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.

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.

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.

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)