The United Nations continues to see pastoralism as a main reason for desertification, says Drynet, a global initiative on drylands. But a large number of scientific studies contradict this, and instead show the positive effects of pastoralism as a land-use strategy. LPP’s Ilse Koehler-Rollefson and Silke Brehm have collated some of the bright aspects of pastoralism.
The eastern Indian state of Orissa has a wealth of local livestock breeds, LPP’s Ilse Koehler-Rollefson has learned. She visited farmers who raise Ghunsur cattle and goats, a group of nomadic pig herders, and duck keepers near the coast. She also took part in a “roadside university”, or pathe pathshala, run by Balaram Sahu, a veterinarian from Orissa, to discuss livestock health and management with local people.
Call for livestock-based culture instead of livestock industry; identity instead of rural depopulation, livestock keepers’ rights instead of monopoly, and participation in value chains instead of overproduction by a few giant firms
