LIVESTOCK AND GLOBAL WARMING: CURRENT

SCENARIO AND FUTURE STRATIGIES IN RELATION

TO CLIMATE CHANGE

PRESENTED BY PRAGYA BHADAURIA

Ph.D. 1ST YEAR

LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION AND MANAGEMENT

2010 warmest year ever, 0.7 above average (TOI)

Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C during last 100 years

Average sea level will likely rise 5 to 35 inches further during 21 century

(IPCC, 2007)

Inconvenient Truth

Melting of many of the world’s glaciers. Submergence of 18 islands already around the world Source: Roger Braithwaite, University of Manchester (UK)

40% of Himalayan glaciers would vanish by Year 2035

50 million people in coastal belt will be displaced by year 2100

According to the National Academy of Sciences:

The Earth's surface temperature has risen by about 1 degree Fahrenheit in the past century, with accelerated warming during the past two decades. There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities.

Human activities have altered the chemical composition of the atmosphere through the buildup of greenhouse gases – primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide .

(source: US-EPA)

Is the climate becoming warmer

and warmer?

Industrialization.

Deforestation

Wildfire

Driving vehicles

WHAT CAUSE THE TEMPERATURE OF THE ATMOSPHERE TO GO UP?

Livestock farming

Agriculture

Understanding Global Warming

Global warming – biggest issue in the world today.

Major Greenhouse Gases

Two main factors influencing global warming:- Depletion of the ozone layer - Increase in GHG emissions.

Due to an increased concentration of certain gases in the atmosphere i.e., greenhouse gas

Naturally occurring greenhouse gases: water vapor (H2O), CO2, CH4, N2O, O3, chlorofluorocarbons and hydro-chlorofluorocarbons.

CO2, CH4 and N2O are major global warming gases

(Olivier et al.,2007)

Global anthropogenic emission of Green house gases in 2007

Melting of glaciers.

Floods DroughtEarthquakeAcid

precipitation

Effects of GW on Environment

Global temperature rise of 0.3 – 0.6 0c during 21 century

(IPCC, 2007)

Glo

bal te

mp

era

ture

ch

an

ge

(0C

)

Average sea level rise of 10 – 25cm during 21 century. Threaten coastal areas, islands, wetlands

Pollute water in coastal areas by increasing salinity

0 2000 2020 2040 2060 2080 2100

100

80 60 40

20

Glo

bal S

ea level ri

se

(cm

)

(IPCC, 2007)

25 million environmental refugees in 2007 alone

Ocean acidification and water pollution causing oceanic dead zones and affecting marine life and ecosystem

80% of global fish stocks fully or over-exploited (FAO, 2007) Water scarcity and food insecurity

Atmospheric CO2 levels at 385 ppm steadily reaching 450 ppm ‘catastrophic’ level

(IPCC, 2007)

Effect of climate change on Livestock?

AFFECTS ON LIVESTOCK

Direct effects

Health

Indirect Effects

livestock pastures, forage

crop production

Heat stress

Biodiversity

Immune System

Diseases & Pests

Production

Growth

Reproduction.

(Hayhoe et al., 2007; Frumhoff et al., 2006)

The Direct Effects on Animal Body Temp. & Health

(Smit et al., 1996)

(Hahn and Morrow-Tesch, 1993)

Responses of an Animal to Potential Environmental Stressors

Effect on production

Rise in temp – Reduced milk efficiency

Higher in crossbreds Estimates of MY losses: 1.6 mt

(2020) 15

mt (2050)Effect drought power output, duration

of work & animal fatigue onset.

(Upadhyay et al., 2008)

Food intake

Efficiency of energy utilization

Thyroid activity (Thomas and Razdan, 1973)

Run Temp., oF

Humidity Night Temp., oF

Maintance ME, Mcal

DMI, lbs.

Milk, lbs.

