1971-77: Study of veterinary medicine at the Veterinary College Hannover and the Free University in Berlin. State Examination in veterinary medicine. (“TierärztlichesStaatsexamen”).
1979-81: Doctoral degree at the Institute of Zoology, Veterinary College Hannover. Title of the Dissertation: "On the domestication of the camel"
1999: Habilitation in “History of Veterinary Medicine” at LMU University, Munich.
Title of the Thesis: “Camel culture and camel husbandry among the
Raika in India: a contribution to the comparative study of human-animal relationships.”
UNIVERSITY RESEARCH POSITIONS
1983-84: Research Associate at the Centre for Jordanian Studies, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan.
1984-92: Adjunct Professor, Department of Anthropology, San Diego State University, San Diego, USA.
4/93-2/94: Reintegration Fellowship for Women at the Institute of Zoology, TH Darmstadt. (Prof. Dr. Kinzelbach)
2/94-3/95: Feodor von Lynen Fellowship of the Alexander v. Humboldt Foundation for research at the J.N.V. University at Jodhpur, India.
4/95-12/96: “Habilitationsstipendium” of the German Research Council (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft)
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
1986: Two lectures on “Animal domestication in the Near East” and on “Camel domestication” at a National Endowment of the Humanities Seminar for college teachers at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (USA).
1989: "Introduction to Archaeozoology". Course for anthropology students at San Diego State University, U.S.A.
1990: “The ecology of camel pastoralism in Eastern Sudan”. Seminar held at the Department of Anthropology, University of California, Riverside
WS 93/94: “The ecology of camel pastoralism in Eastern Sudan”. Seminar held at the Department of Anthropology, University of California, Riverside.
WS 93/94: “Pastoral nomadism in South Asia”. Course held at the Institute of Ethnology, South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University”. (“Lehrauftrag”)
WS 93/94: “Animal domestication”. Course held at the Zoology Institute of the Technical University Darmstadt. (“Lehrauftrag”)
SS 94: “The Raikas, a pastoral caste of Western India”. Course held at the Institute of Ethnology, South Asia Institute, Heidelberg University”. (“Lehrauftrag”)
RESEARCH GRANTS
1980: DAAD-Dissertation Grant for research in Jordan and Jerusalem.
1982: Postdoctoral fellowship of the German Oriental Society (funded by the Stiftung Volkswagenwerk) for 12 months of research on Bedouin animal husbandry in Jordan.
1987: Grant of the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research for research on the origin of nomadic animal husbandry systems through a study of semi-nomadic Huweitat Bedouins in Jordan.
1988: Grant of the L.S.B. Leakey Foundation for identification of the small mammal fauna from Ain Ghazal at the British Museum of Natural History, London.
1990: Grant of the A.N. Lindley Foundation for a pilot study of camel production among the Rashaida in East Sudan.
1990-91:"Scholarly Development Fellowship" of the American Institute of Indian Studies for research about "Camel husbandry in India: Socioeconomic context and management practices", conducted in affiliation with the National Research Centre on Camel, Bikaner, India.
1992: Research Grant of the National Geographic Society for a comparative study of camel utilization by Sindhi Muslims und Hindu Raikas in Rajasthan, India
1997: Research Grant of the Alexander v. Humboldt-Foundation for documentation on the Raika caste (in cooperation with Dr. Arun Srivastava, Jodhpur University
I have undertaken numerous consultancies, including for World Bank, GTZ/GIZ, Misereor, FAO, ILRI, Natural Resources International (NRI), German Forum for Environment and Development, EED, League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock development (LPP), and others, on a variety of issues relating to participatory livestock development with a special emphasis on breeding, sustainable natural resource management, and gender. As co-proprietor of Camel Charisma Pvt. Ltd, a social enterprise aimed at adding value to camel raw materials, I have a wealth of practical experience in niche market development for pastoralists.
