India

Accounting for pastoralists in India

Kamal Kishore and Ilse Köhler-Rollefson / League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development / 2020

Estimates of the number of pastoralists in India vary widely, but they probably total around 13 million people. Official data on livestock do not reflect the management system used. Both farmers and pastoralists rely on common-pool resources to maintain their animals. Around 77% of the country’s livestock are kept in extensive systems. Such systems produce an estimated 53% of India’s milk and 74% of its meat. The animals’ manure is a vital source of fertilizer for crop farmers; for many pastoralists manure is their main source of income.

A wide range of pastoralist systems exist, from fully mobile to transhumant and sedentary. Species maintained in mobile systems include camels, cattle, ducks, donkeys, goats, pigs, sheep and yaks. Many pastoralists are members of traditional castes, but other groups, known as “non-traditional pastoralists”, are also taking up mobile herding.

  • Title: Accounting for pastoralists in India
  • Author: Kamal Kishore and Ilse Köhler-Rollefson
  • Description: Information brief
  • Format: Pdf
  • Pages: 6

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    Biocultural Community Protocol of the Camel Breeders of Rajasthan

    The Biocultural Community Protocol of the camel breeders of Rajasthan puts on record the breeders’ our role as a local community embodying a traditional lifestyle that is relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. The breeders have stewarded and taken care of Rajasthan’s camel population for generations and their traditional knowledge and practices as well as customary rights are the foundation of Rajasthan’s camel culture and biodiversity. This protocol describes the traditional knowledge that they have used to manage Rajasthan’s camel population over the last few centuries but which cannot be taught through books, only through practical experience.

  • Title: Biocultural Community Protocol of the Camel Breeders of Rajasthan
  • Author: LPPS / Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan / 2017
  • Description: The Biocultural Community Protocol of the camel breeders of Rajasthan puts on record the breeders' our role as a local community embodying a traditional lifestyle that is relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity
  • Format: Zip
  • Pages: 33

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    Towards resilience and social sustainability of the livestock sector: Approaches of the LIFE Network in India to support biodiversity-based livestock development

    Study of four networks focusing on pastoralists and indigenous livestock keepers in India, with recommendations for the global agenda on sustainable livestock

  • Title: Towards resilience and social sustainability of the livestock sector: Approaches of the LIFE Network in India to support biodiversity-based livestock development
  • Author: Elizabeth Katushabe / League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development and Local Livestock for Empowerment (LIFE) Network / 2014
  • Description: Study of four networks focusing on pastoralists and indigenous livestock keepers in India
  • Format: Zip
  • Pages: 36

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