Story so far…

Past 37 years were warmer than the 20th century average

warmest years –1998-2012

2012 was hottest

average surface temperature has increased more than 1°F since the late 1800s

Reason behind?

2

Livestock sector has a substantial GHG “hoofprint” causing global warming

I.W.A.S. SujaniPGIA /

2012 /134

Livestock & Greenhouse Gas Emission

Global Livestock Scenario…..

-30 % total land area- 40 % global agriculture output -$ 1.4 trillion worth (Steinfield et al., 2006)

17 % energy33 % protein

(Herrero & Thornton, 2009). 4

Livelihood……

1.3 billion people

600 million smallholder farmers

(Thornton et al., 2009) 5

Livestock spp.

Livestock population (Millions)

2007 2008 2009

Cattle 1357.8 1372.4 1382.2

Sheep 1105.6 1086.3 1071.3

Goat 836.9 864.4 868

Pig 921.9 938.0 941.2

Chicken 17878.6 18139.1 18554.8

Source : FAO (2010)

World Livestock Statistics

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29.1 % L. America28.6 % Asia18.6 % Africa

Asia

52.9 % Asia33.3 % Africa

Sri Lankan Livestock Industry: in a glance..

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Greenhouse Effect & GHG

CO2

N2O

CH4

O3

Water vapor8

9

Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Source

Global Sri Lanka

From Agric. Emissions 30 % from Livestock

Ranasinghe, 2010

Present to future?

6.8 billions9.15 billions

Increase of demand for milk ~ 58 % and for meat ~ 73 % by 2050

(FAO, 2011c)

10(Source: United Nations Population Division and Population Reference Bureau, 1993)

Livestock & GHG Emissions: Interesting Facts………..

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Livestock & GHG emissions

12Source: Steinfield et al., 2006

CO2

DeforestationCH4

N2O

GHG

13

CO2 - 27 %

N2O

N2O - 29 %

CH4 - 44 %

14

From total livestock related GHG emissions….

Source: IPCC 2007

Carbon Dioxide – CO2

CO2

CO2 level increment by 70% over 200 years Major anthropogenic GHG – 2.7 billion

tones Produce through,

- Livestock production processing

- Transportation

- Deforestation for pasture cultivation

- Soil disturbance by over-grazing15

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CH4

Ruminants or non-ruminants?

Methane

emissions per

animal per year

Source: Nasa’s Goddard Institute for Space Science 17

More on CH4 emissions

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Region Milk and Meat energy share (%)

CH4 emission (%)

Eastern and Western Europe, North America, and the non-EU

46.3% 25.5

Asia, Africa, Latin America

47.1 69

O’Mara, F.P., 2011, Anim. Feed Sci. & Technol.

N2O Manure management

Fertilizer application in pasture

production

Livestock – 75% of Agric. N2O

emissions

65 % anthropogenic N2O

GWP – 300 times as CO2

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CH4 & N2O emission by livestock category and source in 2009

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Emissions by species

21

65 %

Chicken egg & meat

0.6 GT

Pig meat0.7 GT

Cattle milk & beef

4.3 GT

22

Buffalo milk & meat0.6 GT

Small ruminant

milk & meat0.4 GT Gerber et al., 2013

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To eat

meat

OR

not to

eat?

Mitigation Strategies

24

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On going projects and research…… International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA)/ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),

Coordinated Research Project on ‘The use of enzymes and nuclear technologies to improve the utilization of fibrous feeds and reduce greenhouse gas emission from livestock’.

The Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change - Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada group at Lethbridge Research Centre (Alberta)

International Livestock Research Institute

Livestock Emissions and Abatement Research Network (LEARN) – Rumen microbial genomics network, Animal Selection, Genetics and Genomics Network, Feed and Nutrition Network and Database, Manure Management Network

World Universities, Research Institutes, etc……………

Concluding remarks….. Globally increasing demand for livestock products Switching of livestock production systems to more intensive phase

Increasing emissions of GHG (CH4, CO2 and N2O) Livestock shares larger proportion from agriculture emissions

Ruminant are more responsible than monogastrics Mitigation strategies to be practicedEmissions can be cut-off by 30 %

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References• Census and Statistics, 2012, Department of census and statistics, Sri Lanka. Retrieved on 25th April 2014 from

http://www.statistics.gov.lk/agriculture/Livestock/LivestockStatistics.html

• FAOSTAT, 2010, FAO Statistical Database, Food and Agricultural Organization, Rome, Italy, Retrieved on 23rd April 2014 from www.faostat.fao.org/site/339/default.aspx.

• Gerber, P.J., Steinfield, H., Henderson, B., Mottiet, A., Opio, C., Dijkman, J., Falcucci, A., & Tempio, G. 2013. Tackling climate change through livestock- A global assessment of emissions and mitigation opportunities. Food and Agriculture organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome.

• IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), 2007, Climate Change: Synthesis Report; Summary for Policymakers. Retrieved on 25th April 2014 from: http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/syr/ar4_syr_spm.pdf.

• O’Mara, F.P., 2011, ‘The significance of livestock as a contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions today and in the near future’, Anim. Feed Sci. & Technol., 166-167:7-15

• Ranasinghe, D.M.H.S.K., 2010, ‘Climate change mitigation – Sri Lanka’s perspective’, Proceedings of the 15th International Forestry and Environment Symposium, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka.

• Steinfeld, H., P. Gerber, T. Wassenaar, V. Castel, M. Rosales and C. de Haan, 2006, Livestock’s Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

• Thornton, P. K., Van de Steeg, J., Notenbaert, A., Herrero, M. 2009, ‘The impacts of climate change on livestock and livestock systems in developing countries: a review of what we know and what we need to know’, Agric. Syst. 101, 113–127.

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Life Cycle Assesment

• Greenhouse gas emission from the different livestock categories can also be evaluated based on “Life Cycle Assessment” (LCA). This involves not only the farm-gate emissions but also an inventory of the material and energy inputs and the emissions associated with each stage of production. The LCA looks at the “cradle to grave” energy use (Guinee et al., 2001). This assessment could include; fertilizer production and transportation, crop production and transportation, feed additive manufacturing and transportation, animal production facilities, transportation to processing plants, processing, distribution to retail markets, consumer use of the product and disposal of packaging (Guinee et al., 2001). This can be a very complex process and researchers have used different boundaries when approaching the LCA for different livestock.

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CO2 Equivalent

• Carbon dioxide equivalent is a measure used to compare the emissions from various greenhouse gases based upon their global warming potential. For example, the global warming potential for methane over 100 years is 21. This means that emissions of one million metric tons of methane is equivalent to emissions of 21 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.

• Global Warming Potential- A measure of the total energy that a gas absorbs over a particular period of time (usually 100 years), compared to carbon dioxide.

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Plant material (Cellulose, Hemicellulose)

Glucose

Acetate Butyrate Propionate

Hydrogen poolHydrogen pool

Carbon DioxideCarbon Dioxide Methane

Bacterial Digestion

+ 2+ 4 - 2

MethanogenicBacteria Action

Others

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Rumen CH4

Production

Little amount

in hind gut

32

2

13

45

6