Many times in our 'modern and advanced' world, we tend to look down our noses at those who farm and keep animals in more traditional ways. Ways that are hundreds or thousands of years old. One of the groups of people I wasn't aware of untill I started researching intrernational trade issues related to the National Animal ID System (NAIS), are the Pastoralists. What, you might ask, is a pastoralist anyway? Simply put, a pastoralist is someone who depends on their livestock for their survival, their culture is centered around the livestock, and they are generally nomadic, although they can settle.
In everyone's rush to modernize, lots of preasure is being put on pastoralists, through increased use of traditional grazing grounds for fixed agriculture, and also because many grazing grounds are being turned into parks and wild areas. Sometimes the pastoralists are allowed to continue as they have for centuries and are either given the responsibility of looking after or managing the area, sometimes they are evicted from the grazing lands. Irregardless, it appears that pastoralists are a woefully under represented group in the halls of international trade, national agriculture and livestock legislation, etc.
The League for Pastoral Peoples was formed to provide an advocate for pastoralists the world over, as well as providing education regarding the positive things that pastoralists bring to livestock keeping. To learn more about Pastoral people please visit the League for Pastoral Peoples - link in the menu on the right.
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