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.

Dr. Mark Opiyo Nanyingi, University of Nairobi (Kenya), “Spatial and temporal epidemiological investigation of disease surveillance mechanisms in response to climate change in Kenya”

Mark Nanyingi is one of six new Livestock-Climate Change CRSP International Gradaute Student Fellows. When he's not pursuing his education, Mark enjoys karaoke, traveling, and mountaineering. Here he is pictured on Mount Kenya.

Mark has been a veterinarian since 2004, working in both the field and in the lab with the Wellcome Trust, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), and for the Kenyan Veterinary Department. Mark was born and raised on the shores of Lake Victoria in Western Kenya where he helped to tend his grandfather’s cattle, which provided school fees for him and his siblings through the sale of milk. Mark’s childhood inspired in him a keen interest in the impact of climate change on livestock diseases. He plans to document the impact of climate change on livestock reproductive performance and the strategies and adaptations pastoralists are employing to cope with changes in livestock disease patterns. This information will contribute to improvements in livestock breeding and genetics.

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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