Over the last 10 years, the number of camels in Asia has fallen by one-fifth - mainly because their traditional pasturelands have been lost. Camels are vital for the livelihoods of millions of people who live in and on the margins of the world's deserts. 17 June 2005 - the United Nations' World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought - is an opportunity to focus on the role of camels in using arid lands sensibly and sustainably. Click here for more information.

Audio file by WRENMedia about the crisis in camel-keeping in India. Includes interviews by BBC/WRENMedia reporter Susie Emmett with camel herders in Rajasthan, and with LPP's Ilse Köhler-Rollefson. Download audio file (Mpeg)

This article describes a month-long journey through Rajasthan's Thar Desert to document the drastic decline in camel numbers there. By Ilse Köhler-Rollefson of the League for Pastoral Peoples and Hanwant Singh Rathore of Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan. Down To Earth, 31 May 2005 Download 668 kb, 5 pages

Putting the livestock keeper first: the lead article in the 2004 Annual Report of the League for Pastoral Peoples describes people-centred livestock development. Unlike most approaches to livestock development, this puts the livestock keepers (rather than their animals) as the focus. It bases development on their needs, capabilities and concerns, rather than merely trying to boost the productivity of their animals. It promises a more appropriate and ultimately more successful approach to livestock-based development. Read online or download 78 kb, 8 pages