Helping mitigate the impact of the May fire that is threatening herders’ livelihoods

On May 8, 2010, a fire broke out in a rural area in the Nablus governorate of the Jordan Valley in the West Bank, laying waste to approximately 1,500 hectares of grazing and crop lands. Herders in the village of Al’Aqrabaniya, which has a population of around 1,000 people, relied upon much of this land as a source to feed their flocks for around 6 months of the year. Responding to this , ACTED is implementing an emergency response programme to mitigate the impact of the fire by distributing barley and seeds and conducting trainings for affected herders.

On May 10, the ACTED team was on the field to assess the needs of the herder households who reported losses. At least 90% of the land was damaged by the fire, in addition to the lost pastures. This meant that farmers would be forced to rely on commercial fodder -a devastating unforeseen expense which could jeopardize the community’s livelihoods. Herders would have to sell their flocks, reduce feed rations and decrease the quality of feed provided, which in turn, would result in an increase of animal disease and mortality, and greatly reduce milk productivity. Alternatively, breeders would have to borrow money, reducing the ability of the households to purchase necessities or expand their livelihood activities.

To mitigate the impact of the fire, ACTED is implementing an emergency response programme, supported by OCHA. In September and October, ACTED distributed a total of 130.5 tons of barley and 5.6 tons of mixed seeds (vetch, barley and wheat) to 20 households to restore the lost crops. During the months of November and December, ACTED has been conducting trainings in veterinary health, in fire safety and in livestock management.

Wadiye, aged 28, at the head of a family of 6, was one of the farmers affected by the fire, as he depends on the grazing land to feed his livestock. Although, thanks to the programme of ACTED with the distributions of barley and the trainings, he avoided selling his livestock which would have resulted in a loss of livelihoods on the long term. “The training was also incredibly useful. I only knew generalities about livestock health and management. But now I feel like I know a lot, especially about management, animal health, and how to prevent and deal with fire and emergencies.”