Writing in the November 2014 issue of Rural 21, Uta Dickhöfer, Klaus Butterbach-Bahl and David Pelster explain that while livestock production is responsible for a large amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions there are numerous approaches to reduce these emissions and thus lower environmental pollution caused by livestock husbandry.
The article shows where interventions are possible and which hurdles have to be cleared in implementing the various measures needed.
They conclude: “Livestock production systems are responsible for a large amount of anthropogenic GHG emissions. However, there is also an opportunity for large emission reductions through improved (system-specific) feeding and manure management, primarily in low-yielding smallholder production systems of many developing countries. Accurate quantification of the reductions in GHG emissions (or emission intensities) and the development of sustainable intensification strategies require empirical data on existing (in particular smallholder) systems using a holistic, multidisciplinary systems approach.”
Recent articles by Klaus Butterbach-Bahl
Sustainable livestock systems 