Building the case: evidence driving policy change
Brooke, Action For Working Horses and Donkeys
Creating a world where working animals have a life worth living.
Hi, I am Anna Marry, Brooke’s Senior External Affairs Advisor. Last month our collaborator, Ilan Kelman, University College London, UK and University of Agder, Norway, shared his views on researching equids and disaster risk management. In this edition, I will discuss a recent remarkable success in international policy.??
In Asia, Africa, and Latin America, working animals help plough fields, transport water to homes, carry goods to markets, take children to school, and transport the sick to medical care. At the same time, these regions are increasingly experiencing climate-related #Disasters such as floods and droughts. If #WorkingAnimals survive such events, they can work and?help their owners rebuild their lives and livelihoods. If they do not survive, people who are already vulnerable fall further into poverty. Longer term, working animals help rebuild destroyed infrastructure and aid economic recovery.??
Working animals, including #Equids, can also suffer from poor health and welfare before, during, and after a disaster. Given their vital contribution to people's lives, protecting them has become increasingly important.?
For years Brooke has been advocating for the inclusion of working animals in national disaster risk reduction plans. When pushing for policy change, it is crucial to present compelling evidence in meetings with ministers, ambassadors, and UN agencies to back the proposed adjustments. Brooke uses various forms of evidence, with research being one key approach.?
In November 2024, we achieved a major milestone in international policy. The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution on disaster risk reduction, with a new paragraph that recognises the role of working animals in disaster resilience and calling for their protection. Presenting the findings from a pilot study conducted by Brooke Latin America and Caribbean on the role of working animals in #Disasters in the region, and sharing Brooke’s ambitious three-year plan to undertake more global research on this topic, helped us achieve this important policy change.??
Our Global Disaster Risk Management Research Programme will provide the evidence base to support the implementation of this resolution at country level, and ensure that no working animal is left unprotected from a flood, drought or another disaster.?
If you would like to learn more about how research can support policy change, the resolution on disaster risk reduction, or our Global Disaster Risk Management Research Programme, get in touch with @ Anna Marry, Senior External Affairs Advisor or @ Gemma Carder, Senior Manager for Global Research.??