock keepers’ rights to their breeds as well as to the productive resources (e.g. grazing land, water, animal health services, and credit) needed to keep these breeds that have the capacity to produce under the often harsh local environments. Local breed development should become a priority in poverty alleviation programmes.

The 45 participants from 20 countries came from livestock keeping communities, civil society organizations, FAO, the Swiss government, national focal points for animal genetic resources from South and North, the International Livestock Research Institute, universities, donors, and breed conservation organizations. The workshop, which was organized by LPP together with the LIFE Network.

The workshop was held in preparation of the International Technical Conference on Animal Genetic Resources that will be held in Interlaken, Switzerland, in September 2007.

More information: 45 kb

India’s herding communities: Affirm our customary grazing rights!

2006-12-14T12:29:00.000+01:00

On this year’s Human Rights’ Day, 10th December, representatives of herding communities from all over India rallied in Delhi to draw attention to their plight and discuss strategies for reviving their customary grazing rights. For hundreds of years these mobile livestock keepers have held together rural life by providing draught animals, milk, meat, wool, manure, and general ecosystem services.

But in the last several decades these diverse and colourful people that include the Raika and Gujjar of Rajasthan, the Maldhari of Gujarat, the Gaddi in Himachal, Bakkarwal in Kashmir, Van Gujjar in Uttaranchal, Changpa in Ladakh, Golla in Orissa, Kuruba in Karnataka, Toda and Konar in Tamil Nadu, and many more, have felt the squeeze of “development” and of generally unsympathetic government policies. The establishment of wildlife sanctuaries and national parks, joint-forest management schemes, allotment of common land for commercial plantation or bio-diesel cultivation, expansion of irrigation agriculture are all developments that have constricted their customary grazing areas.

Click here for more.

Papers on livestock keepers' rights in Spanish

2006-10-24T12:56:00.000+02:00

The following papers on livestock keepers' rights were presented by Ellen Geerlings at the "VI Simposio Iberoamericano sobre la Conservación y Utilización de Recursos Zoogenéticos", Chiapas, México, 7-10 Nov 2005.

Köhler-Rollefson, Ilse, Constance McCorkle, Jacob Wanyama and Evelyn Mathias. 2005. "Investigación en biotecnología animal y derechos de los criadores de ganado" (Animal biotechnology research and livestock-keepers' rights). 64 kb

Mathias, Evelyn, Ilse Köhler-Rollefson, and Jacob Wanyama. 2005. Razas locales y derechos de los criadores de animales 165 kb.

English version, "Pastoralists, local breeds and the fight for Livestock Keepers’ Rights" presented at the PENHA 15th Anniversary Conference "Pastoralism in the Horn of Africa: Surviving against all odds", 29 Sep 2005. 77 kb