Global Warming and Livestock in Dry Areas: Expected Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation

Abstract

In most developing countries livestock is the key asset for rural people providing multiple economic, social and risk management functions. Rangelands contribute to the livelihoods of over 800 million people including poor smallholders. The arid area of the globe is home for extensive livestock production mainly based on small ruminants. The most important sheared characteristic of such zones, despite the high variety of biotopes, is aridity with a very erratic pattern of rainfall and extended periods of high temperatures. These two factors together with a higher frequency of extreme climatic events will be amplified under the perspective of global warming thus affecting negatively food availability through the seasons of the year. The impacts that climate change will bring about are expected to exacerbate the vulnerability of livestock systems and to reinforce existing factors that are simultaneously affecting livestock production systems such as rapid population and economic growth, increased demand for food and products, and increased conflicts over scarce resources (e.g. land tenure, water, and feed). There is an urgent need for detailed assessment of climate change impacts in each production system and for identifying appropriate options that can help livestock keepers adapt to climate change. This chapter summarizes current knowledge on global warming, discusses its impacts on the different components of the production systems and reports technical options to overcome negative effects of climate change on the livestock productivity and health and sustainability of livestock-based production systems. The approach recommended to transfer and adopt these options is also discussed.