A young boy watches over his family’s herd. A new Livestock-Climate Change CRSP project led by South Dakota State University will help pastoralists in Mali adapt to a changes in climate and land-use that threatened this traditional way of life. Photo courtesy of Niall Hanan.

The Livestock-Climate Change Collaborative Support Program (LCC CRSP), has awarded over $1.3 million to South Dakota State University and Syracuse University for projects that incorporate innovative scientific research with capacity building and institutional strengthening to improve the lives and livelihoods of livestock producers and increase the resilience of livestock systems in West Africa in the face of climate variability and long-term climate change. Projects are targeted toward reducing vulnerability, increasing adaptive capacity, and augmenting the income of livestock producers in West Africa, where dryland agricultural systems are especially vulnerable to climate change-induced drought, flooding, and other weather extremes and over 50% of the population lives in poverty. Both projects take an interdisciplinary approach to problem-solving, seek to develop and/or expand innovation, and build capacity.

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A Maasai child draws water from the same pond being used by livestock. (Photo by J. Brownlie)

The November 2011 issue of the New Agriculturalist focuses on current efforts to tackle transboundary, zoonotic, and emerging diseases, including ‘one health’ approaches that address human and environmental concerns within the context of livestock disease control.

Since 2006, the Health for Animals and Livelihood Improvement (HALI) project has been investigating patterns of diseases such as bovine tuberculosis (BTB) in livestock, wildlife, people and the environment. “Understanding the dynamics of zoonotic disease agents in human, livestock and wildlife populations, and how they relate to land use change and environmental management, is critical to developing mitigation strategies,” states Woutrina Miller, HALI co-principal investigator.

Funding for the HALI project comes, in part, from the Livestock-Climate Change CRSP, based at Colorado State University. This project was initiated under the Global Livestock CRSP which was based at the University of California, Davis. The HALI project was recently awarded 3.5 years of funding through the LCC CRSP Long-Term Research Program.

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Complete Issue (focused on livestock disease)

The Livestock-Climate Change CRSP Seed Grant Program for Nepal project, “Livestock, Livelihoods, and Climate Change Interaction: A Collaborative Research in the Mountains of Nepal” (LLCCI) was launched last week at LI-BIRD’s headquarters in Pokhara, Nepal.

Reported by Keshab Thapa, Programme Officer, LI-BIRD

With the distinguished guests and professionals from 12 research and development organizations of Nepal and United States, a collaborative research project entitled “Livestock, Livelihoods and Climate Change Interaction: A Collaborative Research in the Mountains of Nepal” was formally launched in LI-BIRD’s headquarters in Pokhara on 08 July 2011. This collaborative action research will be conducted by an interdisciplinary team of scholars and practitioners based in the United States and Nepal. The team is composed of Principal Investigator Prof. Netra Chhetri, a climate change adaptation and food security scholar at Arizona State University (ASU) and two non-governmental organizations in Nepal: Local Initiatives for Biodiversity Research and Development (LI-BIRD) and Nucleus for Empowerment through Skill Transfer (NEST).

The programme was chaired by Dr. Banshi Sharma, Regional Livestock Director, Regional Livestock Services Office, Western Development Region, Kaski, Nepal. The project was launched in a formal inauguration session by Mr. Birendra Bahadur Hamal, Regional Director, Regional Agricultural Directorate, Western Development Region, Kaski, Nepal. Mr. Abishkar Subedi, Programme Director of LI-BIRD welcomed all guests and participants, briefed the objectives of the launching and initiated introduction of the participants.

During the programme, Mr. Sajal Sthapit, Programme Coordinator for Knowledge Management and Capacity Building Programme of LI-BIRD briefly introduced LI-BIRD and its priorities, and achievements to date.

Ms. Joyce Turk, Senior Livestock Development Manager from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) shared the objective of Livestock-Climate Change Collaborative Research Support Program (LCC CRSP) of USAID. In her speech, she presented a triangular relationship among environment/climate change, livestock, and human and their interaction for balancing the system with a continuous adaptation and trade off for which the LCC CRSP has been designed. She also stressed an urgent need of knowledge on how livestock and then the livestock keepers’ livelihoods are interacting with climate change and also the health of human, livestock and environment is the most important part to be dealt.

Prof. Shana Gillete, from the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences of Colorado State University focused on the need of integrating livestock, livelihoods and climate change and develop knowledge product to guide for policy making process.

Prof. Netra Chhetri, of Arizona State University and the Principal Investigator of the project briefly presented the project concept, objectives, and outcomes. According to him, it is a good opportunity for US agencies to collaborate with Nepalese NGOs like LI-BIRD and NEST.

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“Any time you get in the same room a group of scientists, with a group of community members, with people that work in the civil society, there is kind of a magic that takes place,” says Robin Reid, in the opening seconds of the trailer for “Pastoralist Voices on Climate Change,” a documentary produced and directed by Joana Roque Depinho.

