Livestock, climate
change and health:
International research,
interventions and
implications for Vietnam
Hung Nguyen-Viet, Co-leader, Animal and Human Health
program
Fred Unger, Regional Representative for East and
Southeast Asia
International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
with contributions from Jimmy Smith, Polly Ericksen and ILRI Sustainable Livestock
Systems program
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development–CGIAR
Forum
Hanoi, Vietnam
28 November 2022

www.cgiar.org
Livestock systems are central to a resilient, equitable
and habitable future
Global priorities for investing in climate resilient and low-
emission livestock systems
Bonilla et al. in prep. (building on LCSR prioritization)
>1 billion people who depend on livestock for
livelihoods and nutrition face multiple climate
hazards.
14.5% of total annual GHG
emissions are derived from livestock
(enteric methane and deforestation)
74 countries identify livestock as mitigation
priority in their Nationally Determined
Contributions
A fraction of climate investment is allocated
to livestock systems research or development

2
Demand for food
will keep growing
Projections based on IMPACT
model, Dolapo Enahoro (ILRI)
• Demand for milk, meat, eggs is increasing fastest
in LMICs driven by population, rising incomes
and urbanization
• Not based on significant over-consumption in
LMICs (attention: ‘double burden’)
• 70% of livestock-derived foods consumed in
LMICs are
• Produced on small-scale farms
• Sourced in informal markets
0.00
40.00
80.00
120.00
160.00
200.00
Beef
0.00
40.00
80.00
120.00
160.00
200.00
Pork
0.00
40.00
80.00
120.00
160.00
200.00
Cereals
0.00
40.00
80.00
120.00
160.00
200.00
Poultry
0.00
40.00
80.00
120.00
160.00
200.00
Milk
0.00
40.00
80.00
120.00
160.00
200.00
Fruits & Vegetables
Percentage changes in
demand 2010 to 2030
Especially in LMICs

3
• Improve livestock production efficiencies via
 Health
 Genetics
 Feeds
• Identify genetic opportunities to breed low-methane livestock
• Identify genetic opportunities to breed heat-tolerant livestock
• Explore feed additives that reduce livestock methane emissions
• Manage manure for lower GHG emissions
• Determine the impacts of livestock diseases on GHG emissions
CLIMATE: Livestock research solutions address GLOBAL CHALLENGES

4
GHGs from different livestock systems need different solutions
Dairy system characterization and emissions
GHG
emission
intensity
(kg
CO
2
eq
per
kg
FPCM)
Productivity
(kg FPCM per cow per year)

5
• Milk yields decline when cows
are under heat stress, and heat
stress is rising under climate change
• Evidence of genetic variations among
bulls makes possible improved breeding
programs that select ‘climate-tolerant’
animals that maintain good milk yields
under heat stress while reducing their
greenhouse gas intensity
CLIMATE: Livestock research addresses the genetics of heat tolerance
Ekine-Dzivenu C. et al., 2020 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2020.104314

• Food
• Globalization
• Change
Seven deadly drivers
1. Increased demand for animal protein
2. Unsustainable agricultural intensificaiton
3. Increased exploitation of wildlife
4. Land use change and extractive industry
5. Travel and transportation
6. Rapidly changing food systems
7. Climate change
One Health as the solution
De-risking drivers of pandemics
United Nations Environment Programme and International Livestock Research Institute (2020). Preventing the Next
Pandemic: Zoonotic diseases and how to break the chain of transmission. Nairobi, Kenya.

7
NUTRITION & HEALTH: Livestock research solutions address GLOBAL CHALLENGES
• Provide technical and policy
solutions to improve access,
availability and affordability of
animal-source foods for those
who need them most
• ‘De-risk’ the traditional (informal)
food markets of lower income
countries to ensure that meat,
milk, eggs and other fresh foods
are safe from food-borne diseases

8
NUTRITION & HEALTH: Livestock research addresses child stunting
Vaccinating rural poultry flocks
against Newcastle disease and
supporting animal health
technicians to deliver the vaccines:
• enhances poultry productivity
• enhances household well-being
• significantly reduces stunting of
both girls and boys
Otiang, E. et al., 2022:
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2122389119
Photo of rural poultry household children

9
Livestock based research initiatives at CGIAR 2022–24

www.cgiar.org
Strengthening
household capacities
Reducing climate risk
with digital services
Leveraging landscapes Financing the
transition
Policy environment
80,000 households
implement climate smart
livestock technologies
Adaptation pioneers, on-farm
GHGe intervention testing,
gender inclusion
Land managers implement
governance & restoration
practices on 500,000 ha
Participatory rangeland
management, land use
planning, tradeoff analysis
Climate investors commit
$25 million to finance the
transition
Technical assistance to define
the opportunity and track
progress
4 policies build on LCSR
scientific evidence and
outputs
MRV and adaptation tracking
protocols, global advocacy
partnerships
320,000 livestock value
chain actors access climate
information
Bundling CSI and CSA,
drought risk finance, gender
and youth inclusion
Livestock, Climate and System Resilience (LCSR)
will deliver outcomes using a range of innovations
Outcomes
Innovations
Work
packages

www.cgiar.org
Sustainable Animal Productivity for Livelihoods,
Nutrition and Gender inclusion (2022–24)
Vietnam: Northern mountainous area (Son La)
(Animal health, Breeding (AI), Feeding, Food Safety and Market access)
Inception workshop and TOC meeting (2022)
Various Baselines (early 2023)

www.cgiar.org
CGIAR Initiative on One Health
Aim: To protect human health by improving detection, prevention and control of zoonoses,
foodborne diseases and antimicrobial resistance in low- and middle-income countries
WP 1 Zoonoses WP 2 Food Safety
New project
ICT4HEALTH
funded by Korea
MAFRA

13
Key messages
Demand for food, especially livestock-derived food, is likely to sky-rocket, but that
food will have to be produced using the same resource base while mitigating
potential harms.
Multiple and contrasting metrics are used for some key livestock-related
development parameters—climate change, environment, nutrition, health.
Let’s not allow our different perspectives to detract from the immense task at
hand that we all agree with… sustainable healthy diets ….for every citizen.

Thank you!

THANK YOU