By Durga Poudel, University of Louisiana/LCC CRSP SLPS Project & Sarah Lupis, LCC CRSP

Dr. Durga Poudel talks about climate change adaptations for livestock keepers in Nepal to about 25 faculty, staff, and students in the University of Louisiana School of Geosciences on September 20, 2011. Photo courtesy of Durga Poudel.

Nearly 50 million years ago, tectonic plates collided, giving rise to the lofty Himalayas, majestic mountains, scenic valleys and meandering rivers of Nepal.  Lying on this fault line, the region has been prone to devastating earthquakes—the tragic 2001 Gujrat earthquake, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, and the current Sikkim earthquake, to name a few.  Today, explained Dr. Durga D. Poudel in a September 20^th presentation to the faculty, staff, and students of the School of Geosciences at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, USA, this region is vulnerable to a new threat: climate change.

In his presentation, Poudel emphasized current vulnerabilities of the region to climate change impacts. “This region is experiencing increasing incidences of flooding, drought, glacier retreats and glacial lake outbursts in recent years.  Temperature rise, shifting cropping zones, emerging incidences of diseases and pests, and landslides and river-cuttings are other problems related to the climate change impacts,” he explained to the crowd that gathered for the talk.

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Donors won’t be the only ones financing research in Mali anymore. The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research is now managing a fund to support capacity building and the establishment of partnerships between research institutions, universities, companies, and other stakeholders.

According to SciDevNet, Aly Kouriba, the scientific director of the Institute of Rural Economy (IER), in Bamako, and partner on the Livestock-Climate Change CRSP Mali Livestock and Pastoralist Initiative-Phase (MLPI-2) project, welcomed the fund. But he suggested that the government should ensure that the fund gets a bigger proportion of tax revenues in the coming years.

“For a country to develop, one per cent of GDP [gross domestic product] must be devoted to scientific research. Already, in Mali, the agricultural GDP has reached one per cent.”

Kouriba said that the fund is “an innovation as far as research funding as an economic activity is concerned in Mali. Prior to that, only donors financed research. As a result of this, they were the only party to dictate the priorities, areas of intervention and even the duration of the research financed by them.”

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The Livestock-Climate Change CRSP is pleased to announce a new funding opportunity designed to build scientific capacity in Nepal: the International Graduate Student Fellowship Program-Nepal (IGSFP-Nepal). The LCC CRSP is committed to building research capacity in the regions where we work, including Nepal, because well trained, innovative scientists and leaders are essential to achieving broader research and development goals and building a sustainable, prosperous future.

The IGSFP-Nepal is intended to provide opportunities for graduate education that prepare students in Nepal for interdisciplinary careers within the vision and objectives of the Livestock-Climate Change CRSP (see LCC CRSP Research Strategy). The Fellows will be expected to become specialists who can contribute to research regarding the adaptation of livestock systems to climate change in Nepal. Selected fellows must propose to conduct research in Nepal. In this way, the LCC CRSP aims to build research capacity. read more »

The Livestock-Climate Change CRSP is pleased to announce a new funding opportunity designed to build scientific capacity in West Africa: the International Graduate Student Fellowship Program-West Africa (IGSFP-WA). The LCC CRSP is committed to building research capacity in the regions where we work, including West Africa because well trained, innovative scientists and leaders are essential to achieving broader research and development goals and building a sustainable, prosperous future.

The IGSFP-WA for Adapting Livestock Systems to Climate Change is intended to provide opportunities for graduate education that prepare students in West Africa for interdisciplinary careers within the vision and objectives of the Livestock Climate-Change CRSP (see LCC CRSP Research Strategy).

Fellows will be expected to become specialists who can contribute to research regarding the adaptation of livestock systems to climate change in the LCC CRSP countries of focus in West Africa (Mali and Senegal). Selected fellows must propose to conduct research in Mali or Senegal. In this way, the LCC CRSP aims to build research capacity.

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The IBLI program expanded to southern Ethiopia in February 2012 and will initially target 2,700 pastoralists there who are also experiencing severe drought. Photo by Peter Little.

In January 2010, John McPeak, Associate Professor and Vice-Chair, Department of Public Administration and International Affairs at Syracuse University of  and leader of the LCC CRSP’s RIVERS and MLPI-2 projects, helped to launch the first-ever Index-Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI) scheme in Kenya. Facing extreme drought conditions, livestock keepers may soon receive their first payments, reports SciDev Net. read more »

Mekonnen Adnwe Degefu, Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia), “ Impacts of climate change on water resources and the implications for adaptation practices in the Omo-Ghibe Basin, Southwest Ethiopia.”

For his dissertation, Mekonnen will analyze rainfall trends. He is interested in the implications of variable rainfall on water resources. Ultimaltly, he would like to provide better, more reliable weather forcasting to help pastoralists adapt.

Mekonnen was born in Ethiopia’s Shirka district and was raised by his grandparents, farmers who raised both crops and livestock. For his LCC CRSP Fellowship, Mekonnen will research the impacts of climate variability and change on the hydrology of the Omo-Ghibe River basin with the goal of understanding the impacts of water stress on pastoral communities and how these communities adapt to water stress. This topic was particularly important to Mekonnen because, he contends, “Climate change has now become a major environmental challenge in Africa. Ethiopia, in particular, is frequently affected by drought, and recently by floods. This problem is growing, particularly in the pastoral areas of the south Omo which is marginalized in all social, political, and economic aspects. Despite this, there is not much known regarding the impact of climate change and adaptation practices in the region.” After completing his degree, Mekonnen wants to pass on this knowledge as a university professor, “It is my plan to share this knowledge on climate change and adaptation research with students and other interested groups.”

Melaku Berhe Redda, Mekelle University (Ethiopia), “The impact of livestock adaptation to climate change on the incomes of cattle producers in the drylands of northern Ethiopia, Tigray.”

