898 research outputs found

    The green, blue and grey water footprint of farm animals and animal products. Volume 2: Appendices

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    Contents Appendix I: Feed conversion efficiencies – in kg of feed (dry mass) per kg of output – per animal category and region Appendix II: Estimated consumption of feed per animal category and world region (103 ton dry mass/yr) Appendix III. Estimated consumption of feed per production system and world region (103 ton dry mass/yr) Appendix IV. Drinking and service water footprint per animal Appendix V. Water footprint of animals and animal products (m3/ton). Period 1996-200

    The water footprint assessment manual: setting the global standard

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    This book contains the global standard for \u27water footprint assessment\u27 as developed and maintained by the Water Footprint Network (WFN). It covers a comprehensive set of definitions and methods for water footprint accounting. It shows how water footprints are calculated for individual processes and products, as well as for consumers, nations and businesses. It also includes methods for water footprint sustainability assessment and a library of water footprint response options. A shared standard on definitions and calculation methods is crucial given the rapidly growing interest in companies and governments to use water footprint accounts as a basis for formulating sustainable water strategies and policies

    Community conversations on animal welfare

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    Global gray water footprint and water pollution levels related to anthropogenic nitrogen loads to fresh water

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    This is the first global assessment of nitrogen-related water pollution in river basins with a specification of the pollution by economic sector, and by crop for the agricultural sector. At a spatial resolution of 5 by 5 arc minute, we estimate anthropogenic nitrogen (N) loads to freshwater, calculate the resultant gray water footprints (GWFs), and relate the GWFs per river basin to runoff to calculate the N-related water pollution level (WPL) per catchment. The accumulated global GWF related to anthropogenic N loads in the period 2002–2010 was 13 × 1012 m3/y. China contributed about 45% to the global total. Three quarters of the GWF related to N loads came from diffuse sources (agriculture), 23% from domestic point sources and 2% from industrial point sources. Among the crops, production of cereals had the largest contribution to the N-related GWF (18%), followed by vegetables (15%) and oil crops (11%). The river basins with WPL > 1 (where the N load exceeds the basin’s assimilation capacity), cover about 17% of the global land area, contribute about 9% of the global river discharge, and provide residence to 48% of the global population

    Adult Mosquito Populations and Their Health Impact around and far from Dams in Tigray Region, Ethiopia

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    Malaria control program in Ethiopia has a history of more than 40 years, but still now, malaria is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Ethiopia. The objective of this study is to assess the impact of dam construction in the distribution of mosquito in intervention (dam nearby villages) and controlled (villages far from dam). Indoor adult mosquitoes were collected using 144 CDC light traps from 12 villages (6 from the intervention and 6 from the control villages) Community- based malaria parasitology was also done. Sampling was done in November 2005, December 2005, May 2006 and September 2006). A total of 1713 adult indoor mosquitoes were collected, of these, 1182 (69%) were Anopheles and 531 (31%) Culex. The prevalence of Anopheles was 45.77% in the intervention villages and 23.23% in the controlled villages (F p = 0.012). The prevalence of Anopheles increased twice in the intervention compared to the controlled villages. A total of 1436 children, 888 from intervention and 548 from control villages were examined for malaria parasitology. Only 57 children were found infected by Plasmodium species. Malaria prevalence rate was 3.97% (4.17% and 3.65% in intervention and control village, respectively)(x2 = 0.11, p= 0.7399). Among the 57 malaria positive cases in 32 (56.14%) we found P. vivax and in the 25 (43.86%) P. falciparum. We can tentatively conclude that the dams situated at 2000m and above do resulted two fold adult indoor mosquito, but do not seem to have resulted in a markedly higher incidence of malaria in the region. The study concludes that concerned authorities should take appropriate measures to improve health-care facilities for local communities when planning new irrigation schemes wherever they occur.Keywords: Anopheles, Culex, Dam, Intervention, Malari

    A Global Assessment of the Water Footprint of Farm Animal Products

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    The increase in the consumption of animal products is likely to put further pressure on the world’s freshwater resources. This paper provides a comprehensive account of the water footprint of animal products, considering different production systems and feed composition per animal type and country. Nearly one-third of the total water footprint of agriculture in the world is related to the production of animal products. The water footprint of any animal product is larger than the water footprint of crop products with equivalent nutritional value. The average water footprint per calorie for beef is 20 times larger than for cereals and starchy roots. The water footprint per gram of protein for milk, eggs and chicken meat is 1.5 times larger than for pulses. The unfavorable feed conversion efficiency for animal products is largely responsible for the relatively large water footprint of animal products compared to the crop products. Animal products from industrial systems generally consume and pollute more ground- and surface-water resources than animal products from grazing or mixed systems. The rising global meat consumption and the intensification of animal production systems will put further pressure on the global freshwater resources in the coming decades. The study shows that from a freshwater perspective, animal products from grazing systems have a smaller blue and grey water footprint than products from industrial systems, and that it is more water-efficient to obtain calories, protein and fat through crop products than animal products

    National water footprint accounts: The green, blue and grey water footprint of production and consumption. Volume 2: Appendices

