 | The first issue of News from Drynet contains two articles by LPPS. In one, LPPS's Namitha Dipak interviews Dr Mannava VK Sivakumar, Chief of the Agrometeorology Division of the World Meteorological Organisation. Dr Sivakumar stressed the need for effective extension services to advise farmers about weather forecasts, and to develop local efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change. Another article features a visit by a Raika delegation to Europe, where they pressed for recognition of the role of pastoralists in developing and conserving livestock breeds at international conferences in Switzerland and Spain. The delegation also visited a goat dairy and organic farm in Germany and a sheep-rearing area high in the Alps of Switzerland. A further article in the newsletter, by Ilse Koehler-Rollefson of LPPS partner organization the League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock Development, stresses the need to reward pastoralists for their environmental services. "Scientific programmes to increase drought resistance of organisms are funded with millions of dollars," says Ilse. "Yet the day-to-day efforts of pastoralists to keep and develop animals under drought conditions and thereby sustain crucial gene pools – that will prove priceless during climate change - remain entirely unrewarded." The Drynet project, funded by the European Union, involves 14 partner organizations around the world. LPPS is responsible for producing a regional edition of the newsletter for South Asia.Download newsletter |