1 60 50 50 16.38 48.8 85.3

2 90 50 60 18.27 47.2 77.8

3 90 70 60 19.95 46.6 73.1

4 90 70 75 19.95 39.8 57.7

5 90 70 75 19.95 40.8 65.7

Runs with the CNCPS model for a 1,400 lb. dairy cow

(Chase, 2006)

Predicted DMI & Milk Production

Indian Meteorological Department & Directorate of Animal Husbandry, various states

Region/districts

Seasonal Normal Temperature (°C)

Seasonal Milk Yield (l/day)

Winter Summer Rainy Winter Summer Rainy

Southern India:Tiruvanthapuram 26.93 28.35 26.74 5.68 5.62 5.70

Belgaum 22.50 27.12 23.50 3.72 3.50 3.64

Northern India:Karnal 15.87 30.80 28.87 10.30 8.47 9.10

Western India:Akola 23.04 32.01 27.71 3.96 3.80 3.86

Kota 19.5 31.88 29.33 3.07 2.83 2.93

(Sirohi and Michaelowa, 2007)

Seasonal Variations in Air Temp. & Productivity of Crossbred Cows: in

India

Effect on Reproduction

Inverse correlation betn environmental temp & sperm conc.

Decrease sperm motility

Increased abnormal morphology of sperm. eg. abnormal acrosome

Increased no. of dead sperm

Decreased total protein & albumin conc.

Decreased level of testosterone

(Sokol, 2006)

Effect on male reproduction

Alters gonads activity, reproductive rhythm & maturity.

(Prakash, 2002, Madan and Prakash, 2007)

Reduced diameter & volume of developing follicle.

(Badinga et al., 1993)

Reduction of 17-B estradiol during estrus. (Wilson et al., 1998)

Decrease in Intensity , Duration of estrous & Pregnancy rate. ( Rao and Pandey, 1982)

Effect on female reproduction

Increased cortisol level block estradiol induced sexual behaviour.

(Elvinger et al., 1992)

Uterine blood flow decrease 20-30% in ewe with 100C increase in core temp.

(Hein & Allrich, 1992)

Conception rates declines in Bos taurus cattle for temperatures above 23.4 °C and at high values of THI.

(Amundson et al., 2005)

(Klinedinst et al. 1993)

Relationtionship betn Temp. & Pregnancy Rate

( Badinga et al., 1985)

Cattle Conceptions vs. Air Temperature

Effect on embryo:– Reduced vascular perfusion to placental bed.

(Alexander et al., 1987)

– Reduced oxygen ,water, nutrient, hormone supply to embryo.

– Alteration in uterine endometrial secretion.

– Reduce embryo proportional development.

(Ealy et al., 1995)– Retarded fetal growth.

(Collier et al., 1982)– Intrauterine growth retardation produces Dwarf & stunted

offspring with skeletal abnormality.

(Brown & Harrison, 1981)

Effect on embryo

(Brown & Harrison, 1981)

Affect the quality and quantity of forage produced. (Baker and Viglizzo, 1998)

Hamper the productivity of grazing livestock.(Topp and Doyle, 1996)

Impacts on livestock pastures, forage crop production, quality

and price

Uttarakhand & Himachal Pradesh – famous for apples belt shifted to higher altitude from 1500-2200mt.

Laddakh with less agriculture possibilities, now available with varieties of crop. (bitter guard, watermelon, tomato etc).

Farmers are switching over the crop requiring less water. Growing upland land rice varieties, require stagnant water.

Via effects on:

- Pathogens

- Hosts

- Vectors

(Sutherst et al., 1996)

Effects on infectious diseases of animals

INDIA: A Hot Spot Zoological society of London identify ‘Hot spot” for emerging

infectious diseases (EID) in low latitudes of South Asia & S-E Asia.

Changing weather patterns could widens the habitat of disease bearing insects. (IPCC, 2007)

Increased insect population & more vector borne diseases.

FMD virus Anthrax bacillus Hook Worm

Climate change and pathogens

Rinderpest in Africa

• Increased temp leads to expansion of vector populations in high altitudes.

• Malaria which is hardly found in Nanital (2000 mt, above sea level) are now common.

• The spread of new influenza A (H1N1) bet feb 2009 in Gulf coasts.

(Alexander 2000,2007; Velkers et al 2006)

European Temp. Change: 1980s v 1990s

Spread of BTV in northern Europe

“”

Bluetongue:

vector-borne disease of ruminants transmitted by biting midges

Van Dijk & Baylis, 2007

In Indian Context Temp, humidity & rainfall variations (52 - 84%) effect the

seasonality of FMD in cattle in AP and Maharashtra. (Ramarao, 1988; Sharma et al.,

1991)

Higher incidence of clinical mastitis in dairy animals during hot and humid weather due to increased heat stress and greater fly popn.

