CGIAR Initiative on Livestock and Climate

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/114642

LCSR aims to directly enable 600,000 producers (at least 40% women) in nine countries to better prepare for and manage uncertain futures by improving security of access to resources and adopting management practices that enhance their climate-related adaptive capacities (livestock assets) while ensuring household equity and reducing GHGe intensities.

Part of the CGIAR Action Area on Resilient Agrifood Systems

Primary CGIAR impact area: Climate adaptation and mitigation

https://www.cgiar.org/initiative/34-livestock-climate-and-system-resilience/

Browse

Now showing 1 - 20 of 1304

Building resilience through dynamic monitoring of shocks and enhanced access to near-real-time information using citizen science and crowdsourcing techniques: A report of a national stakeholder engagement workshop in Ethiopia
(Report, 2025-03-30) Shikuku, Kelvin Mashisia; Lepariyo, Watson; Gobu, Wako; Godana, Nura; Baraza, Meshack; Ochenje, Ibrahim; Banerjee, Rupsha R.
The International Livestock Research Institute, with funding support from the Supporting Pastoralism and Agriculture in Recurrent and Protracted Crises (SPARC) programme, has established and monitored sentinel sites in five counties in Kenya and in the Borena, Afder, and East Hararghe zones in Ethiopia. The work is implemented under the Drought Index-insurance for Resilience in the Sahel and Horn of Africa (DIRISHA) project. Through the DIRISHA project, transect sites have been constructed, markets monitored, and households surveyed by “contributors” recruited using a participatory approach that includes community members and local leaders. Crowdsourced data are gathered using the KAZNET smartphone application. Dissemination of near-real-time information is achieved by combining social learning and digital innovations. This report summarizes insights generated during a participatory multi-stakeholder workshop in Ethiopia aimed at sharing DIRISHA project learnings and exploring prospects for incorporating KAZNET into climate risk management and food system transformation initiatives in Ethiopia.
Improving Governance, Management and Restoration Practices
(Brief, 2025-03-15) CGIAR Research Initiative on Livestock and Climate; International Livestock Research Institute
The CGIAR Research Initiative on Livestock and Climate aimed to address livestock system climate adaptation and mitigation through five interrelated work packages. This series of Work Package Results Fact Sheets details our key outcome results. Livestock and Climate Initiative Work Package 3 (WP3) responded to the challenges facing pastoral systems. These systems support 46% of global ruminant production and are increasingly threatened by grazing land loss, fragmentation, degradation and long-term neglect. Climate change acts as a threat multiplier, intensifying existing risks and insecurities in livestock systems, leading to further stresses, tensions and conflicts. Recognizing the urgent need for intervention, WP3 concentrated on developing participatory and sustainable rangeland management approaches to build community capacities to better manage, govern and restore their lands to enhance resilience and productivity. WP3 focused on livestock production systems, particularly pastoralism, including agro- pastoralism and silvopastoralism and the land and resources on which these systems depend. Focus countries were Colombia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Tunisia, with limited interventions in Senegal. Work package staff worked closely with national and local governments, with national NGOs playing a role in implementing innovations and building capacities. The government took up many work package innovations.
Technologies in a Social Context
(Brief, 2025-03-15) CGIAR Initiative on Livestock and Climate; International Livestock Research Institute
The CGIAR Research Initiative on Livestock and Climate aimed to address livestock system climate adaptation and mitigation through five interrelated work packages. This series of Work Package Results Fact Sheets details our key outcome results. Work Package 1 (WP1) focused on the development, analysis and dissemination of the adaptation and mitigation dimensions of climate-smart livestock technologies. Working in Colombia, Ethiopia, Tunisia and Kenya, WP1 focused on co-developing practices with producers and characterizing socioeconomic and environmental effects. WP1 invested substantially in producer-led innovation development and scaling to strengthen knowledge exchange networks among producers, extensionists, researchers, local government and private sector actors to promote adaptive capacity.
Science to Unlock Climate Investments
(Brief, 2025-03-15) CGIAR Research Initiative on Livestock and Climate; International Livestock Research Institute
