The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) hosted the first Global Conference on Sustainable Livestock in Rome from the 25-27 of September. Over the course of three days, eco-agricultural experts from all over the world attended seminars and interactive panels that discussed sustainable and accessible ways to produce animal-source foods. Each of the four plenary panels focused on improving a particular aspect of livestock cultivation, and each of the three side panels focused on a particular livestock-related project, including a side section discussing the International Year of Camelids. The conference raised awareness of livestock sustainability and the FAO’s sustainability goals, shared knowledge about sustainable livestock development and production and facilitated the pooling and mobilisation of scientific, financial and technical resources that could further sustainable livestock research.
WAMIP representatives from five regions attended the conference. Pablo Frere represented the Latin American region, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim represented the Central African region, Fagouris Said represented the North African region, Hanwant Singh represented the South Asian region and Maamankhuu Sodnom represented the Central Asian region. The members met with other global representatives, gathered information and spoke on the importance of pastoralism in their respective lands. Their unique regional perspectives expanded the scope of the FAO conference and allowed them to formulate distinct strategies for supporting pastoralism.
Towards the International Year of Camelids, the side section that focused exclusively on the IYC, featured seven speakers from countries where camelid-herding communities are essential to economic and eco-agricultural well-being. The panel brought attention to the importance of camelids, particularly in the Americas, Africa and Asia, and their impact on indigenous people and their lifestyles. Communities that engage in camelid herding experience a variety of benefits, including, according to the FAO, reduction of poverty levels, reduction of hunger, women’s empowerment, increased access to water, climate change mitigation and increased longevity of local ecosystems due to sustainable land use. Despite these local benefits, camelid-herding communities also face global struggles. The speakers discussed the impacts of global climate change, pandemics and dwindling water resource availability, all of which decrease indigenous peoples’ ability to herd camelids effectively.
Of course, WAMIP’s focus was not exclusively on the IYC side section. Oumarou Ibrahim, president of the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad, spoke at the Better Life plenary panel about the opportunities and challenges experienced by pastoralist peoples across the world. She discussed the economic and ecological benefits of the pastoralist communities in Chad, highlighting their contributions to Chad’s GDP and soil quality. Furthermore, Oumarou Ibrahim argued that introducing technology into traditional pastoralist communities would not only increase their local efficiency and sustainability, but would also create pastoral-related jobs in urban areas nationally and globally. Oumarou Ibrahim finished her speech with a call for recognition, challenging her audience to collaborate with pastoralist communities and utilise the valuable resources that pastoralism represents.
On the whole, the FAO’s Global Conference on Sustainable Livestock was an invaluable method of bringing awareness to pastoralist communities and lifestyles across the world. It is incredibly important to recognize the way pastoralist communities can help their nations and the world, but it is more important to collaborate across nations to protect and aid pastoralist communities. WAMIP looks forward to applying the ideas presented at the conference towards this international effort, and it will continue to highlight the importance of pastoralism through its projects. As the International Year of Camelids approaches, WAMIP intends to focus on promoting camelid-herding communities in particular. In spite of this focus, it is important to remember and celebrate the contributions of all types of pastoralist communities, supporting them in their quest for sustainability and protection of rural tradition. We thank our WAMIP brothers and sisters who attended and used their incalculable experiences to provide first-hand insight into the importance of pastoralism and continue to fight for its recognition on a global scale.