World Bank funds $248 million project to protect pastoralists’ livestock
11/11/2015
Pastoralism in its two main forms, transhumance and nomadism, is a way of life that is still very common in arid and semi-arid zones, where very few rural activities other than raising ruminants are feasible.
With their own way of managing space and time, based on mobility and inherited “ancestral” knowledge, pastoral communities have succeeded in making best advantage of the natural resources of vast, practically desert areas poorly conducive to the development of agriculture.
For these populations, the sustainable control of infectious diseases is essential, not only to reduce sanitary risks and safeguard the capital that their livestock represent, but also to ensure access to markets for animals and animal products.
“The threats to the future of pastoralism are global and could have a lasting impact on populations with ways of life and knowledge that form part of the world heritage of humanity,” said Dr Bernard Vallat, the director general of the OIE.
“Given the recent security developments in these regions, there is a need to rapidly take into account the aspirations of these pastoralist communities with the aim of improving their living conditions. Substantial investments on behalf of livestock are therefore needed in these regions, and this requires the mobilisation of international partners.”
The $248 million project, funded by the World Bank, aims to improve access to markets and means of production and essential services in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal, where more than 75% of the livestock sector is based on transhumant or nomadic pastoralism.
The partnership between the OIE and CILSS relates to the implementation and regional coordination of the activities of this animal health component.
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