The CGIAR Research Initiative on Livestock and Climate aimed to address livestock system climate adaptation and mitigation through five interrelated work packages. This series of Work Package Results Fact Sheets details our key outcome results. Livestock and Climate initiative’s Work Package 4 (WP4) responds to the critical challenge of increasing support for resilient and low-emission livestock systems by supporting public and private sector support in livestock by designing and tracking livestock investments that contribute to climate mitigation and adaptation, leveraging research-driven innovations and strategic partnerships. Our work focused on identifying priority regions, strengthening the business case for climate action in livestock systems and improving tools for measuring and verifying climate outcomes. WP4 operated globally, emphasizing regions and countries where the initiative was active, including Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. The initiative engaged primarily with investors to ensure financial flows into livestock systems sustainability and resilience.
Delivering Bundled Gender Sensitive Livestock Climate Information Services
(Brief, 2025-03-15) CGIAR Research Initiative on Livestock and Climate; International Livestock Research Institute
The CGIAR Research Initiative on Livestock and Climate aimed to address livestock system climate adaptation and mitigation through five interrelated work packages. This series of Work Package Results Fact Sheets details our key outcome results. Between 2022 and 2024, Work Package 2 (WP2) responded to the critical challenges faced by livestock systems in low- and middle-income countries, notably vulnerability to climate hazards such as drought, climate variability and extreme weather events. Because livestock production is essential for poverty reduction, nutrition security and sustainable livelihoods, and because it is highly vulnerable to climate risks, WP2 developed and scaled integrated climate-related service interventions to enhance climate risk management. Our approach was to deliver tailored and gender-sensitive climate information services, participatory agro-climate advisories, innovative financial products (insurance and climate- linked credit) and digital market intelligence tools.
Improving the Enabling Policy Environment for More Resilient, Low-Emission Livestock Agrifood Systems
(Brief, 2025-03-15) CGIAR Research Initiative on Livestock and Climate; International Livestock Research Institute
The CGIAR Research Initiative on Livestock and Climate aimed to address livestock system climate adaptation and mitigation through five interrelated work packages. This series of Work Package Results Fact Sheets details our key outcome results. The Initiatives Work package 5 (WP5) focused on improving the enabling policy environment to adapt livestock production systems to be more resilient and generate lower emissions. This area of work focused on addressing gaps in the enabling policy environment by enhancing monitoring and reporting on climate-related livestock adaptation and mitigation targets, as well as providing data and systems to inform policies and investments designed to strengthen system resilience and support climate change adaptation and mitigation. The WP5 researchers also engaged with partners to deepen their understanding of climate- resilient and low-emission livestock systems, including assisting governments in more accurately quantifying and tracking the role of livestock in national and global climate- related commitments while promoting knowledge creation and sharing. A focus of WP5 was integrating livestock evidence into climate-related global platforms and conventions.
The talk of the day: Communities and AICCRA partners co-produce climate radio drama in Kenya
(Blog Post, 2025-02-13) Onyango, Polycarp Otieno; Bullock, Renee; Majiwa, Hamilton
Radio is a powerful tool for sharing climate information, particularly with rural communities in Africa. On World Radio Day, learn how AICCRA and partners are collaborating with FM radio stations and communities to develop and promote climate information and agro-advisories through radio to more than 400,000 listeners in Kenya. In the arid and semi-arid lands of Kenya, pastoralists and agro-pastoralists are seeking knowledge on climate adaptation and are implementing various innovative practices, including diversification into food and crop production, to better cope with climate-related challenges. To support these efforts, AICCRA, the Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD), Association of Women in Agriculture Kenya (AWAK), county government extension, and community groups are scaling access to and use of drought-tolerant crops, best agronomical practices and climate information services, and seasonal forecasts, using a unique channel: co-produced radio drama and radio talk shows on county FM radio stations.
