Biodiversity and the livestock sector - Guidelines for quantitative assessment

Biodiversity and the livestock sector - Guidelines for quantitative assessment PDF Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9251327459
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 142

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Book Description
The Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on biodiversity, hereafter called Biodiversity TAG, is composed of 25 international experts in ecology, biodiversity indicators, agronomy, life cycle assessment, livestock production systems, and environmental science. Their backgrounds, complementary between systems and regions, allowed them to understand and address different perspectives. The aim of the methodology developed in these guidelines is to introduce a harmonized international approach for assessing the impacts of livestock on biodiversity. The livestock sector is a major user of natural resources (land in particular) and an important contributor to pollution (e.g. causing nutrient losses, increasing greenhouse gas emissions), which makes it one of the sectors with the highest impact on biodiversity. At the same time, livestock production is one of the few sectors with not only negative but also positive impacts on biodiversity; therefore, the sector can pull two levers to improve its biodiversity performance – mitigate harm and maximize benefits. Many environmental assessments of the livestock sector have not addressed biodiversity because of its intrinsic complexity. These guidelines strive to include biodiversity in environmental assessments, in order to increase the understanding of the impacts of livestock on biodiversity and to reveal possible synergies or trade-offs with other environmental criteria or Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Several indicators in these guidelines are also of relevance for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

Biodiversity and the livestock sector - Guidelines for quantitative assessment

Biodiversity and the livestock sector - Guidelines for quantitative assessment PDF Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9251327459
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 142

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on biodiversity, hereafter called Biodiversity TAG, is composed of 25 international experts in ecology, biodiversity indicators, agronomy, life cycle assessment, livestock production systems, and environmental science. Their backgrounds, complementary between systems and regions, allowed them to understand and address different perspectives. The aim of the methodology developed in these guidelines is to introduce a harmonized international approach for assessing the impacts of livestock on biodiversity. The livestock sector is a major user of natural resources (land in particular) and an important contributor to pollution (e.g. causing nutrient losses, increasing greenhouse gas emissions), which makes it one of the sectors with the highest impact on biodiversity. At the same time, livestock production is one of the few sectors with not only negative but also positive impacts on biodiversity; therefore, the sector can pull two levers to improve its biodiversity performance – mitigate harm and maximize benefits. Many environmental assessments of the livestock sector have not addressed biodiversity because of its intrinsic complexity. These guidelines strive to include biodiversity in environmental assessments, in order to increase the understanding of the impacts of livestock on biodiversity and to reveal possible synergies or trade-offs with other environmental criteria or Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Several indicators in these guidelines are also of relevance for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.

Principles for the assessment of livestock impacts on biodiversity

Principles for the assessment of livestock impacts on biodiversity PDF Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9251095213
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 174

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Book Description
The provision of guidance for the quantitative assessment of biodiversity in live¬stock and other sectors is an emerging area of work. This document represents an initial step in which international experts with various backgrounds shared their views on biodiversity assessment. The general objective of this document was to de-velop principles applicable to different assessment methods in order to guarantee a minimum level of soundness, transparency, scientific relevance, and completeness. These principles can be used to identify crucial elements of livestock systems that affect biodiversity, to monitor changes and make improvements, and to produce assessment results for internal or external communication.

Biodiversity Integrated Assessment and Computation Tool | B-INTACT – Guidelines

Biodiversity Integrated Assessment and Computation Tool | B-INTACT – Guidelines PDF Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 925133983X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 58

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Book Description
Biodiversity loss is accelerating at an unprecedented rate across the planet putting a great number of species on the brink of extinction. A decline in the plants, animals, and microorganisms threatens food security, sustainable development, and the supply of vital ecosystem services. In order to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda, there is an urgent need to take action to halt biodiversity loss and consequently ecosystem degradation. Since the introduction of the Aichi targets, released by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2010, the United Nations have been empowered with greater influence on decision-making impacting biodiversity. However, there was an urgent need for an easy-to-use tool to rapidly, yet effectively assess the impact on biodiversity posed by projects, programmes, and policies. As a timely response, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has developed the Biodiversity Integrated Assessment and Computation Tool (B-INTACT). B-INTACT extends the scope of environmental assessments to capture biodiversity concerns, which are not accounted for in conventional carbon pricing. The tool is designed for users ranging from national investment banks, international financial institutions and policy decision-makers, and allows for a thorough biodiversity assessment of project-level activities in the Agriculture, Forestry and Land Use (AFOLU) sector. The second version of the guidelines includes additional information on how to use B-INTACT together with FAO's Earthmap platform and the Ecosystem Service Valuation Database.

Nutrient Flows and associated environmental impacts in livestock supply chains. Guidelines for assessment