Roque De Pinho is a post-doctoral researcher at Instituto Superior de Ciências Sociais e Políticas, in Lisbon, Portugal. She also co-wrote, co-directed, and co-produced the award-winning documentary “Through our Eyes: A Maasai Photographic Journey” with Lindsey Simpson, who also works on the Voices project. Both women are graduates of Colorado State University. The film team also includes Nicholas Tapia, a CSU videographer and alumni.

The Pastoralist Voices documentary is produced in conjunction with the Livestock-Climate Change Collaborative Research Support Program’s Pastoral Transformations to Resilient Futures: Understanding Climate from the Ground Up (PTRF) project led by Dr. Kathleen Galvin and Robin Reid, from CSU. The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research’s (CGIAR) Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) has also lent support to the film.

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Dr. Richard Bowen, Professor of Bioscience, named as new PI for the Livestock-Climate Change CRSP. Photo courtesy of Richard Bowen, LCC CRSP.

Dr. Richard Bowen, Disease Expert, Picked to Head LCC CRSP

Dr. Richard Bowen, professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and member of Colorado State University’s Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology Laboratory, has been named to lead the university’s Adapting Livestock Systems to Climate Change Collaborative Research Support Program (LCC CRSP), replacing Dr. Mo Salman, who resigned in order to pursue other demanding projects.

“We are grateful to Dr. Salman for his guidance during the implementation of this program. We support his desire to return his focus to his other important research and outreach priorities,” said Bill Farland, vice president for Research at Colorado State University. “And, we continue to be excited about the opportunities for discovery and outreach the LCC CRSP offers and can achieve under Dr. Bowen’s leadership. Dr. Bowen is an excellent researcher who brings extensive international experience to this important partnership with USAID.”

“The LCC CRSP is an important program for CSU and several other universities in the U.S.  More importantly however, it offers the potential for the developed world to have a real impact on the lives of livestock owners in several impoverished regions of the world that are increasingly vulnerable to a multitude of insults, climate change among them,” said Bowen, “I am pleased and excited to be a part of the LCC CRSP team and look forward to a productive journey.”

Bowen researches infectious diseases that can spill over from domestic or wild animals to human populations. Currently, he is working to understand the human-animal interface as it relates to transmission of avian influenza viruses. He is also working to understand how West Nile Virus infects domestic animals, wild birds and reptiles and to develop and test vaccines.

Bowen is the Director of the Animal Models Core at the Rocky Mountain Regional Center of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Disease. In this capacity, he supervises numerous trials to evaluate vaccines and therapeutics to protect against a broad range of pathogens.

“Dr. Bowen’s illustrious leadership during his tenure at CSU will be needed to meet the challenges of a program that was designed to address the dynamic interactions of livestock, humans, and the environment. USAID looks forward to working with Dr. Bowen and his management team in a successful partnership,” said Joyce Turk, Senior Livestock Advisor with the U.S. Agency for International Development and USAID-liaison for the Livestock-Climate Change CRSP.

The Livestock-Climate Change CRSPs latest program brief, “Livestock, Climate Change, and Nutrition: Leveraging Livestock to Improve Livelihoods,” describes how livestock research in West Africa, East Africa, and Central Asia is contributing to improving nutrition and health for families and communities.

This week, the Livestock-Climate Change CRSP released “Livestock, Climate Change, and Nutrition: Leveraging Livestock to Improve Livelihoods.” The publication was authored by Sarah Lupis, Shana Gillette, and Jessica Davis of the Livestock-Climate Change CRSP along with Michael Lacy from the University of Georgia and Sarah McKune from the University of Florida. read more »

The Livestock-Climate Change Collaborative Research Support Program (LCC CRSP) at Colorado State University (CSU) has awarded a second fellowship to Colorado State University graduate student Jennifer Higgins who will be conducting research on brucellosis in Mongolia. The fellowship is designed to help prepare graduate students for interdisciplinary international careers.

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The Adapting Livestock Systems to Climate Change Collaborative Research Support Program at Colorado State University has awarded a total of $720,000 to nine U.S. universities and their host-country partners in east Africa, west Africa and central Asia to improve the livelihoods of small-scale livestock producers. Two of the awards were given to researchers at Colorado State University.

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Press Release from the  OFFICE OF GOV. BILL RITTER, JR.

Gov. Bill Ritter today congratulated Colorado State University and its faculty for receiving two major federal grants.

“Congratulations to Colorado State University for winning $22.8 million in federal grants for biomedical and scientific research,” Gov. Ritter said. “Colorado’s research universities play a vital role when it comes to innovation and securing Colorado’s and America’s economic competitiveness and prosperity in the global economy. These federal grants help to create jobs, educate students, spur innovation, and ultimately they will improve our quality of life through the commercialization of technology.”

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Article in Today@colostate.edu

$15 million to study impact of climate change on livestock around the globe

Colorado State University has received a $15 million grant to look at the impact of climate change on livestock around the globe, particularly in developing countries. The research will focus on ways to help developing countries manage livestock under changing climate conditions.

Multiple partnerships and projects

CSU will manage the grant and, over the next five years, develop partnerships for multiple research projects in areas such as sub-Saharan Africa and central Asia. The grant was awarded to CSU’s Animal Population Health Institute and the university’s Institute for Livestock and the Environment by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

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