I would like to show our interest to contribute to this study on behalf of the Coalition of European Lobbies for Eastern African Pastoralism (CELEP). CELEP is an informal advocacy coalition of European organizations, groups and experts working in partnership with pastoralist organizations, groups and experts in Eastern Africa. The Members of the Coalition work together to raise awareness to their national governments and EU bodies to explicitly recognize and support pastoralism (and the people that practice pastoralism: pastoralists) in the drylands of Eastern Africa. Currently, CELEP is composed of about 25 European members and 7 Eastern African Partner organizations and is currently managed by Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Belgium. Through CELEP, significant contributions regarding pastoralism could be given to nourish the report. The Coalitioncan offer insights from the ground, expertise, statistics and figures thanks to its structure composed of international NGOs, research institutes and East-African civil society organisations. In the annex you can find an important position paper of the Coalition which shows the importance of pastoralism and mobile livestock keeping.
Koen Van Troos, CELEP focal point, VSF-Belgium, Brussels
Koen Van Troos