Rajasthan’s camel population keeps plummeting further, despite various programmes and initiatives from government. The reason for the decline are primarily lack of income from keeping herds, in addition to disappearance of camel grazing areas.We join the campaign carried this November by our member organisation LPP and the Raika pastoralists to address the office of the Chief Minister of Rajasthan to claim action to be taken to turn the situationaround:1. Amend the existing law to permit male camels to cross the borders of Rajasthan, and onlyrestrict movement of female camels.2. Remove the need for permits from the central government to export camels from India –there is an international market for camels from which other countries benefit. If an exportmarket for camels develops this will put money into the pockets of breeders encourage themto continue breeding!3. Promote and subsidize the processing and marketing of camel milk. Camel milk isinternationally recognized as a superfood! Invest in promoting it as Rajasthan’s USP. It shouldbe available at all airports in Rajasthan for visitors to take home with them! A network ofCamel Cafes could be set up as a public-private partnership.4. Pay herders to take care of their ancestral camel herds. While the subsidy programme fornew camels being born has had some impact, it is not enough and implementation wasfraught with problems. Instead pay a reasonably monthly stipend to camel herders who havemore than 20-25 camels. As long as they receive this, they will not sell their herds.5. Ensure that the state animal has the right to graze in Rajasthan’s wildlife sanctuaries and theKumbhalgarh National Park!6. Encourage and support applied research into the properties of camel milk, its efficacy intreating diseases, and how best to process it.7. First step would be to discuss these suggestions and interventions in a state-level conferencethat brings together all stakeholders and listens to the perspective of the camel herders!
WAMIP
WORLD ALLIANCE OF MOBILE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES