AU-IBAR Repository

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The African Union - Inter-African Bureau on Animal Resources (AU IBAR) Repository acquires processes and preserves materials of enduring value to the organization, produced by the African Union, researchers, AU constituents such as Regional Offices as well as collaborating partners.

The Common Repository collects all official documents of the Inter-African Bureau on Animal Resources including, but not limited to, conferences working documents, reports, departmental reports, AU commissioned studies as well as correspondences.

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Policy Brief: Strengthening Ecosystem Management for Climate-Resilient Fisheries and Livelihoods in the Lower Zambezi, Zambia – A baseline assessment and community orientation on Nature-based Solutions
(AU-IBAR, 2026) Phir, Dr. Harris; Mulongwe, Lishomwa
The Lower Zambezi ecosystem in Zambia supports fisheries, food security, household incomes, and the livelihoods of communities that depend directly on aquatic and surrounding natural resources. However, increasing pressures from climate variability, habitat degradation, unsustainable fishing practices, and changing socioeconomic conditions are placing growing stress on both ecosystem health and community livelihoods. This policy brief presents a baseline assessment and community orientation aimed at strengthening ecosystem management for climate-resilient fisheries and sustainable livelihoods in the Lower Zambezi. The assessment examines the ecological, socioeconomic, and institutional conditions influencing fisheries and resource-dependent communities, while documenting local perceptions, knowledge, practices, and priorities related to climate change and ecosystem management. Community orientation activities provide an important platform for raising awareness, strengthening participation, and fostering shared understanding of the links between healthy ecosystems, resilient fisheries, and sustainable livelihoods. Findings from the baseline highlight the importance of integrated, participatory, and locally informed approaches to ecosystem management. Strengthening community engagement, fisheries governance, climate adaptation capacity, sustainable resource-use practices, and collaboration among relevant stakeholders is essential for improving resilience. The brief provides a foundation for measuring future changes and informing interventions that promote healthy aquatic ecosystems, sustainable fisheries, and improved livelihood outcomes in the Lower Zambezi. It further emphasizes the need to incorporate local knowledge and community priorities into decision-making to support equitable and climate-resilient management of fisheries and natural resources.
Study Tour Report Regional Exchange on Sustainable Octopus Fisheries and Inclusive Value Chains in the Western Indian Ocean
(AU-IBAR, 2026-05-15) Achieng, Stephanie
The Regional Exchange on Sustainable Octopus Fisheries and Inclusive Value Chains in the Western Indian Ocean was undertaken to facilitate knowledge sharing, peer learning, and exchange of practical experiences among fisheries stakeholders on the sustainable management and development of octopus fisheries. The study tour brought together representatives from relevant government institutions, fisheries organizations, research institutions, private-sector actors, and coastal communities to examine approaches for improving fisheries governance, strengthening inclusive value chains, enhancing post-harvest handling, and increasing the socio-economic benefits derived from octopus fisheries. The exchange focused on key aspects of octopus fisheries management, including community-based fisheries governance, sustainable harvesting practices, seasonal closures and other management measures, monitoring and compliance, value addition, market access, traceability, and participation of small-scale fishers and other value-chain actors. Particular attention was given to experiences that promote the inclusion of women, youth, and coastal communities in fisheries-related enterprises and decision-making processes. The study tour provided participants with opportunities to observe practical initiatives, interact with local stakeholders, and identify lessons that could be adapted to different contexts across the Western Indian Ocean region. The exchange highlighted the importance of collaborative governance, evidence-based management, strong fisher organizations, effective market linkages, responsible private-sector engagement, and inclusive approaches to value-chain development. The report documents the activities undertaken, experiences shared, key lessons learned, challenges identified, and opportunities for strengthening sustainable octopus fisheries and inclusive value chains in the region. It further provides recommendations to support regional collaboration, knowledge transfer, and the application of proven approaches for improving the sustainability, resilience, and economic contribution of octopus fisheries while promoting the livelihoods and well-being of coastal communities.
Introduction to a New Narrative for Livestock and Biodiversity
(African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and SNV, 2024-10) African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and SNV
