The document discusses greenhouse gas emissions from livestock and their contribution to global warming. It notes that livestock production accounts for about 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Ruminants like cattle emit methane as part of their digestion process, and this methane comprises about 44% of livestock's greenhouse gas emissions. The document also outlines strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from livestock, including improving feed quality and herd management.

1. 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

2. Reason behind?
2
Livestock sector has a
substantial GHG “hoofprint”
causing global warming

3. I.W.A.S.
Sujani
Livestock&
Greenhouse
Gas Emission

4. Global Livestock Scenario…..
-30 % total land area
- 40 % global agriculture output
-$ 1.4 trillion worth
(Steinfield et al., 2006)
17 % energy
33 % protein
(Herrero & Thornton, 2009). 4

5. Livelihood……
1.3 billion
people
600 million
smallholder farmers
(Thornton et al., 2009) 5

6. 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
6
29.1 % L. America
28.6 % Asia
18.6 % Africa
Asia
52.9 % Asia
33.3 % Africa

7. Sri Lankan Livestock Industry:
in a glance..
7

8. Greenhouse Effect & GHG
CO2
N2O
CH4
O3
8

9. 9
Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Source
Global Sri Lanka
From Agric.
Emissions 30 %
from Livestock
Ranasinghe, 2010

10. Present to future?
6.8 billions
9.15 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)

11. Livestock & GHG Emissions: Interesting Facts………..
11

12. Livestock & GHG emissions
12Source: Steinfield et al., 2006

13. CO2
Deforestation
CH4
N2O
GHG
13

14. CO2 - 27 %
N2O
N2O - 29 %
CH4 - 44 %
14
From total livestock related GHG emissions….
Source: IPCC 2007

15. 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-grazing
15

16. 16
CH4

17. Ruminants or non-ruminants?
Methane
emissions per
animal per year
Source: Nasa’s Goddard Institute for Space Science 17

18. More on CH4 emissions
18
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.

19. N2O
 Manure management
 Fertilizer application in pasture
production
 Livestock – 75% of Agric. N2O
emissions
 65 % anthropogenic N2O
 GWP – 300 times as CO2
19

20. CH4 & N2O emission by livestock category and source in 2009
20

21. Emissions by species
21
65 %

22. Chicken
egg & meat
0.6 GT
Pig meat
0.7 GT
Cattle milk &
beef
4.3 GT
22
Buffalo milk
& meat
0.6 GT
Small
ruminant
milk & meat
0.4 GT Gerber et al., 2013

23. 23
To eat
meat
OR
not to
eat?

24. Mitigation Strategies
24

25. 25
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……………

26. 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 practiced
Emissions can be cut-off by 30 %
26

27. 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.
27

28. 28

29. 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.
29

30. 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.
30

31. Plant material
(Cellulose, Hemicellulose)
Glucose
Acetate Butyrate Propionate
Hydrogen poolHydrogen pool
Carbon DioxideCarbon Dioxide Methane
Bacterial
Digestion
+ 2
+ 4 - 2
Methanogenic
Bacteria Action
Others
31
Rumen CH4
Production
Little amount
in hind gut

32. 32
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