As co-founder and projects coordinator of the League for Pastoral Peoples and Endogenous Livestock development (LPP), I have developed a large number of successful project proposals funded by Misereor, GTZ, FAO, Rockefeller Foundation, Dutch Biodiversity Fund, Swedbio, The Christensen Fund, Ford Foundation, Winrock, Swiss Development Cooperation, Fondationd’Entreprise Hermès, Swissaid, Bread for the World, and others.
ORGANISATION OF CONFERENCES/WORKSHOPS/TRAINING PROGRAMMES
2024: Co-organizer, Cross-Cultural Experience Sharing on Camel Conservation and Well-Being, Nagaur, India, February 16-17th, 2024
2024: Organizer, International Workshop on Camelid Pastoralism, Sadri, India, from 5-10 January, 2024
2013: Co-organiser, LIFE Network Seminar “Towards Green and Equitable Livestock Development in India. 13th April, 2013 in Hyderabad
2012: Organiser of LIFE Network side-event at the COP 11 of the CBD, held in Hyderabad, India
2012: Organiser of International “Livestock Futures” Conference held in Bonn (Germany on 6th/7th September)
2007: Organiser of side-event at COP 8 of UNCCD in Madrid on” The Role of Pastoralists in Conserving Biodiversity”, on 10thSeptember.
2007: Organiser of side-event “Everything you always wanted to know about Livestock Keepers’ Rights”, during International Conference on Animal Genetic Resources in Interlaken, Switzerland, on 5th September.
2007: Organiser of side-event at CGRFA 11 (Commission on Genetic Resources for
Food and Agriculture) held at FAO in Rome on Diverse Livestock for Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation, 14 June
2007: Co-organiser (with H.S. Rathore), International Workshop on Livestock Keepers and the Management of Animal Genetic Resources: Roles, Rights, and Responsibilities, held in Rajasthan/India from 26-28 February, 2007. Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan and LIFE-Network. Funded by Ford Foundation, HIVOS, WISP.
2006: Convenor and Organiser, International Workshop on Livestock biodiversity, indigenous knowledge and intellectual property rights, held at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Conference Centre in Bellagio (Italy) from 27 March-2 April. Funded by Rockefeller Foundation.
2005: Co-organiser (with Evelyn Mathias and H.S. Rathore) Training Course on People-Centered Livestock Development, held in Rajasthan/India from 13-19 March, 2005. Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan and League for Pastoral Peoples (Misereor)
2004: Co-organiser (with H.S. Rathore) International Conference: “Saving the Camel and Peoples’ Livelihoods: Building a Multi-Stakeholder Platform for the Conservation of the Camel in India”, held in Rajasthan/India. 23-25 November, 2004 (Ford Foundation, Misereor, FAO)
2003: Co-organiser (with J. Wanyama) International Meeting of indigenous livestock breeding communities on animal genetic resources, held in Karen (Kenya), 27- 30 October. League for Pastoral Peoples and ITDG-EA. (EED, Misereor, CTA)
2003: Co-organiser (with H.S. Rathore) Asian level workshop ”Farm animal genetic resources from the perspective of rural communities”, held in Rajasthan/India from 12-16 October with Lokhit Pashu-Palak Sansthan (GTZ, FAO).
2003: Course-Designer, Workshop on Sustainable Animal Management for NGOs, 25- 27 February, 2003 in Dineshpur, Bangladesh. Caritas. (Misereor)
2002: Co-organiser (with H.S. Rathore) All-India Meeting of Pastoralists and Herders Organisations, 23-24 March. (Swiss Agency for International Development and Winrock International)
2002: Co-organiser (with S. Gura) Side-events on animal genetic resources with developing country representatives and pastoralists at the World Food Summit in Rome (June, 2002), and the Session of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA) at the FAO
in October 2002 (German Forum on Environment and Development and League for Pastoral Peoples)
Health, with special focus on Ethno-veterinary medicine. Rajasthan/India, 13-15 March. (Bread for the World)
1997: Organiser, International workshop on traditional camel medicine to produce a field manual on camel diseases, held in conjunction with the International Conference on Ethnoveterinary Medicine in Pune, India from 4-6 November,
1997: (Misereor and CTA).
