Livestock induced climate change and

mitigation adaptation mechanisms

Background

Climate change and food security are two emerging issues being faced by people all over the world,
particularly those in the developing countries. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) in its fourth assessment report (2007) indicated that many of the developing countries tend to
be especially vulnerable to extreme climatic events as they largely depend on climate sensitive
sectors like agriculture and forestry. India has a geographic disadvantage as it is already in the
warmer part of the world. Nearly two thirds of the Indian population is rural mostly living in harsh
climatic regions of mountains, deserts and river deltas, which are more susceptible to climate
change. More than 60% of the rural population in India depend on agriculture, which is highly
vulnerable to climate variability. Scientists report that for every 10C rise in atmospheric temperature
above 320C, there will be 5% reduction in rice yield. The direct impact of change in climate is
reported to be far worse.

Over the past 12 months the global food prices have increased on average by more than 40%. It
threatens the food security and well being of millions of people, particularly the poorest of the poor.
Most experts believe that there are many drivers behind this unprecedented rise in the cost of
foodstuffs and one of the factors that contributed to this situation is definitely the unpredicted
variability of climate. Climate change in India has been recognized as a threat to agrarian
community since it is going to reduce the production of agriculture crops. The situation is alarming
for India whose food grain production has remained largely stagnant over the past decade.
Whenever the carryover stocks of grain drop below 60 days of consumption, prices begin to
rise, It affected food availability and stability to food supplies. Low buffer stock in India in 2007
has forced the government to invite bids for import of a massive 3.5 million tons of wheat,
one of the biggest orders in recent years from any country.

While livestock’s role in India in contributing to food security is very well acknowledged, its negative
impacts by way of contributing to Green House Gases in the atmosphere raise criticism. How can
the trade-offs between livestock for food security and possible environmental effects be minimized
is a big challenge before us. In this background the proposed project will try to contribute in
addressing food security and climate change issues through a win-win approach using livestock as
the entry point.

Livestock’s contribution in food security

The potential of livestock to reduce poverty is enormous. In India, livestock are important livelihood
means for the poor especially in the drought prone areas. It provides employment to almost 18
million people of whom 75% are poor. It also provides livelihoods to a significant minority of the
peri-urban poor. It is said that that the poorest of the poor who do not have livestock, if acquire
animals, can help start a pathway out of poverty.
Food security embraces food production, stability of supply and access to food. Livestock play a role
in all these three aspects: they make a significant contribution to food production through the
provision of high value protein-rich animal products; they indirectly support crop production through
draught power and manure; and finally, they are the most significant source of income and store of
wealth for smallholders, thereby providing access to food.

The key source of income for the people from the livestock in India is from sale of milk, meat,
manure, wool and using cattle for agriculture operations. The many reasons poor people keep
livestock mean that the role that these animals play in household well being is significant. It
contributes to economic progress and social transformation as a strategic asset of the poor. Animal
source foods are energy dense and good source of protein and a large number of key micro
nutrients. It can measurably enhance nutritional quality in diets, especially vulnerable groups such
as young children and pregnant and lactating women.

The impact of climate change on livestock is a matter of serious concern as majority of livestock in
India are in the hands of the resource poor. Recent studies carried out at National Dairy Research
Institute (India) indicates that the impact of temperature variations and rise in temperature on
Indian livestock greatly affects its functions and milk production of indigenous and cross bred cattle
& buffaloes. A small rise in temperature negatively impacts growth, reproduction and production.
Crossbred cattle and buffaloes are likely to suffer more than Zebu cattle, mainly due to difference in
heat dissipation mechanisms and higher water requirements. Further, climate change is likely to
cause a rise in animal diseases that are spread by insects and vectors mainly due to temperature and
humidity rise that favour their spread and growth.

Livestock’s contribution in climate change

According to FAO’s recent study (Livestock’s long shadow, 2006), expanding population and
incomes, along with changing food preferences are stimulating a rapid increase in demand for meat,
milk and eggs. This is applicable mainly in developing countries. Meat production in the developing
countries overtook that of developed countries as early as 1996. Their share of production is
projected to rise to about two thirds by the year 2030 (in contrast, in developed countries both
production and consumption are stagnating and in some places declining). As result of this increased
demand there is the likelihood of a shift from rural to urban, ruminant to monogastric production
and extensive /mixed to intensive production, which has its environmental, social and health
consequences.

One important negative environmental contribution by livestock is ‘methane emission’. India has
485 million livestock, which is 13% of global livestock population. It contributes to about 17% of
India’s GHG emission in CO2 equivalent. The GHG emission is mainly from ruminants in the form of
methane formed due to enteric fermentation of fibrous feed rich in cellulose.

Overgrazing, particularly in dry lands is another negative contribution by livestock in India. The
ruminants are mainly concentrated in arid, semi-arid regions, where crop husbandry has limited
opportunities. These dry lands are quite often subjected to over-use mainly due to increasing
resource shrinkage. This leads to degradation of the marginal lands.
In the context of food insecurity and climatic variabilities integrated programmes that deal with both
enhancement of adaptive capacity of livestock communities and mitigation of livestock induced
climate change would be of great importance. This would also generate global lessons for climate
change policy and practice. Such programmes will generate practical approaches to deal with the
negative impacts of livestock from a climate change perspective, while also developing clear
strategies to augment their possible contribution to food security.