Strengthening pastoralists and

ecological livestock keepers by

building on their local knowledge,

breeds and resources

Evelyn MathiasLeague for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development (LPP) evelyn@mamud.com

Presentation at the FAO-NGO Informal Consultation on Livestock Issues 2009 in Rome, 1-2 December 2009

Focus of work

informed by learnings from LPP’s

initial activities:

Livestock keepers play a key role in

the creation and sustainable

management of local breeds

Local breeds and mobile pastoralism

offer great potential for sustainable

food production in marginal areas

History of LPP

Founded in 1992 after a study in

Rajasthan, India showed:

camel numbers ↓

lack of breeding bulls

animal health services

� Technical interventions such as

community-based animal health care

and provision of breeding bulls

History ctd.

But:

technical interventions are of little use

for livestock keepers if their grazing

land is turned into a protected area or

agricultural land!

� capacity and institution building,

� field work through partners

� networking and

� advocacy

Advantages of local livestock breeds

Are mostly independent of external inputs

Can stand droughts and are easy to manage

Use local vegetation and have no carbon footprint

Have been with their keepers for generations

Often have potential for speciality products

Local breeds perceived as unproductive

Are being replaced and diluted with

industrial breeds

Lack of awareness about their benefits

Livestock keepers are not well

organised

Absence of marketing support

Constraints

The LIFE Network

LIFE= Local Livestock for Empowerment

Founded in 2000

Loose action research and advocacy

network of CSOs and individuals working

at the grassroots levels

LIFE includes livestock keepers,

government staff, scientists, NGO staff

Collaborate on the basis of a common

Charter

LIFE‘s philosophy: Endogenous

Livestock Development (ELD)

ELD strengthens local initiatives and

builds on local resources: local

knowledge, local institutions, local

genetic resources.

Recognises that Livestock Keepers may

be poor, but they have great assets and

resources:

their local breeds and natural resources

their local knowledge

LPP/LIFE-Network

Methods

Herder workshops

Multi-stakeholder workshops

Writeshops

Publications and films

literature reviews and field research

“Hands-on” training in advocacy

through inviting interested CSOs to

collaborate in activities during

intergovernmental processes

Activities

Promotion of Livestock Keepers’

Rights

LIFE method of breed documentation

Biocultural protocols

Community-based breed conservation

Development of a Code of Conduct

Marketing niche products from local

breeds

Livestock Keepers’ Rights

3 principles + 5 rights:

essential for livestock keepers to continue maintain and develop their local breeds

Developed through a series of stakeholder consultations involving livestock keepers, NGOs and other stakeholders

Necessary because issues in livestock development differ from issues around plants

3 principles enshrine right to land

Livestock Keepers

breed environment

Culture,traditional knowledge

Example Chilka buffalo breeders Example Chilka buffalo breeders

in Orissa, Indiain Orissa, India

LPP/LIFE-Network

5 Livestock Keepers’ Rights

Make breeding decision and breed own

breeds

Participation in policy formulation and

implementation

Appropriate services (animal health and

management, marketing)

Participation in (identification of)

research

Access of information (returning

research advice, provide legal advice)

Life method for breed

documentation: what is different?

Understands breeds as products of social networks

Is not a fixed method but set of possible actions and participatory methods that can be combined and adapted

Captures priorities of livestock keepers and their indigenous knowledge about animal breeding

Powerful tool for awareness raising on value of local breeds and empowerment of communities

Life documentation Karamoja,

Uganda

Red Maasai sheep of Samburu

in Kenya

Ankole cattle in Uganda

Community protocols

Developed in context of Access and

Benefit Sharing Regime of Convention

on Biological Diversity

Highlight traditional institutions and

contribution of livestock keeepers, their

needs and rights

Tool for empowerment and furthering

in-situ conservation

Future plans

Continue work on

Livestock Keepers Rights and Community Protocls

Code of Conduct,

Capacity building of Animal Genetic Resources stakeholders

New areas:

Research on women and local breeds

Writeshop on pastoral value chains and marketing

Requests mentioned by

indigenous peoples during

consultations

Avoid abbreviations and use simple language

Make pastoralism more visible in FAO terminology – e.g. pastoralists are not “small-scale livestock keepers” as the definition of the Intergovernmental Working Group on Animal Genetic Resources suggests

Thanks to

DEZA, HIVOS-Oxfam Novib Biodiversity Fund, Misereor and Swedbio for financial support. The opinions expressed in this presentation are those of LPP and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of these organizations.

All livestock keepers and partners and other stakeholders who have contributed to the development of the LKR Declaration, Code of Conduct etc

Most photos courtesy of Ilse Koehler-Rollefson

www.pastoralpeoples.org, www.lifeinitiative.net