{"id":348701,"date":"2024-10-24T10:22:42","date_gmt":"2024-10-24T08:22:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=348701"},"modified":"2024-10-24T10:22:45","modified_gmt":"2024-10-24T08:22:45","slug":"kenyan-government-climate-policies-must-not-write-off-livestock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=348701","title":{"rendered":"Kenyan Government: \u201cClimate policies must not write off livestock\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essay by<\/strong> Eric Worrall<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026 In the context of development progress, animals like cows, goats, camels, and pigs should be seen as \u201csolutions with legs\u201d \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Climate policies must not write off livestock<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cattle when grazed sustainably can be part of climate action and help vulnerable populations build resilience.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Ali Mohamed<\/a> Climate Envoy in the Office of the President of Kenya<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Livestock are a vital component of both the African food system and rural livelihoods. Africa has around 400 million cattle alone, and the livestock sector accounts for a significant 30 to 40 percent of the total agricultural gross domestic product across the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Small amounts of meat, milk and eggs can have life-changing benefits in tackling malnutrition, and livestock animals also provide a reliable income source when alternatives simply do not readily exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, from an environmental perspective, livestock are often perceived only as a problem, contributing to habitat loss, greenhouse gas emissions, and land degradation. This narrow view misses a much more nuanced reality. It is also the reason much-needed finance is not being invested in the sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the context of development progress, animals like cows, goats, camels, and pigs should be seen as \u201csolutions with legs\u201d in combatting these intensifying climate and environmental crises at scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026Read more:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/opinions\/2024\/10\/21\/climate-policies-must-not-write-off-livestock<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

While there are plenty of places cattle are grazed which could also be used for growing vegetables, cattle farming is also viable in places where vegetables simply shrivel up and die.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grazing also improves grassland health \u2013 grasslands need to be grazed. Ecologists once believed the opposite, that grazing degrades grassland and increases the risk of desertification. This wildly wrong belief led to the slaughter of over 40,000 elephants \u2013 before one of the ecologists who helped organise the slaughter realised to his horror it was all a big mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A bridge in the climate debate – How to green the world's deserts and reverse climate change<\/a><\/blockquote>