League for Pastoral Peoples

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)

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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.

Download newsletter 1.3 Mb

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.