This brief argues that livestock must be recognised as part of the solution to sustainably managing global biodiversity. Livestock production occupies over a quarter of the world’s land surface, contributes 40 per cent of agricultural output and underpins the food security, nutrition, culture and livelihoods of 1.3 billion people, predominantly in the Global South. While unsustainable management and feed production have contributed to all the key drivers of biodiversity loss, the brief emphasises that context matters, and that well-managed mixed, semi-intensive, pastoral and extensive systems can restore ecosystems rather than degrade them. Six key messages are set out: sustainable livestock management can restore ecosystems; wildlife and livestock can coexist productively; genetic diversity in livestock and forage species sustains resilience and adaptation; animal health is integral to ecosystem health; participation and inclusion are central to sustainable management; and the pastoral livestock sector needs support to serve biodiversity conservation and dryland and savanna economies. Each message is mapped to entry points in the Global Biodiversity Framework. The brief concludes with six recommendations, including incorporating farm animal biodiversity and silvopastoral systems into National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans, aligning these with Nationally Determined Contributions, establishing a multilateral system for Digital Sequence Information with independent technology transfer and capacity building, and embedding policies that support pastoral mobility. It is a preview of a fuller forthcoming report, issued in the context of CBD COP 16.
Livesys Sustainable Livestock Engagement and Advocacy Strategy 2026
(Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, with the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), 2026-02) Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, with the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
This strategy sets out a coordinated approach to engagement and advocacy on sustainable livestock systems for 2026. Developed through a workshop with LiveSys partners, it responds to the finding that outreach across the livestock community remains fragmented, and seeks to position sustainable livestock systems as a credible, evidence-based and investable solution for climate resilience, environmental sustainability and inclusive livelihoods. The strategy identifies four priority issues for coordinated advocacy: sustainable rangeland restoration and management; climate-resilient livestock systems for sustainable land and water management; scaling public and private investment and climate finance; and One Health for methane mitigation, transboundary disease control and trade. For each, it defines shared calls to action to underpin advocacy asks and align messaging across partners while allowing for organisational nuance. It maps key engagement moments across 2026 in two tiers, covering high-level participation at Desertification and Drought Day, the 64th sessions of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies, UNCCD COP 17 and the Africa Food Systems Forum, alongside amplification moments including the Global Landscapes Forum Africa, CBD SBSTTA, the 22nd CAADP Partnership Platform, the global IYRP event and UNFCCC COP 31. Stakeholders are grouped into three tiers by influence and alignment, each with defined engagement approaches and intents, and an Engagement and Advocacy Pack is proposed to supply partners with key messages, calls to action and social media resources.
Burps, Belches and Bovine Health Climate Smart Cattle Production
(Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, Bonn, with support from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), 2026) Doldt, Julia; Benrahhou, Aziza
This factsheet explains the link between animal health, livestock productivity and methane emissions in cattle. Ruminants contribute approximately 10 per cent of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions through enteric methane, and emission intensity in Africa is high relative to other regions because of disease burden, inadequate nutrition and management constraints. Because methane emissions correlate with feed energy intake, and maintenance accounts for between 30 and 70 per cent of lifetime emissions depending on the system, healthier animals convert more feed energy into productive output, lowering emission intensity while improving farmer livelihoods. The factsheet sets out the determinants of animal health, covering pathogen exposure and immunological susceptibility, and argues for preventive rather than adaptive measures as antimicrobial resistance spreads. It presents estimated productivity gains and emission intensity reductions from interventions against seven cattle diseases, including nagana, gastro-intestinal worms, red water, East Coast fever, foot-and-mouth disease, contagious bovine pleuropneumonia and Rift Valley fever, alongside mortality risk in the absence of intervention. It notes that animal health financing remains fragmented and averages 0.05 per cent of GDP, and positions improved animal health as a strategic lever for sustainable livestock systems and a basis for mobilising long-term public and private investment.