Building a new narrative
The objective of this thematic area is to formulate and solidify a fresh narrative regarding Indian livestock production systems, intricately weaving together local ecological and economic dynamics, while also engaging with global dialogues, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and challenging prevailing climate discourses that categorize extensive systems as inefficient and low in productivity. The narrative-building thematic group will work towards removing adamant older narratives in the policy sphere as well as come up with ideas for evidence-building building, new research agendas shifting the focus from “productivity” to “sustainability” mode. The narrative will try to build space for all extensive systems, with particular emphasis on “extensive livestock systems with a special focus on pastoralism which is usually excluded from the development narratives.
Actions
- Build linkages for cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary research to demystifying/challenging existing narratives to support policy change
- Curate new educational syllabus on the lines of “alternative development models” by collaborating with educational institutions
- Ideate and build narratives and strategies and address the missing links/aspects between current global, national targets and local needs in the Indian context
- Analyse local, state, and national laws from an extensive livestock systems lens
- Curate various forms of knowledge products – for wider dissemination.
Pathways for change
- Identifying: Public intellectuals missing who can articulate pastoral issues for the general audience
- Disseminate the evidence and new narrative in all local, national and international events /spaces for policy change
- Involve new stakeholders such as new researchers actually working on the field, digital platforms, media and pastoral youth networks to influence the narrative change