Regreening the Drylands with Livestock: Climate Smart Pastoralism
Climate Smart Agriculture must include Climate Smart Pastoralism
Grasslands and rangelands make up vast areas of the earth’s surface
11 Shrub Cover, closed-open, evergreen
13 Herbaceous Cover, closed-open 14 Sparse herbaceous or sparse shrub cover
12 Shrub Cover, closed-open, deciduous
Pastoralists manage 40% of Sub-Saharan Africa
It is about livelihoods
Production fertilisants N
Energie fossile ferme
Déforestation
Sol cultivé
Désertification pâturages
Transformation
Transport
Fermentation ruminale
Effluents, stockage/traitement
Epandage fertilisants N
Production légumineuses
Effluents, stockage/traitement
Effluents, épandage/dépôt
Effluents, emission indirecte
CO2
CH4
N2O
Deforestation34%
Enteric fermentation26%
Manure
25%
Livestock Related Emissions by GHG
Chemical N. fert. production
On-farm fossil fuel
Deforestation
OM release from ag. soils
Pasture degradation
Processing fossil fuel
Transport fossil fuel
Enteric fermentation
Manure storage / processing
N fertilization
Legume production
Manure storage / processing
Manure spreading / dropping
Manu indirect emissionsSteinfeld, 2009
“Insatiable Carbon Absorbers”
Improving grazing land management has the second highest technical potential for mitigating C emissions (IPCC 2007)
Kenya’s Rangelands
• Grazing lands make up 40% of Kenya’s of total land area
• Dryland Grazing Systems under Sustainable Grazing Practices can sequester 0.05 – 0.7 Tonnes C/Ha/Yr
• Room for improvement because of land degradation
• Integrating trees (silvopastoral systems) ramp up the potential for carbon storage (along with other co-benefits)
Stewarding for Mitigation and Adaptation
Photos: C. Leggett
Managing Ecosystem Processes
Photos: C. Leggett
Solar Energy Flow
Biological Community DynamicsWater Cycle
Nutrient Dynamics
Photos: C. Leggett
water table
Non-effective water cycle Effective water cycle
Soil bare between plants Soil covered with plants and mulch
50-80% of rainfall is lost through run-off and evaporation.
After: www.managingwholes.com
1 % increase in SOM144,000 L H20 per Ha
Photo credit: C.Neely
Photo credit: C. Leggett
Photo credit: C. Leggett
Can livestock be used to manage ecosystems
processes?
Photos: C. Leggett, C. Neely
Planned grazing
RECOVERY PERIOD
Animal impact
Overgrazing and Land Degradation
Source: Belinda Low, Grevy’s Trust
Cessation of overgrazing alone could sequester 167.7 MtCO2e yr-1 globally (Conant and Paustian 2002).
Slide adapted from Belinda Low Grevy’s Zebra Trust
Photos: C. Neely, A. Savory
Regenerating Landscapes
Photo credits: A. SavoryPhotos: A. Savory
Recovery thanks to: Herders managing livestock using planned grazing
Slide Source: R. Hatfield, LWF
Il Ngwesi communityLaikipia
Decision Making in a Holistic Context
Photo: C. Neely
Slid
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dapt
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: R
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LWF
Exclude or Allow Animal Impact
Scaling up may require at least one hundred community mobilizers and thousands of herders
along with well placed learning sites
LaikipiaWestgateNorthern Rangelands TrustKajiadoTurkanaAmong others
Pastoralist Innovation Field SchoolSustainable Value/Benefit Chain
Kajiado, Kenya
Conservation Meat
Will climate change be the ultimate incentive to do what we have meant to be doing all
along?