Supporting the National Framework for Climate Services in Guatemala and the Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action on Sustainable Livestock in El Salvador
(Brief, 2025-01-16) Hernandez Quevedo, Monica Paola; Martinez, Karen Michelle; Ruden, Alejandro; Costa, Ciniro; Navarro Racines, Carlos Eduardo
The Livestock and Climate Initiative helped governments find ways to reduce the impacts of climate variability on livestock producers. Under Work Package 5, our implementing partner, the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT (the Alliance), worked with the government and other stakeholders in Guatemala to establish a regulatory framework aimed at creating a governance and coordination instrument to strengthen the country’s climate information services, and ultimately help reduce annual livestock losses from floods and droughts. The National Framework for Climate Services (NFCS) will be a major government policy instrument able to influence the creation or modification of government policies and regulations for future climate services. In El Salvador, the policy work of the Alliance focused on helping develop a Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA) for sustainable livestock.
Developing approaches for more socially inclusive climate-smart livestock practices
(Brief, 2025-01-16) Bullock, Renee; Dutta Gupta, Tanaya; Najjar, Dina; Oueslati, Dorsaf; Hassan, Sawsan; Triana-Angel, Natalia; Pazos, Mateo
Gender and social inclusion were mainstreamed across all work packages within the CGIAR Research Initiative on Livestock and Climate. The focus within Work Packages 1 and 3 was on household and systems-level research. Researchers generated evidence to address critical research gaps in understanding how intra-household and community-wide social dynamics impact and interact with adaptation capacities that bolster resilience by working with communities and partners in priority sites in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Tunisia and Colombia. Initiative gender researchers and interdisciplinary teams and partners then identified and co-designed gender accommodative and transformative approaches to support socially inclusive adaptation and resilient communities and landscapes. Evidence across work packages informed the development of tailored approaches that were piloted to address specific needs, access to resources and adaptive capacities. Two primary pathways were identified to 1) collate evidence and research gaps and 2) implement and scale approaches for socially inclusive adaptation.
Scaling, improving and supporting participatory rangeland management
(Brief, 2025-01-17) Flintan, Fiona E.; Sircely, Jason; Nganga, Irene; Eba, Bedasa; Olesikilal, Birikaa
Participatory rangeland management (PRM) builds the capacity of communities in pastoral areas to better plan, manage and govern their lands. Communities lead the process, and a rangeland management institution (RMI) is strengthened or established as the responsible authority for PRM. Originating in Ethiopia, PRM has been developed and improved over many years and expanded to countries in East Africa. Under the Livestock and Climate Initiative, the focus has been on strengthening gender and social equity initiatives within PRM, building capacities for scaling and influencing the policy environment. Today with support of the Livestock and Climate Initiative PRM is being implemented to varying degrees across more than 2 million hectares in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania, with opportunities ahead for it to expand to other countries across the continent. In Kenya and Ethiopia some of the sites are co-implemented with the project HEAL (One Health for Humans, Environment, Animals and Livelihoods) and AICCRA (Accelerating Impact of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa).
Hard truths on the delivery of climate Information to small-scale farmers
(Presentation, 2024-11) Ramirez Villegas, Julian
Climate variability affects crop and livestock production across the globe, with an estimated 21.6 billion USD in reported losses in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). Weather and climate services are one important measure to help producers anticipate and manage short-term climatic variations. This presentation shows a few lessons learned from our work at the Alliance on weather and climate services across Africa and other continents.
Gestión de un esquema de Apoyo Financiero a Terceros (AFT) para Organizaciones Sociales de Base (OSB)
(Manual, 2025-03) Pabon Rojas, Alvaro Dario; Pabón Rojas, Álvaro Darío; Melo, William; Sotelo, Mauricio; Navarrete, Carolina; Marín, Alejandra
Development of Isiolo County rangeland management bill regulation
(Report, 2024-10-08) International Livestock Research Institute
