As a coalition, CELEP is committed to its objectives in terms of communication, lobbying/advocacy and learning on pastoralism in Eastern Africa. It is therefore organising a series of bi-weekly online seminars from September 2020 onwards. These webinars have both learning and advocacy objectives in the sense that they help build capacity to lobby for an enabling policy framework for pastoralism in (Eastern) Africa. They are an initiative of CELEP members in Europe and partners and associated organisations in Eastern Africa, but they are open to everyone interested in pastoralism. Each webinar focuses on a specific theme. During 1.5-hour sessions, researchers and civil society representatives from Eastern Africa and Europe discuss and exchange with each other and with other participants.
How pastoralism adds to food security and nutrition
When: 15/12/2020 - 13h-14h30 GMT+1
Animal-sourced foods play an important role in a balanced diet. Join this webinar to better understand the opportunities and challenges around access to animal-sourced foods and how they add to food security and nutrition.
A little more information on the content of the webinars:
“Understanding pastoralism and framing the argument for advocacy” – by focusing on pastoralism, we inevitably navigate through the dominant narratives about pastoralism, with their legacy of concepts and premises about this way of life and livestock production. Such navigation is not without risks and, when wrong turns are taken, even advocacy arguments can reinforce negative narratives. This webinar therefore aims to enable an exchange on the importance of framing arguments about pastoralism, based on a better understanding of pastoralism, and what this implies for pastoralist organisations and actors working with pastoralists in advocacy/lobbying.
“Participatory Rangelands Management”– Participatory Rangelands Management (PRM) is an approach to better secure rights to natural resources and improve rangeland management in pastoral areas. It was first piloted in Ethiopia in 2010. Since 2019, CELEP has been involved in piloting PRM in Kenya and Tanzania. PRM presents an interesting approach to rangeland management, and experiences in this regard will be shared during this webinar.
“Addressing animal health challenges in pastoral areas” – Many CELEP members and partners are involved in providing good-quality animal health services to pastoralists. Increasingly, this service provision is assured through a One Health approach, connecting animal health to human health and a healthy environment. The aim of this session is to share challenges and solutions to improve animal health in pastoral areas and to better understand how One Health can be implemented.
“Pastoralism and conflict – Rethinking the phenomenon?”– Insecurity in the Horn of Africa and in the Sahel has increased exponentially in the last ten years. To a different extent from one region to another, policymakers are becoming increasingly aware of the pastoralism–security nexus. The aim of this webinar is to provide an opportunity for discussion on perceptions and current data related to this nexus, so as to be able to develop recommendations for policymakers on how pastoralists can be part of the solution instead of being perceived as part of the problem.
“Towards an enabling policy environment for African pastoralists” – Recently, IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development) embarked on the process of designing a protocol on transhumance in Eastern Africa. As the ratification of this protocol is underway, gaining a better understanding it – and, at the same time, having a closer look at the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) Transhumance Certificate – should help to develop a better idea of what enabling regional policies for African pastoralists could look like. This webinar will provide an opportunity for experts in both IGAD and ECOWAS, as well as experts from the African Union who adopted the Policy Framework for Pastoralism in Africa in 2010, to exchange with participants on these issues.
“How pastoralism adds to improved food security and nutrition” – Animal source foods play an important role when it comes to a balanced diet. When the wellbeing of animals is compromised, e.g. because of drought or disease, this has a direct negative impact on the food security of pastoralist communities and on the nutritional status of young children and pregnant and lactating women. In this webinar, we will look into how livestock and human nutrition are linked. We explore opportunities and challenges around year-round access to animal source foods and we look into indicators that can be used to assess dietary quality of individuals and households.
“The pastoralism–climate change nexus” – Though the COVID-19 crisis is currently dominating the headlines, climate change is still very much happening. The role of pastoralists in climate change is very often misunderstood. Pastoral systems are in fact specialised to work with the natural environment, taking advantage of its variability. This webinar aims to enable exchange with researchers on the pastoralism–climate change nexus to come to a better understanding of the relationship between pastoralists and the climate.
Other topics – including biocultural protocols and prosopis management – are currently in the pipeline for 2021. The webinars described above will take place in 2020. If you would like to register for all of them – this means you will receive a link to join – please click here.
