The Lung Pu is an indigenous black pig of northern Viet Nam; this one is maintained on a biodiversity farm near the northern town of Meo Vac (photo credit: ILRI/Mann). From Agence France-Presse comes this cliffhanger of a news report today (20 October 2010), the final day of a 12-day United Nations summit on biodiversity. … Continue reading
Author Archives: Susan MacMillan
Africa / Climate Change / East Africa / ILRI / Kenya / NRM / Pastoralism / Wildlife / WLE
Colorado, Kenyan and ILRI researchers team up to help Maasai herders adapt to climate change
Red sky over Maasai rangeland (photo credit: ILRI). From a Colorado State University press release yesterday (27 October 2010) comes the following news. Researchers from Colorado, Kenya and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Kenya are launching a project that will ultimately help Maasai livestock herders in Kenya adapt to impacts from climate change. … Continue reading
Africa / Agriculture / Climate Change / ILRI
IPCC, and its publics, are in trouble again
The following blog post is contributed by Philip Thornton (pictured middle above), theme leader and senior scientist with the Challenge Programme on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi, Kenya and an honorary research fellow in the Institute of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences at the University of … Continue reading
Africa / Agriculture / Europe / Food Security
Europe risks being left behind as partner with African farm sector, Conway, Sibanda and other experts report to UK Parliament
Lindiwe Sibanda, member of the board of trustees of the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and chief executive officer and head of diplomatic mission of the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (photo credit: ILRI). As fears increase about the impact of another global food crisis on poverty in Africa, a ten-member panel … Continue reading
Africa / Agriculture / Asia / Directorate / Food Security / ILRI / Latin America / Pro-Poor Livestock / Research
‘Complex’ Third World animal agriculture and food security highlighted at Minnesota ‘UN General Assembly’
A Gujjar child rests against her favourite buffalo on a trek in the Himalayan foothills; the Muslim transhumant Gujjar of northern India as well as Afghanistan and Pakistan are among the estimated one billion people worldwide who depend on livestock for their livelihoods (photo credit: ILRI/MacMillan). Both the Minnesota Post and Minnesota Public Radio News … Continue reading
Biodiversity: Nagoya talks stall on who should pay for it
West Africa’s ancient (humpless) N’Dama and East Africa’s Improved Boran cattle are two of the continent’s important indigenous breeds (photo credit ILRI/Elsworth). The Economist reports in its current issue (21 October 2010) that things are not going so well at the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity, … Continue reading
Is eating meat actually good for the planet?
A young girl carries a slab of beef amongst traders in Goro town, Ethiopia, on market day. (Photo credit: ILRI/Mann) ‘The modest proposal may sound heretical to many eco-conscious eaters, but eating meat may actually be good for the planet after all. In his new book, Meat: A Benign Extravagance, Simon Fairlie aims to debunk … Continue reading
It’s time to recognize the important role livestock play in tackling poverty–Peacock
Livestock landscapes: Farm animals matter to people’s livelihoods and ambitions throughout the countries of the developing world (image credit: ILRI/O’Meara). Christie Peacock, chief executive officer of Farm-Africa, blogged yesterday (18 October 2010) that the contribution livestock make to the rural economy remains under-appreciated by all players in development, except farmers. ‘It’s time for that to change,’ … Continue reading
Africa / Asia / Biodiversity / CGIAR / Genebank / Indigenous Breeds / Latin America / Uganda / Vietnam
At the UN biodiversity meeting in Japan this week: Should endangered livestock breeds as well as crop varieties be saved?
Africa’s native Ankole cattle, in Uganda (photo credit: East African Dairy Development project). Jeremy Cherfas, of Bioversity International, one of 15 centres of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), headquartered in Rome, summarizes below the importance of conserving animal genetic resources in material the CGIAR is exhibiting at the meeting of the United … Continue reading
We have just ten years to stem biodiversity losses, UN Nagoya meeting hears
A native chicken of Mozambique (photo credit: ILRI/Mann). Richard Black, the environment reporter at the BBC, reports from Nagoya, Japan, yesterday (18 October 2010) that delegates at the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity will consider adopting new set of targets for 2020 that aim to tackle biodiversity loss. ‘The UN biodiversity convention meeting has … Continue reading
ILRI Clippings 