The County Government of Isiolo through lead department of livestock development has been developing Isiolo county rangeland management bill since August 2022 in collaboration with World food programme (WFP), Mid-P, Northern Rangeland Trust (NRT), AMAYA Triangle, NAWIRI, ILRI, Veterinary San Frontiers (VSF-Suisse), Kenya Rapid, Listen Project among other. The partners have supported the initiative technically and financially. The overall objective of the bill is to provide legal framework for management, conservation and utilization of the rangeland resources. The specific object of the bill is to facilitate and promote the sustainable and holistic management of rangelands and rangelands resources through: (a) strengthening customary mechanisms for grazing control; (b) facilitating community peace building ; (c) promoting inter-community access to rangelands resources; (d) regulation of fencing in rangelands areas; (e) Protection of seasonal rangelands reserves; (f) optimize the economic potential of the rangelands; (g) facilitate land related County Planning and Development under the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution of Kenya; and (h) adopt any other approaches and initiatives in furtherance of the objectives stated above.
Supporting Africa’s Pastoralist Youth to mobilize and engage in policy dialogues: the Africa Youth Pastoralist Initiative
(Blog Post, 2024-11-27) International Livestock Research Institute
A coverage of the Africa Youth Pastoralist Initiative forum held in June 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya, where the group created a renewed vision, mission and statement.
Improved forages for increased livestock productivity and climate change adaptation and mitigation
(Brief, 2024-12-01) Cardoso, Juan Andres; Mayorga, Mildred; Burkart, Stefan; Notenbaert, An Maria Omer; Peters, Michael
This brief is a companion piece to the overall report “Livestock and Climate Change: Outlook for a more sustainable and equitable future”. The overall report and its associated briefs are legacy products of the CGIAR Livestock and Climate Initiative drawing from science generated during the 2022-2024 life of the research project. Climate change poses a significant threat to livestock production in low- and middle-income countries, jeopardizing the livelihoods of millions who depend on livestock for food security and income. Rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, and extreme weather events disrupt feed supplies, reduce animal productivity, and exacerbate poverty (Idupulapati et al. 2014). The livestock sector in these regions is particularly vulnerable due to its reliance on rain-fed pastures and limited access to improved forage technologies (Idupulapati et al. 2014). Further compounding the issue is the predicted increase in demand for animal products by 2050 and the pressure to decrease pollutant output (Hart et al. 2022). Improved forages–grasses, legumes, and other plants specifically planted to feed animals and selected or bred for desirable traits such as higher yield, improved nutritional value, and greater tolerance to drought and other environmental stresses– offer a critical solution for climate change adaptation and mitigation in livestock production. These forages enhance livestock productivity, ensure a steady feed supply, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (CIAT 2025).
Partnership between Government of Kenya and the International Livestock Research Institute's Mazingira Centre for livestock productivity and mitigating emissions
(Brief, 2024-12-21) Arndt, Claudia; Kimoro, Bernard
"Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from livestock systems is a priority of the Livestock and Climate Initiative. Working with the CGIAR Research Initiative on Low Emission Food Systems, the Livestock and Climate Initiative has established a strong partnership with the State Department for Livestock Development (SDLD) within the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development through the Mazingira Centre hosted by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI). This successful collaboration is focused on the interlinked goals of increasing livestock productivity as part of national food and nutrition security initiatives while also identifying climate-smart agriculture practices for livestock production that help reduce emissions per product. The partnership has led to Kenya publishing more accurate data for measurement, reporting, and verification of GHG emissions from the livestock sector and collaborative science on developing technical interventions focused on mitigation and support for livestock sector policy."
Participatory rangeland management: IPSR Innovation Package and Scaling Readiness Report
(Report, 2024-12-19) Flintan, Fiona E.; Buono, Nicoletta; Adamseged, Muluken
Participatory Rangeland Management (PRM) is a defined step-by-step process for improving local level rangeland management by local pastoralist communities. It follows three stages of investigation (including participatory mapping), negotiation and implementation. It supports establishment and/or strengthening of rangelands management institutions, and supports the production of a rangeland management plan and an agreement with local government to improve access of communities to natural resources and land. M&E and capacity building are also important steps.
