Posted on :
16 Nov, 2018
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16 Nov, 2018
The African Union Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) is a specialized technical Office of the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture (DREA) of the African Union Commission (AUC). AU-IBAR’s mandate is to support and coordinate the utilization of livestock, fisheries and wildlife as a resource for both human wellbeing and economic development in the Member States of the African Union (AU).
The mission of AU-IBAR is to provide leadership in the development of animal resources for Africa through supporting and empowering AU Member States and regional Economic Communities (RECs). Under this mission, AU-IBAR has developed a framework to mainstream livestock in the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development program (CAADP) pillars. Sustainable utilization of AnGR is a priority area under pillar 4 of the AU framework. In order to successfully implement this strategy, AU-IBAR has received a financial support from the European Union (EU) to implement a project which focuses on “Strengthening the Capacity of African Countries to Conservation and Sustainable Utilisation of African Animal Genetic Resources”.
We are recruiting to fill the position below:
Job Title: Consultant (Developing the Bio-cultural Community Protocols for the Muturu Cattle Breed in Nigeria)
Location: Nigeria
Project Overview
The project “Strengthening the Capacity of African Countries to Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of African Animal Genetic Resources” aims at strengthening the capacity of African countries and Regional Economic Communities to sustainably use and conserve animal genetic resources (AnGR) through institutionalizing national and regional policy, legal and technical instruments and implementing actions that will result in judicious exploitation of AnGR in Africa. This is achieved through:
Context of the Consultancy
The multitude of local breeds results from the indigenous knowledge of many local communities which manage their animals according to local ecological conditions, production requirements and their own cultural preferences. Such communities are the natural candidates for managing these animals. Supporting these communities can contribute to their empowerment and their livelihoods. Although well intended, national breeding programs in Africa, with centralized schemes failed to sustainably provide the desired genetic improvements (continuous provision of a sufficient number and quality of improved males to smallholders) and also failed to engage the participation of the end-users in the process.
The Muturu, a trypanotolerant cattle breed is probably one of the least known breed of cattle in West Africa. Little has been published on its distribution, management, morphological characteristics or biological performance. Early reports showed that the Muturu cattle were once widely distributed across the continent from Liberia, across the West African subregion, to Ethiopia. However, due to expansion of the Zebu population and rapid urbanization, the small bodied animal came under pressure and was found surviving in pockets of the savannahs and in the humid forest zones where it had the comparative advantage of trypanotolerance. The survival of the cattle in the humid and forest zones of Nigeria stems from the fact that the animal is still sacred in so many communities and its milk is widely used for medicinal purposes. In some states of Nigeria, the semi-feral Muturu are not tended but hunted when required for sacrifice.
Governments and conservation agencies are increasingly recognizing that conservation must be pursued alongside the protection of communities’ customary use of natural resources. Laws that aim to protect biodiversity must be implemented in ways that support the rights of communities who use natural resources to sustain their ways of life. A rights-based approach to conservation recognizes that communities are not merely stakeholders whose views governmental and conservation agencies may take into account. Communities have rights and entitlements under law that others are obliged to respect. Bio-cultural community protocols were developed in the context of the negotiations towards the International Regime on Access and Benefit Sharing under the Convention on Biological Diversity. A bio-cultural community protocol is essentially a statement of community intentions to self-determine its future and clarifies how they want to engage with specific stakeholders. In doing so, communities help enable government agencies or conservation agencies, for example, to work collaboratively towards the community’s goals and priorities. Thus, protocols provide communities with an opportunity to focus on their endogenous development aspirations through existing legal frameworks.
The Genetics Project at AU-IBAR has embarked in the development of Bio-cultural Community Protocols in Africa and exploration of opportunities of expansion on the Continent including providing guidelines for such process. In the above regard AU-IBAR is through due diligence seeking to identify and engage the services of an experienced consultant to develop a Bio-cultural Community Protocol for the Muturu cattle breed in Nigeria.
Objectives and Methodology
The specific objectives will be:
Expected Outputs:
Reports
The Consultant is required to prepare the following technical reports in English:
Inception Report (IcTR):
Interim Technical Report (InTR):
Final Technical Report (FTR):
Qualifications
Experience
Submission & Approval of Progress Reports:
Duration and Remuneration
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should submit their CV including three references and a Motivation Letter to:
The Director of AU-IBAR,
Kenindia Business Park,
Museum Hill, Westlands Road,
P.O. Box 30786-00100
Nairobi, Kenya
Or
Forward applications via email at: [email protected] and a copy to: [email protected] clearly indicating in the subject line “Consultancy for Developing the Bio-cultural Community Protocols for the Muturu cattle breed in Nigeria”.
Application Deadline 5th December, 2018.
Note: Only short-listed candidates will be notified.
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