Melaju's research will take place in the Tigray Region in northern Ethiopia, where he was raised.

Melaku grew up in the small, rural Alaje district of northern Ethiopia. He still has fond memories of school, tending his father’s oxen and cattle, and fetching firewood from the forests. “Still I love the lifestyle of my parents in the rural area, although it lacked infrastructure and other facilities,” he says. Those childhood experiences left a lasting impression, one that has inspired him to pursue a graduate degree. “My father, along with other farmers of the district, put their maximum efforts into keeping their animals alive and productive. Those farmers used different coping mechanisms in response to the dry seasons and drought they continuously faced. Such practices have impressed me to formally investigate all of the indigenous coping methods and to supplement these with modern coping mechanisms.” says Melaku. Melaku will be investigating the links between climate change adaptations and incomes to determine which have the greatest potential for improving the livelihoods of pastoral cattle farmers like his father. Further, he will explore how to improve manure management through adoption of household biogas production technology.

Margaret Syomiti Muteng’e, Egerton University (Kenya), “Introduction and evaluation of fodder-block technology and cactus-Atriplex spp. Alley Cropping System as alternative Feed Resources for Climate Change Adaptation in Dryland regions of Kenya”

Margaret hopes her science can help to better the lives of women in Kenya. "In some communities of Kenya, women are not allowed to under-take any economic activity, and/or even to own a cow!! They are only allowed to keep goats, normally termed as "poor woman's cow". I would like to pursue research addressing commercialization of livestock technologies with regards to women and children," she says.

Margaret’s interest in livestock began during childhood and was inspired by her grandmother, a farmer in Kenya’s Kwale district. “When a hyena killed my grandmother’s fattest goat, she brought all the others into the house to sleep beside her,” Margaret remembers. When she watched her grandfather’s drought-weakened cattle sink in a river from their poor condition, she became determined to become an animal scientist, “to prevent animals from dying,” she explains. Margaret’s goal with her current research is to establish agribusiness enterprises, especially targeting women entrepreneurs that manufacture fodder-blocks and drought-resilient feed resources for sale to rural livestock keepers. Her research will explore expanding the use of underutilized, drought-tolerant fodder crops like cactus and salt bush. Like the smallholders she serves with her research, Syomiti has worked exceedingly hard to achieve her career goals so far. “Professionally, I feel like a conqueror—and nothing shakes me,” says Syomiti, a mother of four who recently graduated with her MSc. “I look at a difficult situation and say, ‘Like Obama, yes I can.’ You have to encourage yourself if you don’t find it elsewhere. I started this career journey, and I’m going to succeed.” Margaret is also a 2010 AWARD Fellow. A project of the CGIAR Gender & Diversity Program, AWARD Fellowships were given to 180 African women scientists to strengthen research and leadership skills in agricultural science, empowering them to contribute more effectively to poverty alleviation and food security (www.awardfellowships.org).

Judith Kusimba Chemuliti, University of Nairobi (Kenya), “Ex ante analysis of carbon tree trading as an alternative livelihood means for pastoralists in southwestern rangelands in TransMara district, Kenya.”

Judith's research is motivated "by a desire to assist livestock keepers particularly those living in areas where the effects of environmental degradation and impact of climate change are real threats to livelihoods," she says.

Judith has a master’s degree in veterinary public health and as worked for the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute’s Trypanosomosis Research Centre since 2000. There, her research work has focused on the epidemiology of livestock diseases. “I have studied the epidemiology and interaction of tick-borne diseases and trypanosomosis in southwestern Kenya; examined animal health and production constraints in camels in the Kajiado district where the animals were introduced as a food security tool for Maasai pastoralists, and studied patterns of veterinary drug use in Narok and TransMara districts,” she explains. Judith was raised by her single mother (her father passed away when she was only five), who supported the family, in part, through a small poultry business she ran out of the backyard. “Life was particularly tough when disease outbreaks occurred as we would lose almost all our chickens,” says Judith, “As a child, I always felt there was something I could do to stop the chickens from dying. I would ask mom so many question concerning animals and diseases. This is how my interest in animals and livestock began.” Today, Judith still advises women’s groups in her home village, providing technical advice on livestock production and animal health. For her LCC CRSP Fellowship, Judith plans to investigate the potential for pastoralists to adopt tree planting for carbon trading as an alternative to sustaining livelihoods through livestock production. “The potential benefits of tree planting in the rangelands are enormous and will not only improve farmer incomes through sale of carbon credits, but contribute to the restoration of environmental health of the ecosystem,” says Judith.

Boubacar Dembele, University of Bamako (Mali), “Evaluation of the nutritive value of foods and fodder available and the needs of livestock in Mali.”

Boubacar is a partner on the MLPI-2 project. His research is focused on animal nutrition and forage quality.

Boubacar grew up in Ouadiala, a small farming village, where he helped to herd his family’s livestock. Boubacar is a member of the Livestock-Climate Change CRSP’s Mali Livestock and Pastoralist Initiative, Phase 2 (MLPI-2) research team, working to provide livestock producers with best practices for fattening animals. Boubacar has been studying animal nutrition for several years, conducting research on sheep, goat, cattle, and poultry feeds and forages. Boubacar’s Fellowship research will improve livestock production in Mali through better use of supplemental feeds, including natural pasture, crop residue, fodders, and feed supplements. Boubacar will analyze various feedstuffs and develop reference tables of their nutritional values and qualities.  Boubacar is an assistant professor of ruminant nutrition at the Rural Polytechnic Institute of Katibougou in Mali (IPR), where he plans to continue teaching after receiving his Ph.D. Students at IPR will help analyze samples, further building capacity for the next generation of Malian researchers.