livelihoods-based livestock interventions in disasters

The Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards: Emerging Lessons and Challenges

IDRC Davos 2012 Cathy Watson, LEGS Coordinator

One billion people depend on livestock for their livelihoods, food security and nutrition

Many of them are vulnerable to disasters

What is LEGS?

Aim of LEGS:

To improve support to small-scale livestock keepers in disasters

Origins of LEGS

• Concern to improve quality of disaster response for small-scale livestock keepers

• Draws on lessons from Sphere

• Evidence-based best practice

• Practical tools

• Handbook

• Sphere ‘companion module’

• Training programme:

– 12 TOTs: 204 LEGS Trainers

– 78 LEGS Trainings in 20 countries: >1500 people

• Standard for emergency planning, e.g. Kenya, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Thailand

Outputs and Outcomes

Lessons and Challenges

Lesson 1: The Importance of the Livelihoods Approach in Disaster Response

• Builds on local knowledge and strategies

• Investing in livestock responses impacts on: nutrition, income, cost- effectiveness

• Holistic thinking beyond sequences and sectors

• Drawing on range of frameworks: DCM; DRR; HFA; OH

• Challenges:

– Thinking beyond food aid

– Different departments, policies, funding

Lesson 2: The Importance of Coordination

• Vital for effective response • LEGS promotes collaboration between key

stakeholders: – Among livestock practitioners – Between livestock and humanitarian agencies – Between humanitarian responses and longer-term

development

• LEGS models coordination and collaboration: – Multi-agency Steering Group – Range of donors – Mailing List and consultation process

• Challenges: – Organisational, institutional and policy barriers

Lesson 3: The Importance of an Evidence Base

• Evidence base vital to:

– Ensure LEGS offers practical support based on best practice

– Make the case for livestock responses

• LEGS consultation process

• Challenges:

– Obtaining quality information

Lesson 4: The Importance of Responding to Local Priorities

• LEGS participatory tools identify local priorities, inform response

• Livestock often prioritised

• Challenges:

– Balancing local, national, international interests

– E.g. focus on zoonoses: danger of overlooking local priorities

To conclude…

• Positive progress: – Practical support to small-scale livestock keepers:

• Improved quality of response

• Reduced vulnerability to future disasters and increased preparedness and resilience

– Raising profile of livestock responses in debate and action

• Challenges remain but change is taking place

• African Union

• Department for International Development (UK)

• European Commission

• European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO)

• Feinstein International Center, Tufts University

• Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations

• International Committee for the Red Cross

• Office for Foreign Disaster Assistance, USAID

• Oxfam GB

• Trócaire

• Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Belgium

• World Society for the Protection of Animals

• Vetwork UK (overall coordination)

Donors

Credit: Stephen Blakeway

www.livestock-emergency.net