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.

Full Article

Complete Issue (focused on livestock disease)

The Livestock-Climate Change CRSP has selected four men and two women, all Ph.D. candidates, as the first cohort of International Graduate Student Fellows. The fellows hail from East and West Africa where the LCC CRSP’s work is focused, representing the countries of Kenya and Ethiopia in East Africa, and Mali in West Africa. The International Fellowship in Graduate Research is intended to provide opportunities for graduate education that prepare students for interdisciplinary careers within the vision and objectives of the Livestock Climate-Change CRSP. The Fellowship program will provide three years of support for these students, with annual renewal based on a positive review of progress, continued applicability to the Livestock-Climate Change CRSP research goals, continued funding availability, and a high level of academic performance.

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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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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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