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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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 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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