Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards
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The Development of LEGS

The Scope and Content of the Guidelines

LEGS is underpinned by a livelihoods approach and is based on three livelihoods objectives:

LEGS has a global scope and focuses on the process of identifying needs and analysing which interventions are most appropriate to support the livelihoods of the affected populations, at which times, and in which emergencies. LEGS recognizes that climate change is resulting in more complex and unpredictable types of disaster.

Hence guidance on options (‘decision-making trees’) forms the basis of the main sections, with references to where detailed technical guidelines and other materials may be obtained. The key technical areas covered within the three livelihoods objectives are: destocking, veterinary care; supplementary feeding; provision of water; livestock shelter and settlement; and provision of livestock or restocking.

Each chapter covers the implications of selecting a particular technical option or activity; cross-cutting issues such as environment, gender, HIV/AIDS, and security; indicators and issues for impact assessment; links with the Sphere Standards; case studies; and sources of further information, including existing guidelines, technical briefs and toolkits.

Focal Point authors were identified to lead the development of the standards and guidelines for each technical area. They are as follows:

Livelihoods-Based Livestock Responses: Cathy Watson
Assessment and Response: Cathy Watson
Common Standards: Andy Catley
Destocking: Yacob Aklilu
Veterinary Services: Andy Catley, David Ward
Provision of Feed: Peter Thorne
Provision of Water: Peter Thorne
Livestock Shelter: David Hadrill, Peter Manfield
Provision of Livestock: Hélène Berton, Andy Catley
Electronic Tool Development: Peter Thorne
Coordinating Editor: Cathy Watson

Complementary to the production of the LEGS guidelines, an electronic decision making tool has been developed based on the processes and decision-trees outlined in LEGS. The tool is available on the CD-ROM which accompanies the hard copy of LEGS  and also as a download from this website.

FAO, under its Animal Health and Production series, is preparing a manual entitled “Livestock Emergency Interventions – A Practical Guide” that will provide practical guidance for implementing interventions that are likely to arise from LEGS. The manual is designed as a direct support to the LEGS package and will consist of chapters dealing with animal health, destocking (early offtake), supplementary feeding, restocking, and monitoring and evaluation of livestock emergency interventions. It is targeted at professionals and technicians in government services, projects and NGOs who have to implement emergency livestock interventions. The manual will be published in mid 2009 in English and late 2009 in French. Free downloadable version will be available on both the FAO and LEGS web sites.

Some topics are not covered by LEGS because information is already available elsewhere, or because other processes may be better suited to develop guidelines on those issues. In the case of trans-boundary animal disease outbreaks, the FAO Emergency Prevention System for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases has developed guidelines on emergency preparedness and response for such outbreaks.

Consultations and Practitioner Testing

A first draft of LEGS was compiled by the Focal Point authors and reviewed by the LEGS Steering Group. This draft was then made available, via the LEGS website, to the members of the LEGS mailing list (approximately 1,800 individuals and organisations) for review. The feedback received was incorporated into a second, field test draft, which was distributed to 68 organisations and individuals who had expressed interest in testing the guidelines in real emergencies.
In addition, LEGS review meetings were held at AU-IBAR in Nairobi and at Tufts University in Addis Ababa. At the AU-IBAR meeting, held in January 2008, participants gave feedback on the LEGS Field Test draft and discussed options for encouraging the dissemination and adoption of the guidelines and standards after publication.

At the Addis Ababa workshop in February 2008 a group of NGO and FAO representatives reviewed their response to the drought in Afar in 2007, using the LEGS draft guidelines and standards as an evaluation tool. Participants then shared their reflections on the usefulness of the standards and information contained in the draft, and made suggestions for improvement.

The feedback from both the real-time testing and the review workshops was collated and reviewed by the Steering Group, in order to agree on a final version, which was then submitted to the publishers.