PAPERS AT CONFERENCES/WORKSHOPS
2023: The International Year of Camelids, 2024. Paper presented at the Oxford Desert Conference, March 2023.
2012: Beyond breeds: the key role of locally adapted animal genetic resources for a green livestock economy. Paper presented at National Conference on Native Livestock Breeds for the Future of Mankind, organized by Vechur Conservation Trust and National Biodiversity Authority on 7.8 July in Hosana Mount, Bharanangnam, Pala, Kottayam, Kerala.
2009: Leveraging the potential of livestock for dryland development: why a paradigm shift is needed. Keynote paper presented at International Conference on Nurturing Arid Zones for people and the environment: issues and agenda for the 21st century held at CAZRI, Jodhpur, November 24-28.
2009: Livestock Keepers‘ Rights: Origin, meaning and implications. Invited Paper at National Conference for Animal Husbandry Bureaucrats held in Beijing, November 20th.
2009: Supporting Animal Breeding through a Code of Conduct on Livestock Keepers Rights. IFOAM Conference on Organic Animal and Plant Breeding held in Santa Fe (New Mexico) from 25-29 August
2009: Panelist, Panel discussion on the sustainable management of agricultural biodiversity organized by the Nordic Council of Ministers, Commission Sustainable Development (CSD) at UN-headquarters in New York, 13 May.
2009: Livestock Keepers’ Rights. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Indian Society for Domestic Diversity, held at Karnal, India
2008: Paper on Livestock Keepers’ Rights. 9th Symposioibero-americano sobreconservacion y utilisacion des recursoszoogeneticos at Mar del Plata (Argentina)
2008: Background and Rationale for Livestock Keepers’ Rights at Workshop on “Rights over Animal Genetic Resources” held at World Trade Institute in Bern
2008: Livestock Farming with Nature. Poster Paper presented at SBSTTA 13 at FAO in Rome, February.
2008: Protected Areas and Livestock Keepers’ Rights. Poster paper during WGPA (CBD Working Group on Protected Areas) at FAO in Rome, February.
2007: Respondent to the lead paper “Dynamics of livestock production systems, the drivers of change and prospects for animal genetic resources” during the Science Forum held at the International Technical Conference on Animal Genetic Resources in Interlaken, Switzerland on 3 September
2007: Local Breeds as Basis for Poverty Alleviation and Rural Development in Developing Countries: The LIFE-Approach. Invited Paper during the IFOAM Conference on Marketing of Organic and Regional Values, held in Schwäbisch-Hall, Germany, 27-28 August.
2007: Reviving Rajasthan’s Camel Husbandry: Experiences from the Field International Camel Conference, held at the College of Veterinary and Animal Science, Rajasthan Agricultural University in Bikaner(India), 16-17 February.
2006: Concentration in the Poultry Sector, presented at the International Workshop on The Future of Animal Genetic Resources :Under Corporate Control or in the Hands of Farmers and Pastoralists?, held in Bonn, Germany, 16 October,.organised by League for Pastoral Peoples.
2006: Land Degradation and Desertification: Dimensions, Causes, Solutions, Best Practices. International School of Journalism, Berlin, on 16 May.
2006: Livestock Keepers’ Rights und Vielfalt der Nutztierrassen. In: Kommerzielle Nutzung der Biodiversität: Ist ein Interessensausgleich möglich? Fachtagung, 23. Mai, 2006, GTZ/Eschborn
2006: Supporting livestock keepers through organizational strengthening:
Why services are not enough and we need a “rights-based approach” to livestock development. Paper presented at International Conference on Livestock Services, organised by Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing April
2005: Desertifikation – ein aktueller Blick auf die globale Dimension und die Herausforderungen des Problems. Impulsreferat bei der Tagung „Desertifikation – Antworten auf die weltweite Zerstörung von Landesressourcen? Zum Stand der Umsetzung und Engagement der Zivilgesellschaft im Rahmen der internationalen Konvention (NCCD), Forum Umwelt und Entwicklung, am 28.4. in Frankfurt.
