Sustainability, Biodiversity and Environmental Issues: A Global Perspective for Livestock Production

To meet world food demand through the 21st century, agricultural production needs to increase, but this needs to be done sustainably through increasing efficiency, optimising sufficiency and achieving consistency, such that resource use is optimised, waste reduced and environmental benefits gained. These strategies need to be developed against changing food patterns, especially a decline in per capita consumption of cereals and an increase in meat consumption as household incomes increase. Grasslands are collectively the larger group of land-based ecosystems on the planet. Their values are not always recognised, often being seen as ‘reserves’ for exploitation for urban expansion, for cropping or some other use – conversion to these other uses is continuing at a high rate. Their exploitation often leads to greater environmental and socio-economic problems. Over-grazing is typically the main influence on grassland productivity, reflecting the pressures from excessive human populations and a demand for food. Some 20% of the world’s grasslands are in a severely degraded state; others have suffered shifts to less-desirable species with consequently reduced productivity. Estimates of productivity change all show a declined over recent decades, yet animal numbers continue to increase, particularly in the developing world. Restoring productivity to achieve both livestock production and environmental benefits are desirable but not widely practiced in developing countries. Biodiversity and greenhouse gas production have been particular concerns, but the methods used to monitor them have not always suited an agricultural context – solutions are proposed. The large differences in livestock production efficiencies between the developed and developing world highlight how existing knowledge can be used to achieve major improvements that in turn would show major benefits for the world’s livestock industries

The on-farm impact of alternative grazing management options to improve sustainability in western Chinese grasslands

Chinese grasslands are suffering considerable pressures from human and livestock populations. It has been estimated that 90% of Chinese grasslands are suffering from light to heavy levels of degradation. Allied to this is the low household income of herders and farmers dependant upon livestock products for their livelihood. Although a range of reasons have been proposed for the high levels of grassland degradation, principal among these are the high stocking rates adopted by farmers. This not only results in high utilisation rates of the pasture biomass, leading to bare areas and soil erosion, but individual animal productivity rates also decline. This paper presents the results of a modelling study of a grassland system in Gansu Province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in northern China. This shows that reducing stocking rates leads to not only an increase in livestock productivity, but whole-farm returns are also increased. From a sustainability perspective, the greater pasture biomass remaining on the grassland also reduces the incidence of soil erosion in the areas.sustainable grazing, bioeconomic model, China, Farm Management, Livestock Production/Industries, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Grasslands\u3csup\u3e1\u3c/sup\u3e for Production and the Environment

To manage grasslands for production and enhanced environmental values requires a redefinition of the frameworks within which management decisions are made, and a tailoring of practices to suit the ways that farmers operate. Improving the perenniality and permanence of grasslands usually leads to better environmental and production outcomes. There is a case for a more conservative approach to utilising grasslands in order to sustain the functioning of local ecosystems and to improve water quality, nutrient and energy cycling and biodiversity. A landscape rather than paddock focus is more appropriate for meeting current grassland management objectives. Grasslands can be triaged to better focus R&D and management, though this could challenge society’s preferences for products from more environmentally friendly ecosystems. There is a need to find payment and/or market systems that mean environmental values are enhanced and farm income does not suffer

Grasslands for Production and the Environment

Key points 1. To manage grasslands for production and enhanced environmental values requires a redefinition of the frameworks within which management decisions are made, and a tailoring of practices to suit the ways that farmers operate. 2. Improving the perenniality and permanence of grasslands usually leads to better environmental and production outcomes. 3. There is a case for a more conservative approach to utilising grasslands in order to sustain the functioning of local ecosystems and to improve water quality, nutrient and energy cycling and biodiversity. 4. A landscape rather than paddock focus is more appropriate for meeting current grassland management objectives. Grasslands can be triaged to better focus R&D and management, though this could challenge society’s preferences for products from more environmentally friendly ecosystems. 5. There is a need to find payment and/or market systems that mean environmental values are enhanced and farm income does not suffer

Sustainable Grasslands: Resolving Management Options for Livelihood and Environmental Benefits

To help solve the major issues of improving livelihoods and environmental services, grassland research needs to be evaluated within the context of relevant farm systems. Treatments need to show that they not only have significant effects but that they have effects that are meaningful in the context of the relevant farm system. Research often defines an optimum criterion for management that is a single point, but that is difficult to achieve in practice, especially when there are several components in a grassland system that need to be optimised. It is argued that an appropriate criterion for optimising management is a range of values wherein management should aim to maintain the grassland. Typically grasslands comprise many species and appropriate frameworks are needed to determine suitable management practices so that the desirable species dominate. Examples of quantifiable frameworks are presented. A theory of animal production from grassland is then used that shows how optimising stocking rates and then considering the implications can lead to defining managing criteria that create a win-win circumstance for sustaining livestock, household livelihoods and environmental services. Traditionally farmers have thought in terms of the animal carrying capacity on areas of grassland as their main management criteria; which is only a measure of demand. A central component in many relationships is the grassland herbage mass and it is argued that this should be the primary criterion for managing grasslands; herbage mass is a net measure of supply and demand and better links to a wide range of measures of environmental services