(Singh et al., 1996)

Aggravate the infestation of cattle ticks like, Boophilus microplus, Haemaphysalis bispinosa & Hyalomma anatolicum. (Singh et al., 2000; Basu and Bandhyopadhyay, 2004; Kumar et al., 2004).

NLKH

Climate change responsible for at least one emerging or re-emerging disease occurring on their territory. (OIE)

Temp has direct effect on lifecycle of flukes.

Mas- Coma et al., (1987) and Mouritsen (2002)

Global warming may enhance the local impact of trematodes.

Polin (2006)

Temp, water body, rainfall, and attitude have significant effect Schistosomiasis & IH lifecycle

Fenwick et al., (2007)

Climate change affect the geographical distribution of Fresh water snails.

Morgan et al., (2001)

Climate change modify the present low, moderate & high risk area into hyperendemic areas.

Fuentes et al., (2001)

Climate change and parasites

An average 2% rise in UV-B per 1% drop in stratospheric ozone, increasing the risk of cataracts, skin cancers, immunosuppression & susceptibility to infection.

(Hoffman, 1991)

The lens of the eye prone to photooxidation by O- radicals generated by UV-B irradiation.

(Taylor, 1990)

UV-B inhibit cell-mediated immunity (delayed-type hypersensitivity) & immunosurveillance of transformed epidermal cells.

(Morison,1989)

Affect circulating level of lymphocytes (Kamwanja et al., 1994)

Effect on immune system

past today tomorrow

Habitat loss

Habitatloss

Effect on Biodiversity

4000 breeds of cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goat, ass, horse, pig has lost.

16% become instinct.

12% become rare.

20% of reported breeds are classified as at risk. (FAO)

• At

30% plant & animal vulnerable if temp increases 1.5 - 2.50C.

(IPCC, 1996)

Affect of Livestock on climate change

LIVESTOCK – WHY ?

“In the climate

change debate,

when it comes to

ranking culprits

behind methane

emission, Indian

livestock are

reckoned to leave

transport and other

sectors far behind”’

“Cattle produce more global warming gases than car” (U.N.) report

November 30, 2006

Globally livestock sector, fastest growing sector Provide livelihoods to about 1.3 billon people 30 % : Permanent pasture 33 % : Global arable land (fodder production) Wide-scale land degradation: 20 % of pasture degraded through

overgrazing and erosion

news release from the U.N. "Livestock's Long Shadow“

Now the rising concentration of methane is correlated with increasing populations and currently about 70% of methane

production arises from anthropogenic sources.

Livestock business is among the most damaging

Sector to the earth

As methane is 23 times as warming than CO2 BAIF trustee Narayan G Hegde

(IPCC, 2007)

“Livestock’s contribution to environmental

problems is on a massive scale and its potential contribution

to their solution is equally large. The

impact is so significant that it needs to be

addressed with urgency.”

U.N. Food & Agriculture Organization, 2006

18%

16%

14%13%

10%

10%

6%5%

4% 4%livestock

industry

transport

energy

agriculture

residential building

deforestation

commercial building

waste

other

Contribution of different sectors in methane production in India (% of

total)

Source: US-EPA, 2000

http://www.epa.gov/methane/intlanalyses.html

Rice11%

Natural gas15%

Coal8%

Oil1%

Solid waste13%

Waste water10%

Fuel mobile1%Biofuel combus-

tion4%

Biomass burning5%

Enteric fermenta-tion28%

Manure4%

Global antropogenic sources of Methane

(IPCC, 2007)India has largest livestock

population in the world & emitabout 10.8 MT of CH4 annually. (Singh and Sikka,

2007)

Two-thirds come from enteric fermentation and one-third from livestock manure.

(Sirohi and Michaelowa, 2007)

Contribution of agricultural activities in methane production (% of total

agricultural contribution)

Crossbred Indigenous Buffalo Average0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

4-12 months 1-3 yr Milking Dry cows Heifers Others

kg/f

emal

e/ye

ar)

Singhal et al., 2005

Between 1997 and 2003, buffalo population in the country increased by eight million, 50% of these are adult dairy buffalo which emit the highest level of methane among livestock categories. K.R. Manjunath and Abha Chhabra

Mitigating Climate Change

Possible Strategies

Shading Natural or artificial

Reduced rectal temp by 2 – 4.1 %

Reduced RR by 29-60 %

DMI increased by 6.8-23.2%

MY increased by 9.4 – 22.7 %

(Valtorta et al., 1996) Ventilation – force ventilation by using fans.