2004: Participatory Approaches to Using the Camel in Combating Desertification ( with H.S. Rathore) at the International Conference “Desertification Combat and Food Security: The Added Values of Camel Producers”, organised by CIRAD (France) and the Institute of Desert Flora and Fauna in Ashkabad, held in Ashkabad (Turkmenistan), 19.-22.4.
2004: CULTURES AND CIVILISATIONS: PRESENT STATE AND PERSPECTIVES OF NOMADISM IN A GLOBALIZING WORLD, Organizedby the Mongolian National University in Ulaan Baatar from August 9-14.
2003: Trends in livestock development and research: issues at stake for indigenous livestock breeding communities. (with Isabella Masinde) Paper presented at the International Meeting of Indigenous Livestock Breeders held in Karen, Kenya, 27-30 October, 2003.
2003: Indigenous knowledge about animal breeding. Paper presented to International Meeting of Indigenous Livestock Breeders held in Karen, Kenya, 27-30 October, 2003
2003: Pastoralists, protected areas and biodiversity conservation in Western India: a case study of the Kumbhalgarh Sanctuary(with H.S. Rathore). Paper presented to the Mobile Indigenous Peoples Workshop during the World Parks Conference held in Durban, South Africa, 6-13 September 2003
2003: Avenues to capitalise on Africa’s Farm Animal Genetic Resources: Safeguarding Livestock Keepers Rights and Pursuing Endogenous Development. Paper presented at the Workshop Generating Benefits through Sustainable Use and Conservation of Farm-Animal Genetic Resources in the SADC-Region. A workshop to explore the legal and regulatory framework held in Maputo, Mozambique, May 20-23, 2003. (GTZ, SADC, FAO)
2002: Significance of pastoral cultures for the sustainable management of livestock biodiversity: A case study of the Raika of Rajasthan (India) Paper presented at the GTZ/BMZ Workshop ‘Indigenous Peoples and Biodiversity’, held in Vilm, 7–11 July 2002.
2001: Keynote Speaker, Community-Based Management of Animal Genetic Resources: A tool for rural development at the International Workshop CBMAnGR: the State of the Art held in Mbabane, Swaziland by GTZ, SACCAR, SADC, FAO and UNDP” on “. 7-11 May, 2001.
2001: Community-based management of animal genetic resources (with A. von Lossau). Paper presented at the Conference on International Agricultural Research for Development (Deutscher Tropentag), October 9-11, University of Bonn.
2000: Domestic Animal Diversity, Local Knowledge and Stockholders Rights ( with Constance McCorkle) presented at the ASA Conference 2000 at SOAS, London: Participating in Development: Approaches to Indigenous Knowledge, 2-5 April, 2000
2000: Reserve Schorfheide-Chorin, Germany, 16-18 May, 2000.
1999: LPP’s Initiative for the Participatory Conservation of Indigenous Livestock Breeds: A Concept Note (with Juliane Bräunig) at the Tropentagon 14-15 October 1999 at the Humboldt University, Berlin
1999: Contribution on Solidarity with poor livestock keepers in a panel discussion on Contributions of animal husbandry and fisheries to social security at GTZ EschbornerFachtage, 22 June, 1999.
1999: Ethics of animal husbandry from a cross-cultural perspective. Paper presented at the Conseil Mondial des Eleveurs, 23-29 August in Lucerne.
1995: The Camel Husbandry Improvement Project in Rajasthan (India): Towards the development of extension services for camel pastoralists. (with H.S. Rathore and R.R. Dewasi). Paper presented at the VIII international Conference of Institutions of Tropical Veterinary Medicine, 25-29 September, Berlin.
OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
LIST OF PUBLICATIONS (116 Papers published in Journals of Repute)
Other Publications:
Home