Livestock and water

Mats Lannerstad

ILRI@40 Livestock and Environment workshopAddis Ababa, 7 November 2014

(Molden 2007)

Water scarcity limits food production

Litre per kilo meat “fears”

Lord Stern:

’Give up meat to save the planet’

(The Times 2009)

Blue Water

Irrigationfrom

Rivers & Aquifers

Human distribution

Water for feed growthEvapotranspiration 98% water livestock production

Green Water

Soil moisturefrom

Rainfall

Fixed to land

Water and livestock is complex

Water for livestockeven more complex

Water productivity of livestock productsa. Water productivity of feedsb. Water productivity of animals – inherent + managmentc. Water productivity of animals – feed mix

Local context determin water availabilityd. Climatic pre-conditionse. Local water cycle

Local imporantance of water useda. Human competing demandsb. Environmental impacts

Research solutions Reasearch how to capture system complexity:

Benefits of water uses- Untapped water productivity potential in livestock production- Livestock products vs. Food crops- Nutritional value, not only calories- Non-food benefits - developing vs. developed

Location importance of three water resources- Competing uses- Environmental impacts- Multi-currency perspective, not only water, not only provisioning

Assess local and global synergies and trade-offs to guide investments

Mats LannerstadLivestock Systems and Environment

Thank You!