Contributions of the CGIAR Livestock and Climate Initiative to Kenya’s Third National Climate Change Action Plan (2023–2027) (NCCAP III)
(Report, 2024-12-18) Ng'ang'a, Kevin Gitau; Cramer, Laura
The third iteration of Kenya’s National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP III) for 2023-2027 outlines bold strategies for advancing low-carbon, climate-resilient development. This report validates the significant contributions of the Livestock and Climate Initiative to the NCCAP III, emphasizing its roles in facilitating workshops, guiding stakeholder input, and shaping the adaptation and mitigation priorities, livestock management strategies, and climate security frameworks. Drawing on insights from stakeholder interviews, workshop outcomes, and review of the NCCAP III final document, the report highlights the pivotal inputs enabled through the Initiative. The report synthesizes key insights drawn from a comprehensive review of NCCAP III, stakeholder interviews, and outcomes from multi-sectoral workshops that were conducted to shape its development. These engagements provided a platform for diverse voices, including government agencies, research institutions, civil society organizations, and local communities to contribute to the formulation of actionable strategies tailored to Kenya’s unique climate challenges. Additionally, the Livestock and Climate Initiative helped refine climate security frameworks within NCCAP III, ensuring that policies address both immediate and long-term risks associated with climate variability, droughts, and food insecurity. Their work has also supported the alignment of Kenya’s livestock and agriculture strategies with global climate commitments such as the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Raising rangelands and pastoralists to the fore: CGIAR Research Initiative on Livestock and Climate Engagements at the 2024 UNCCD COP16, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
(Report, 2024-12-17) Flintan, Fiona E.; Onyango, Polycarp; Louhaichi, Mounir; Nanteza, P.
The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and Desertification, particularly in Africa (UNCCD) is a convention to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought through national action programmes that incorporate long-term strategies supported by international cooperation and partnership arrangements. Between 2–13 December 2024, the 16th Convention of the Parties (COP16) was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Many anticipated that a decision on drought would be a key outcome at this COP. However, despite two weeks of intense negotiations, there remained a lack of agreement on whether to negotiate a framework or a legally binding protocol for addressing drought worldwide. A major milestone was achieved with the launch of the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership, which had received over USD 12 billion in pledges by the end of COP 16. Decisions on agriculture and rangelands, which are new issues on the UNCCD agenda, also emerged and will shape future discussions and the importance of the convention by bringing agriculture ministries, farmers and pastoralists to the table and expanding the convention’s scope. This report details the engagements of the CGIAR Research Initiative on Livestock and Climate and partners at the UNCCD COP16, including our role in influencing the outcomes, particularly on rangelands.
Peace with Nature: Engagement of CGIAR Livestock and Climate Initiative in the Convention for Biological Diversity COP16
(Report, 2024-12-17) Nanteza, P.; Flintan, Fiona E.; Ferrari, M.
"Under the theme Peace With Nature, this was the first Biodiversity COP since the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework at COP 15 in December 2022 in Montreal, Canada. Parties to the Convention were expected to show the alignment of their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) with the Framework. It was expected that COP16 would produce a monitoring framework and advance resource mobilization for the Global Biodiversity Framework as well as finalize and operationalize the multilateral mechanism on the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from the use of digital sequence information on genetic resources. This report summarizes the activities in and contributions of the CGIAR Research Initiative on Livestock and Climate to the CBD COP16. Members of the Initiative participated in discussions on peace with nature, improved natural resource management, protection of biological diversity and the critical role of multifunctional landscapes in biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. "

Browse

Recent Submissions