Presentation from the Informal Consultation on Livestock Issues between the FAO Animal Production and Health Division and interested Non-Governmental Organizations. 1–2 December 2009 Italy, Rome FAO Headquarters. [ Originally posted on http://www.cop-ppld.net/cop_knowledge_base ]

1. Strengthening pastoralists and
ecological livestock keepers by
building on their local knowledge,
breeds and resources
Evelyn Mathias
League 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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. Constraints
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

7. 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

8. 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

9. LPP/LIFE-Network

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 3 principles enshrine right to land
Livestock Keepers
Culture,
traditional
knowledge
breed environment

14. Example Chilka buffalo breeders
in Orissa, India
LPP/LIFE-Network

15. 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)

16. 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

17. Life documentation Karamoja,
Uganda

18. Red Maasai sheep of Samburu
in Kenya

19. Ankole cattle in Uganda

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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