League for Pastoral Peoples

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2010-05-01T14:40:00.001+02:00

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Practical guidelines on Livestock Keepers' Rights

2010-03-07T11:50:00.001+01:00

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 the guidelines.

Sign the Declaration on Livestock Keepers’ Rights!

2010-03-07T11:38:00.001+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.
To sign, please contact: LPP's Evelyn Mathias, evelyn@mamud.com or Sabine Poth, sabine@pastoralpeoples.org. Please indicate whether you would like to sign as an organization, an individual, or both. The Declaration is open for signatures until the end of August 2010.
The Declaration will be 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.
Download the Declaration

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.
Download 1.06 Mb

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.

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.