Livestock, Environment
And Development
An Inter-institutional Initiative

LEAD: Livestock, Environment
and Development Initiative
• Multi-donor (FAO, World Bank, IFAD, EC,
Switzerland, Denmark, France, Germany, UK, USA,
Portugal, CIRAD, CATIE, ILRI. IFPRI)
• Steering Committee oversight (Donors
and Dev. Country reps)
• FAO implementing agency
– Preparation (1994-1998)
– Phase 1 (2000-2003)
– Phase 2 in preparation

What LEAD is about....
 Closing the gap (between individual and
societal optima)
 Influencing decisions about resource use
(location, intensity and scale)
 Understanding decision making
 Providing feed back mechanisms
 Polluter pays, provider gets
 Correcting the underlying causes often more
efficient than correcting the symptoms
 Acknowledging multiple objectives with
environment and poverty focus

Through partnerships
Comparative advantages:
 FAO: catalytic role, information, co-
ordination, platform for standard setting
 donors: funding, technical expertise, policy
dialogue
 international and national R&D institutions:
applied research, programme
implementation

Preparatory Phase (1994-1998)
• Background
documents
• Summary documents
• Electronic
conference
• Int.conference
• Presentations at
international
meetings and
consultations

Main Conclusions
• Policies to curb demand are largely
ineffective
• Most negative L&E interactions are
caused by land pressures, institutional
failure, policy distortions
• Livestock sector remains a most
important - yet under-utilised - entry
point for development
• Main bottleneck: informed decision-
making

First Phase (2000-2003)
Decision-support
Mainstreaming/
awareness building
Testing and developing Policy advice/
novel concepts technical assistance
Knowledge Base

Knowledge base
• Data on livestock-environment
interactions at all levels
• Tools (indicators, analytical tools, toolbox
and design tools GIS-applications)
• Studies (fossil fuel, livestock and equity)
Case study material

Awareness building
• Workshops, meetings.
• Language platforms
– English
– French
– Spanish
– Russian (in preparation)
– Chinese (in preparation)
– Portuguese (toolbox)

The work of the Initiative targets at the protection and
enhancement of natural resources as affected by livestock
production while alleviating poverty
The Virtual Centre promotes multidisciplinary research and
development activities and increases awareness among key
stakeholders of the complex interactions of human needs,
animal production and the sustainability of global natural
resources.
WWW.lead.virtualcenter.org

The Virtual Centre:
Transmission Belt of LEAD-Functions
• Virtual Centre for internet-based collaborative
research and development on livestock-
environment issues
• Platforms with collaborating centres (CATIE
and CIRAD)
• Objectives:
– comprehensive knowledge base,
– collaborative network
– interactive decision-making tools

Testing and developing novel
concepts in the “hotspots”
• Concepts cover
policy and
technology interface
• LEAD develops
concept
• Provide seed money
for scaling up (GEF)
and for M&E and
dissemination

Livestock in dry land
management
• Reducing land degradation and improving
conservation of bio-diversity through:
– Drought preparedness in the Sahel
• Decision making, markets and insurance
– Livestock-Wildlife interactions in Central and
East Africa
• Complementarity and competition, benefit
sharing
– Livestock and watershed rehabilitation in 4
states in India
• Link between income from livestock and NRM

Pastoral systems in dry and cold areas - interaction with cropping
Pastoralism and sparse agriculture
Pastoralism and extensive agriculture
Hot spots

Pastoral systems in dry or cold areas
Pure pastoral system
Pastoralism and sparse agriculture
Hot spots

Livestock’s role in the forest-
pasture interface
• From horizontal expansion to intensification
to reduce pressure on the rainforest
• Technology:
– Silvo-pastoral systems
• Policies
– Payment for global environmental benefits
– Land tenure, credit, markets for outputs
(including services)

Potential Livestock related deforestation hotspots
Closed forest
Open and fragmented
forest
Other wooded land
Predicted Cattle presence
in Closed Forest
(>2 animals per square km)
Predicted Cattle presence
in Closed forest
(>10 animals per square km)

Land and Water pollution by
industrial livestock production
• Search for Policies and Technologies
to achieve an improved spatial
distribution of intensive livestock units
• Successful piloting in China and
Thailand;
• Now up-scaling sought through GEF
and other development partners

PREDICTED HOTSPOTS FOR NUTRIENT OVERLOADS
Legend
Hotspot
Nitrogen
Phosphorus
Mineral Fert.
No overload
Source : LEAD FAO
Year :2002
Map prepared by LEAD - FAO
1000 km

Core functions of LEAD in each
identified “Hotspots”
Collection and Provision of Basic Data

Analysis and Assessment

Design of Policy and Technology Options

Testing, Validation and Upscaling of Options

Provision of Decision-Support Tools

Formulation of Guidelines and Standards

Capacity Building and Establish Uptake Pathway
