Dr Abdul Raziq

The camel is a unique desert creature and it employees a number of adaptive strategies that allow it to survive harsh and hostile conditions of its habitat. Camel, because of its special physiology and adaptive mechanism, not only survive in hostile conditions but also produce precious milk for its herder.

Occupy Gene Banking, Ensure Livelihood and Biodiversity The state of world is very critical and the time is reached to bawl and ask for change. Millions of dollars are spending on wars and many more goes in oven of bankruptcy. Industrialization/privatization is the third sward hanging on the head of humanity. This entire situation created an evil triangle which resulted in poverty, malnutrition, hunger, jobs losses, wars and many other consequences. This evil triangle is now going a step forward

Globally, millions of farmers are small-scaled and provide food items to millions of people. Small-scale production system is the key providers of health friendly food items, not just for their own consumption but also for their region and for growing urban centers in their countries. They have an intimate knowledge of their land and resources and have skills to innovate and adjust to changing situations. Their production systems are quite flexible and always easy to adjust to the changing clima

Being potential milk producer, camel have never been realized and harvested as a prospective milk producing animal, especially in Pakistan. Although the future of camel as a dairy animal is quite bright, but camel is still neglected specie and no proper place is given in respect of research and development. The ongoing climate change circumstances and scarcity of feed/water resources increased the importance of camel manifolds.

Camel is precious animal genetic resource and is considered as the animal of the 21st century by camel scientists. Camel plays pivotal role in livelihood earning of the pastoral people in very remote areas. Pastoral people reside on very marginal lands and only the efficient animal like camel is able to use such marginal lands. Camel provides food, fiber, skin/hide, dung for wool and is part and parcel of the pastoral culture of the dry lands of the world. World camel day is declared at 22 June.

Livestock is source of income and livelihood among the people of Balochistan. Balochistan is the home of many precious livestock breeds. These breeds had been keeping by the pastoral livestock keepers and co evolved with the indigenous knowledge. Pastoral people do migration of fixed routes around the year to keep their livestock well fed and healthy.

The camel (dromedary or Bactrian) has been serving millions of people living in the driest (hot or cold) areas of the World for centuries. It provides food, fiber, transportation and social status.

In spite of the all the characteristics and peculiarities, camel are never addressed while formulating policies for the agricultural and rural development of the dry lands. It is very unfortunately that such a well adapted livestock like camel is neglected especially in the circumstances of desertification, climate change and global warming scenario.