HOW THE CLIMATE MAY MAKE US, OR BRAKE US
Helping alpacas at 5000 meters of altitude
A Case Study by Gerardo Huertas & Einstein Tejada
The highlands:?The National Biosphere Reserve of Ulla Ulla sits at 5.000 meters of altitude above sea level in the highlands of Bolivia, characterized by high altitudes, cold temperatures, low oxygen, intense sun radiation, scarce pastures, no trees or crops and limited drinking water sources.
The scenery in these remote places was unbelievably beautiful; regular folk can not run or do anything physically strenuous without risking collapsing on the ground on the floor, gasping for air...it was like living in a Lord of The Rings scenario.
Only local camelid livestock and very few people are adapted to survive at such altitudes, enduring very little grass, little water and cold?temperatures.?Their lungs and red cell counts are very different from the rest of us.
The Aimara people: The Aimara have lived in these regions for +800 years, and each family usually owns approx. 70 - 100 alpacas, depending on their fibre and meat production for a living.?
Alpaca fleece: These extraordinary, gentle animals produce a fiber that is a highly sought, expensive material meant for coats and fashion clothing, often found in the high-fashion markets of New York, Paris and Milan, but prices offered to local producers (approx. 1.5 US$/pound) are but a tiny fraction of the final price tag (approx. 50US$/pound), barely allowing the animal keepers to survive, let alone provide good quality care for them.
The emergency:?Between 2012 and 2014, +10,000 alpacas reportedly died, with tens of thousands affected by insidious droughts and colder fronts of -20 Centigrade, severely affecting the livelihoods of the Aimara people. At that time, their herds suffered significant body weight loss, with animal health and then fiber production plummeting, and many young and pregnant animals died.?
Video - M. Baker, E. Tejada & G. Huertas at Pelechuco during response &
recovery phases transition - WSPA
At the time, we benefitted from the fact that FAO’s senior liaison officer to the project, Dr Einstein Tejada, was one of the few specialists in camelid physiology in the world!?
Rapid assessment & response - 2013. My team and I, then working for an international NGO, carried out a rapid field assessment accompanied by the locals, and then compared notes with the Emergency Response Coordination Unit of the UN Food & Agriculture Organization (UCER-FAO), and other strategic partners, to help design the emergency response phase. The protection of crisis-affected communities through the protection of existing livestock resources was the agreed UNDRR priority livelihood objective used in these highlands.?
The Phases:
1.- Emergency Relief Phase:?In 2013 my veterinary team started a relief effort in cooperation with UCER- FAO Bolivia, and the blessing of the Ministry of Rural Development & Lands and the Vice Ministry of Civil Defense.
We delivered 40 tons of dry hay, 25 tons of minerals, and 5.000 deworming medications that provided emergency relief to +35,000 animals, resulting in 70% reduced miscarriages and proper weight for newborns and juveniles.
2.- Recovery Phase: From 2014 to 2016 and while FAO carried on further veterinary support for a while, our efforts evolved into a recovery & disaster risk reduction approach, thus the attention shifted to develop resilience instead, with sustainable solutions sought to benefit the welfare of the herds and the protection of the livelihoods depending on them, by improving the chances alpacas and alpaca herds would have to withstand the harsh dry months and cold winds of the winter.
Shelters:?From 2013 to 2014, a total of seventy animal shelters were built from the ground up with local materials by the beneficiaries, with financing and technical advice provided by our NGO, and benefitting 500 families. The life expectancy of these infrastructures was estimated to harbor 35,000 animals for a period of 10 years.
Water:?Five wells powered by stationary bikes and fitted with cement troughs were also built as models to help collect and offer underground water to the thirsty animals. ?
?Food: Grazing pastures, however, remained acutely scarce in the barren prairies, making nutrition the next emergency priority.
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To help develop capacity and show natural and sustainable solutions to the chronic lack of grass, a model underground greenhouse, originally designed by Dr. P. Iselli and improved by Dr. Tejada was built by my team, to allow locals to grow rich forage for their animals, even in the harshest weather conditions.
This greenhouse features a transparent roof that captures the sun's radiation to increase the inside temperature, and it also captures and condenses the air's moisture, which then drops to the soil, creating an ideal microclimate to grow high-protein pastures such as alfalfa and other crops.
Replication: At the end of the project, the main partners advocated the replication of the models & sustainable solutions with other Aimara communities, local municipalities, the government of Bolivia, NGOs and international aid agencies, but local political elections complicated this objective.
Achievements:
70 shelters for 30-50 animals, built for 10.000 animals in seven communities
5 water-supply systems with bicycle-powered pumps, wells & cement troughs
A model underground greenhouse, to grow fodder all year round
140 alpaca breeders trained in shelter construction
Veterinary attention during the dry season.
Project Objective: Reduced mortality and better health & welfare of the herd’s most vulnerable gestating females & calves by +10%, of an estimated 35.000 alpaca population
Epilogue:
???????70% of total farm animal production is by small farmers
???????36% of disaster losses come from the farm animal sector
???????25% of the global GDP comes from the farm animal sector
???????+6 billion people depend on animal protein globally
???????1.3??billion people depend on their farm animals for their livelihoods
The disaster risk reduction culture 'train' championed by the UN Sendai Framework, forgot to get the protection of livelihoods and food protection -big and small- based on farm animal production and the veterinary sector on board.
The challenge for the private sector is now to make up for the lost time, to make this important element of society the next resilience nod.
There are new approaches able to reach hundreds and even thousands of people at once with the message of preparedness and resilience, such as scenario visualization, and those will be presented at the next regional platform for disaster risk reduction in Uruguay.
Chief Executive; Charity; voluntary sector; Third Sector; NGO; Transformation; Fundraising; Government Relations
1 年You deserved every penny!
Emergency Response & DRR Expert
1 年...and to think they paid me to live through these experiences!
Disaster Response|Commonwealth Scholar| Animal Welfare Advocate
1 年This was an excellent pilot project at the time. Well done Gerardo and your team for documenting it for future learning.
FAO Consultant for South Asia
1 年Great article Gerardo ????