Livestock production

Accounting for pastoralists in Afghanistan

The rangelands that cover much of Afghanistan provide forage for livestock and support millions of pastoralists. Fully or partly nomadic pastoralists, known as “Kuchi”, make up around 10% of Afghanistan’s population. They migrate between summer pastures in the highlands and winter pastures in the lowlands. Some pastoralists have settled permanently and graze their animals year-round on communal pastures nearby. Others no longer own animals but retain their Kuchi identity. The pastoralists own more than 70% of the country’s livestock and produce most of the live animals and meat consumed there. Many pastoralists are poor and marginalized, lacking education, health and other services. Securing access to their traditional grazing lands is a major problem. Accurate, updated information on pastoralism is scarce. This hinders the design of policies and suitable interventions. A conducive socio-political environment and supportive policies are essential to ensure the sustainability of pastoralism.

  • Title: Accounting for pastoralism in Afghanistan
  • Author: Khurshid Muhammad
  • Description: Information brief
  • Format: Pdf
  • Pages: 6

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    With camelids into a sustainable future

    The importance of camelid herders for the conservation of our world’s rangelands is increasingly recognized internationally. To mark the International Year of Camelids, this thematic dossier introduces camelid pastoralists, how they sustainably manage rangelands in the Andean highlands, East Africa and Mongolia, and why the global community should support camelid pastoralism for a resilient future of our planet.

    Contents

    • Allies for a green future – Igshaan Samuels and Maryam Niamir-Fuller
    • Camelid husbandry worldwide – Bernard Faye
    • Where in the world are camelids? – Paul Mundy
    • New market opportunities in the Andes – Cecilia Turin and Mariana Quiroga Mendiola
    • Camels as far as the eye can see – Piers Simpkin and Jacob Wanyama
    • Proud to be a camel herder – Interview with Shariin Juu
    • Participatory research for diversity – Ilse Köhler-Rollefson and Cecilia Turin
    • The future of camelid husbandry – Ilse Köhler-Rollefson, Ann Waters-Bayer, Sabine Dorlöchter-Sulser and Cecilia Turin

    This dossier, co-published by Misereor, the League for Pastoral Peoples and DITSL, includes articles co-authored by LPP’s Ilse Köhler-Rollefson, as well as several other articles by long-term collaborators with LPP.

    The centre spread is a poster showing the worldwide distribution of the seven camelid species (alpacas, Bactrians, dromedaries, llamas, guanacos, vicuñas and wild Bactrians (which have been recognized as a separate species from the domesticated Bactrians). This map is based on LPP’s world Pastoralist Map.

    Download in English (from Misereor or LPP) or German (Misereor or LPP).

  • Title: With camelids into a sustainable future. Learning from pastoralist communities
  • Author: Misereor, League for Pastoral Peoples, DITSL
  • Description: Dossier
  • Format: Pdf
  • Pages: 20

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    Accounting for pastoralists in Pakistan

    Rangelands are the main land use in Pakistan, providing forage for livestock and supporting millions of pastoralists. Traditional pastoralism is a centuries-old production system, sustained by nomadic, transhumant and sedentary pastoralists. Major pastoral regions in Pakistan include the Hindu Kush-Himalayan and Karakoram ranges, arid and semi-arid scrublands of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, and the sandy deserts of Thal, Thar and Cholistan.
    Pastoralists contribute significantly to national food security, subsistence and economy. But they face numerous challenges: land degradation, land grabbing, socio-political marginalization and competition over natural resources, unfavourable policies, climate change and environmental hazards. Pastoralists are not officially recognized, so their contributions are often not accounted official records. Reliable data is lacking. Pastoralism in Pakistan is declining due to various socio-political and ecological challenges.

  • Title: Accounting for pastoralists in Pakistan
  • Author: Khurshid Muhammad
  • Description: Information brief
  • Format: Pdf
  • Pages: 6

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