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    Contents Appendix I. The water footprint of national production (Mm3/yr) Appendix II. Virtual-water flows related to trade in crop, animal and industrial products, per country (Mm3/yr) Appendix III. International virtual-water flows per product category (Mm3/yr) Appendix IV. National water saving related to trade in agricultural and industrial products per country (Mm3/yr) Appendix V. Global water saving related to trade in agricultural and industrial products, per product (Mm3/yr) Appendix VI. The average water footprint per ton of commodity per country, weighted based on origin (WF* in m3/ton) Appendix VII. The water footprint of national consumption per capita, shown by commodity (m3/yr/cap) Appendix VIII. The water footprint of national consumption per capita, shown by major consumption category and by internal and external component (m3/yr/cap) Appendix IX. The total water footprint of national consumption (Mm3/yr) Appendix X. The water footprint of US consumption of agricultural and industrial products, specified per river basin (m3/yr) Appendix XI. The global water footprint of national consumption: maps for selected countrie

    In Vivo anti-malarial activities of Clerodendrum myricoides, Dodonea angustifolia and Aloe debrana against Plasmodium berghei

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    Background: Malaria caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum is an acute disease which kills an estimated 863,000 people per year according to the WHO report of 2009. The fight against malaria is faced with the occurrence of widespread resistance of P. falciparum. The search for plant-derived antimalarial drugs has great importance in this regard. Thus this study evaluates the toxicity and antimalarial activity of extracts of Clerodendrum myricoides, Dodonia angustifolia and Aloe debrana.Method: Acute and sub acute toxicity studies of the extracts were carried out by giving up to 3000mg/kg to noninfected mice. Weight loss, change in general behavior and mortality were used as indicators of toxicity. Doses of 200, 400 & 600mg/kg/day of each extract of C.myricoides, D. dodonia and A.debrana were given orally to Plasmodium berghei infected mice following the four-day suppressive test procedure.Results: None of the extracts caused symptoms of toxicity at the given doses. Each extract showed variable level of parasitaemia suppression in dose related manner. Methanol extract of C. myricoides leaves exerted 82.50% suppression at the dose of 600mg/kg. The methanol extract of the root of D. angustifolia showed the highest (84.52%) suppression of parasitaemia at the dose of 600mg/kg. Furthermore, methanol extract of A. debrana induced 73.95% suppression, whereas its water extract exerted 54.36% suppression of parasitaemia.Conclusion: Crude extracts of C. myricoides, D. angustifolia and A.debrana caused strong activities against P. berghei indicating that they contain some chemical constituents that possibly lead to antimalarial drug development. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2010; 24(1):25-29

    The green, blue and grey water footprint of farm animals and animal products. Volume 1: Main Report

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    The projected increase in the production and consumption of animal products is likely to put further pressure on the globe’s freshwater resources. The size and characteristics of the water footprint vary across animal types and production systems. The current study provides a comprehensive account of the global green, blue and grey water footprints of different sorts of farm animals and animal products, distinguishing between different production systems and considering the conditions in all countries of the world separately. The following animal categories were considered: beef cattle, dairy cattle, pig, sheep, goat, broiler chicken, layer chicken and horses. The study shows that the water footprint of meat from beef cattle (15400 m3/ton as a global average) is much larger than the footprints of meat from sheep (10400 m3/ton), pig (6000 m3/ton), goat (5500 m3/ton) or chicken (4300 m3/ton). The global average water footprint of chicken egg is 3300 m3/ton, while the water footprint of cow milk amounts to 1000 m3/ton. Per ton of product, animal products generally have a larger water footprint than crop products. The same is true when we look at the water footprint per calorie. The average water footprint per calorie for beef is twenty times larger than for cereals and starchy roots. When we look at the water requirements for protein, we find that the water footprint per gram of protein for milk, eggs and chicken meat is about 1.5 times larger than for pulses. For beef, the water footprint per gram of protein is 6 times larger than for pulses. In the case of fat, we find that butter has a relatively small water footprint per gram of fat, even lower than for oil crops. All other animal products, however, have larger water footprints per gram of fat when compared to oil crops. The study shows that from a freshwater resource perspective, it is more efficient to obtain calories, protein and fat through crop products than animal products. Global animal production requires about 2422 Gm3 of water per year (87.2% green, 6.2% blue, 6.6% grey water). One third of this volume is for the beef cattle sector; another 19% for the dairy cattle sector. Most of the total volume of water (98%) refers to the water footprint of the feed for the animals. Drinking water for the animals, service water and feed mixing water account only for 1.1%, 0.8% and 0.03%, respectively. The water footprints of animal products can be understood from three main factors: feed conversion efficiency of the animal, feed composition, and origin of the feed. The type of production system (grazing, mixed, industrial) is important because it influences all three factors. A first explanatory factor in the water footprints of animal products is the feed conversion efficiency. The more feed is required per unit of animal product, the more water is necessary (to produce the feed). The unfavourable feed conversion efficiency for beef cattle is largely responsible for the relatively large water footprint of beef. Sheep and goats have an unfavourable feed conversion efficiency as well, although better than cattle. A second factor is the feed composition, in particular the ratio of concentrates versus roughages and the percentage of valuable crop components versus crop residues in the concentrate. Chicken and pig have relatively large fractions of cereals and oil meal in their feed, which results in relatively large water footprints of their feed and abolishes the effect of the favourable feed conversion efficiencies. A third factor that influences the water footprint of an animal product is the origin of the feed. The water footprint of a specific animal product varies across countries due to differences in climate and agricultural practice in the regions from where the various feed components are obtained. Since sometimes a relatively large fraction of the feed is imported while at other times feed is mostly obtained locally, not only the size but also the spatial dimension of the water footprint depends on the sourcing of the feed
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