Evaporative cooling – by using misters, foggers and sprinkling system.

mean 150 d My by 3.5 kg /d

effect was greater with increasing age

(Wolfenson et al., 1998)

SHELTER MANAGEMENT

Reduction of livestock density

Trapping GHG from the animal barn by fixing efficient filters is

possible using modern technology.

(N .G Hegde)

Use of microbes that have the capacity to absorb methane and convert it into other products.

MANIPULATION THROUGH MANURE HANDLING AND

STORAGE.

C:N ratio of the manure O2 exposure : Reduces CH4 Increased surface area increases gas release

DIETARY IMPROVEMENT

Improve feed conversion efficiency Supplementation of microelements/electrolytes as its absorption

decreases (Kume et al., 1989) Addition of fat & readily available source of energy.

Supplementation with 0.55 % Na more DMI & MY than 0.18%

( Schneider et al., 1986) Frequent feeding, improved forage quality ,increase energy density.

Urea-molasses mineral block, Oilseed cakes, Indian herbal, prebiotic and probiotic reduce methane emission by 20%, provide more nutrient.

Methane Abatement Options in Ruminant

Dietary Manipulation

Concentrate proportion

Grazing manegment

Additives

Molasses/ UMNBFats,Oil

Direct Inhibitors: bromochloromethane amichloral, chloroform,chloral hydrate etc

Tannins, saponins

Manegement

Rumen manipulation

Animal numbers

Forage quality

Alternativelivestock system

Efficiency

Genetic engineeri

ngDefaunation

AntibioticsBacteriocinAcetogenes

Archaeal Viruses

Probiotics

Longevity of dairy

animals

Ionophores: monensin, lasalocid, salinomycin

Propionate enhancers/Orga nic acids: fumarate, malate

Essential oils

digestibility of forage

Methane oxidizers

Conc. type

Animal ProductivityLeguminous fodder

Information system on animal

response to THI under different agro climatic zones.

Allele miniging for abiotic stress Development of molecular marker (HSP)

Development of new drugs & vaccines Setting of gene bank & conservation of AnGr

Reduction of GHG’s emission : Use of GHG emitters Adoption of cost effective energy efficient

technologies in electricity generators transmission distribution and end use

Shift to renewable source of energy Forest conservation, reforestation & sustainable

forest practices

Surveillance & Monitoring Geographic information system (GIS) for

monitoring climate change & spread of diseases

Strong Veterinary health services By medication & vaccination in diseased prone

areas

Reorienting breeding policies Strengthening livestock insurance Managing common property recourses Revamping extension services Policies & measures: The COP1, COP2, COP3, COP4 met respectively in Berlin

(1995), Geneva(1996), Kyoto (1997) and Buenos-Aires (1998) to decide on strategies of reduction of radiatively active trace gases.

Clean Development Mechanism(CDM):

Arrangement under the Kyoto Protocol allowing industrialized countries with a greenhouse gas reduction commitment to invest in emission reducing projects in developing countries.

Carbon credits are certificates issued to countries that reduce their emission of GHG(greenhouse gases) which causes global warming.

1 C credit = 1 ton C sequestered beyond a base value before improved management

Credits sold through marketsChicago Climate ExchangeTo date, few trades because of

voluntary market

Producers may economically benefit from increased C sequestration by selling C credits

to industries producing GH

Conclusion

The livestock production system is sensitive to climate change and at the same time itself a contributor to the phenomenon.

In India, climate change has the potential to be an increasingly formidable challenge to the development of the livestock sector.

This sector has a very important role in the economic progress of the country as it contributes 26% to the agricultural GDP and provides employment to 18 million people.

Responding to the challenge of climate change requires formulation of appropriate adaptation and mitigation options for the sector.

To counter the adverse effect of climate change on animal production and health, human intervention for physical modification of the environment and improvement in nutritional management practices would be additionally required.

In Indian Context, Field experiments involving some nutritional technologies

for improvement in rumen efficiency and Dietary manipulation have shown encouraging results.

The livestock development strategy in the changing climate scenario should essentially focus on minimization of potential production losses resulting from climate change.

“I am speaking to all world citizens, and particularly world leaders , that we must take urgent action to fight against climate change.

Unless we take action now, we will regret deeply for the future of our humanity, for the

future of our planet earth”. Ban Ki Moon

UN Secretary General

Our precious planet

Thank you