Nutrient Flows and associated environmental impacts in livestock supply chains. Guidelines for assessment PDF Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9251309019
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Book Description
The aim of the methodology developed in these guidelines is to introduce a harmonized international approach assessing nutrient flows and impact assessment for eutrophication and acidification for livestock supply chains taking the specificity of the various production systems involved into consideration. The methodology strives to increase understanding of nutrient use efficiency and associated environmental impacts and to facilitate the improvement of livestock systems’ environmental performance. The guidelines are a product of the Livestock Environmental Assessment and Performance (LEAP) Partnership, a multi-stakeholder initiative whose goal is to improve the environmental sustainability of livestock sector through better metrics and data. Nutrient use in livestock production systems increased over the last decades due to the increased demand for livestock production. This demand is mainly driven by the increase in the population growth, population income, and urbanization. Consequently, in livestock supply chains, nutrient losses into the environment have contributed to environmental burdens such as climate change, air and water pollution, degradation of soil quality, loss of biodiversity and human health issues. Therefore, there is strong interest in measuring nutrient flows to improve the environmental performance of the livestock sector. The objectives of these guidelines are: •To develop a harmonized, science-based approach resting on a consensus among the sector’s stakeholders; •To recommend a scientific, but at the same time practical, an approach that builds on existing or developing methodologies; •To promote a harmonised approach to assess nutrient flows and impact assessment, relevant for global livestock supply chains; •To identify the principal areas where ambiguity or differing views exist concerning the methodological framework. During the development process, these guidelines were submitted for technical review and public review. The purpose is to strengthen the advice provided and ensure it meets the needs of those seeking to improve nutrient use efficiency and environmental performance through sound assessment practice. This document is not intended to remain static. It will be updated and improved as the sector evolves and more stakeholders become involved in the LEAP, and as new methodological frameworks and data become available. The guidelines developed by the LEAP Partnership gain strength because they represent a multi-actor coordinated cross-sectoral and international effort to harmonize assessment approaches. Ideally, the harmonization leads to greater understanding, transparent application and communication of metrics, and, not least, real and measurable improvement in environmental performance.

Livestock's Long Shadow

Livestock's Long Shadow PDF Author: Henning Steinfeld
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9789251055717
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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Book Description
"The assessment builds on the work of the Livestock, Environment and Development (LEAD) Initiative"--Pref.

Evaluation of the project "Livestock Environmental Assessment and Performance (LEAP) Partnership"

Evaluation of the project Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9251362572
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 84

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Book Description
The evaluation of the project “Livestock Environmental Assessment and Performance (LEAP) Partnership” covered the three phases of the LEAP Partnership (2012–2021). The evaluation found that the project responded to an existing demand to advance towards a science-based benchmarking of the environmental performance of the livestock sector. The LEAP partnership was a cost-effective approach that contributed to consensus building and greater understanding of the factors influencing environmental performance by providing a neutral forum for discussion and negotiation. The evaluation provides six recommendations: i) strengthen the project’s theory of change to reflect the complexity of learning and innovation, including gender perspective; ii) strengthen the multi-stakeholder partnership governance, management and procedures; iii) strengthen collaboration with other initiatives such as the Global Agenda for Sustainable Livestock (GASL) and the Global Livestock Environmental Assessment Model (GLEAM); iv) reduce the budget uncertainty through improved long-term planning and a strengthened resource mobilization strategy; v) update and improve the dissemination strategy; and vi) develop an outreach strategy with clear goals.

Farming, Food and Nature

Farming, Food and Nature PDF Author: Joyce D'Silva
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351010999
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
Livestock production and its use of finite resources is devastating biodiversity and pushing wildlife to the brink of extinction. This powerful book examines the massive global impact caused by intensive livestock production and then explores solutions, ranging from moving to agroecological farming to reducing consumption of animal products, including examples of best practice and innovation, both on land and within the investment and food industries. Leading international contributors spell out the problems in terms of planetary limits, climate change, resources, the massive use of cereals and soy for animal feed, and the direct impact of industrial farming on the welfare of farmed animals. They call for an urgent move to a flourishing food system for the sake of animals, the planet and us. Some offer examples of global good practice in farming or the power of the investment community to drive change, and others highlight food business innovation and exciting developments in protein diversification. Providing a highly accessible overview of key issues, this book creates a timely resource for all concerned about the environmental, social and ethical issues facing food, farming and nature. It will be an invaluable resource and provide inspiration for students, professionals, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the general reader.

Conducting National Feed Assessments

Conducting National Feed Assessments PDF Author: Michael B. Coughenour
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO)
ISBN: 9789251073322
Category : Animal feeding
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The aim of this manual is to provide guidance and tools to countries in developing National Feed Assessments (NFAs), based on lessons learned from current approaches across a wide range of feed situations. Global and country-level feed situations are reviewed to highlight the need for quantitative assessments of livestock feeds in both developed and developing countries. Broad guidelines for the development of NFAs are provided, followed by detailed case studies and descriptions of methodologies that have been implemented in a variety of countries worldwide.

Framework for Action on Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture

Framework for Action on Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture PDF Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9251356432
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 56

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Book Description
Biodiversity for food and agriculture comprises all the components of biodiversity that contribute to crop and livestock production, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture – both wild and domesticated, and at genetic, species and ecosystem levels. It is vital to food security and nutrition, livelihoods and the supply of a range of ecosystem services. The Framework for Action on Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture was endorsed by the FAO Council in 2021. It contains more than 50 individual actions grouped into three strategic priority areas: characterization, assessment and monitoring; management (sustainable use and conservation); and institutional frameworks. It was developed in response to the country-driven report on The State of the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture.

Tackling Climate Change Through Livestock

Tackling Climate Change Through Livestock PDF Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 925107920X
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 139

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Book Description
Greenhouse gas emissions by the livestock sector could be cut by as much as 30 percent through the wider use of existing best practices and technologies. FAO conducted a detailed analysis of GHG emissions at multiple stages of various livestock supply chains, including the production and transport of animal feed, on-farm energy use, emissions from animal digestion and manure decay, as well as the post-slaughter transport, refrigeration and packaging of animal products. This report represents the most comprehensive estimate made to-date of livestocks contribution to global warming as well as the sectors potential to help tackle the problem. This publication is aimed at professionals in food and agriculture as well as policy makers.