By: Catherine Mungai (CCAFS), Maren Radeny (CCAFS), Seble Samuel (CCAFS), Hayden Montgomery (GRA) and Dawit Solomon (CCAFS)
Research findings on livestock greenhouse gas emissions in Eastern Africa are helping governments develop low-carbon and resilient livestock systems.
Climate change is transforming the planet’s ecosystems and threatening the wellbeing of current and future generations. To keep the increase in global temperature below 2°C and avoid dangerous climate change, reductions in global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are urgently required.
Globally, the livestock sector contributes a significant share to anthropogenic GHG emissions, but the sector also has the capacity to deliver a significant share of the necessary mitigation effort. As such, low emissions livestock development offers countries an opportunity to achieve economic gains and respond to climate change simultaneously.
Three Eastern African countries join the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases
African countries are taking ambitious actions towards reducing GHG emissions from agriculture. Ethiopia, Malawi and Uganda are now among the 56 countries and the first three in Eastern Africa who have joined the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases (GRA). This development originates from discussions initiated during the regional awareness raising workshop: 'Low emissions livestock: Supporting policy-making and implementation through science in East Africa'. The workshop was held at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, July 2-4, 2018.
Recent studies on agriculture and climate change in Africa point to a growing risk of failed seasons amongst farmers occasioned by a warmer climate. However, the situation is not all gloom and doom, as there are opportunities for innovation through adoption of appropriate climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices and policies that can help smallholder farmers sustain and improve their livelihoods. CSA integrates the three dimensions of sustainable development (economic, social and environmental) and entails a suite of technologies and practices that can increase productivity and incomes, enhance adaptation and build resilience to climate change, and where possible reduce Green House Gas (GHG) emissions.