Global estimates of the impacts of grassland degradation on livestock productivity from 2001 to 2011

Abstract

In response to the needs for estimating the cost of grassland degradation to determine the cost of inaction and for identifying cost-effective strategies to address the consequent loss of livestock productivity, we developed a modeling framework where global statistics databases and remote sensing data/analyses coupled with empirical/statistical modeling are designed to quantify the global cost of grassland degradation. By using this framework, we identified grassland degradation hotspots over the period of 2001 to 2011 and estimated changes in livestock productivity associated with changes in grassland productivity within the hotspots. Ignoring environmental benefits and losses in live weight of livestock not slaughtered or sold, the cost of livestock productivity was estimated about 2007 US$6.8 billion. Although on-farm cost is small in Sub-Saharan Africa due to the low livestock productivity, the impact on human welfare would be much more severe in the region where majority of the population is below the poverty line. This implies that addressing grassland degradation is even more urgent in the region, given the increasing demand for livestock products and the potential contribution to poverty reduction. Taking action toward grassland degradation could simultaneously reduce poverty and promote carbon sequestration while conserving socio-economic, cultural, and ecological benefits that livestock provide.