In light of global concerns over the impacts of climate change and climate variability, this FAO document provides an overview of opportunities for adaptation and mitigation in dryland pastoral and agropastoral systems. It makes a case for a concerted global effort to promote mitigation practices that also have benefits for adaptation and livelihoods of pastoralists … Continue reading
Category Archives: Climate Change
Intensive versus extensive livestock systems and greenhouse gas emissions
Tara Garnett of the FCRN explores “the different ways in which one might view the contributions that livestock in intensive and extensive systems make to greenhouse gas emissions. Why do people draw different conclusions about intensive versus extensive systems? How far do these conclusions reflect differing approaches to quantifying emissions, to considering land use, and … Continue reading
Go veg to save the globe?
Can the food that we load our plates with actually affect climate? Surprisingly, the answer is “Yes”. What this means is, it’s time we did our bit to save the planet from global warming by simply going vegetarian! Did you know that rearing livestock for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the fuel guzzling … Continue reading
Climate Change / Crop-Livestock / East Africa / ILRI / Kenya / Tanzania / Uganda
Africa: Finding the food crops of the future
Temperatures seem set to soar to perilously high levels because of climate change. In another 40 years, would maize still be the staple food in Kenya, already hit by five failed rainy seasons? If not, what could people grow and eat? And if you could grow maize, how much water and fertilizer would it need? … Continue reading
Towards a more sustainable livestock sector
FAO report analyzes the rapidly changing global livestock production Urgent investments, major agricultural research efforts and robust governance are required to ensure that the world’s livestock sector responds to a growing demand for animal products and at the same time contributes to poverty reduction, food security, environmental sustainability and human health, FAO said today in … Continue reading
“Passing gas” could sink the planet!
The policy debates surrounding global warming tend to focus on fossil fuels and carbon emissions. Solutions to climate change, correspondingly, centre on developing renewable energies and increasing efficiency in the transport and building sectors. Far less attention is garnered by the warming consequences of rearing and consuming livestock. In fact, the methane released when ruminants … Continue reading
It’s raining, it’s pouring
“It’s so hot!” “Why can’t it stop raining?” “The lightning was terrible” I’m not sure about you but I keep finding myself complaining about the weather. Global warming, Copenhagen, recycling, climate change – it’s like we just keep hearing it over and over again. Remember last year when we turned off the lights for one … Continue reading
UN gets rolling on Copenhagen accord
The United Nations has launched a new body to design and administer the $100 billion annual fund agreed to at the Copenhagen summit to help poor countries mitigate and adapt to climate change effects. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi will lead the Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing’s effort … Continue reading
How being vegetarian does more harm to the environment than eating meat
It is a claim that could put a dent in the green credentials of vegetarians: Meat-free diets can be bad for the planet. Environmental activists and vegetarians have long taken pleasure in telling those who enjoy a steak that livestock farming is a major source of harmful greenhouse gases. But research has shown that giving … Continue reading
Boosting livestock density could cut biofuel impact
Brazil has plans to increase its production of biofuels over the next ten years. But, although Brazilian sugarcane is currently one of the best raw materials for producing biofuels with low greenhouse-gas emissions, there are concerns that land-use changes caused by expanding biofuel plantations could mar this good performance. With that in mind, a team … Continue reading
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