Conservation International’s Post

🤠 Here's the blog on my new paper 🤠

Planting crops and grazing livestock often means cutting down trees. But are forests and farms really at odds? Our groundbreaking new study says no 📃 Farmland worldwide could stash away as much planet-warming carbon as the global emissions of all cars combined – if it integrates more trees 🌳   Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/eKqAD6Gy

Great to see the counter arguements beginning to cut through, surrounding the environmental benefits of livestock farming. The partners in this project took a wholistic approach, not solely focused on GHG, to better understand the grazing-cattle carbon cycle. Still, they found that beef production can be carbon negative and methane output can actually go up when cattle are not present on land. The conversation around sustainable protein production needs to factor in more than just emissions, taking into consideration the entire ecosystem, welfare, societal benefits and nutritional value of produce. #greenhousegases #greenhousegasemissions #methane #livestock #agriculture #sustainableprotein #cattle #ruminants #sustainableagriculture #beef #sustainability

This is very encouraging scientific evidence of the carbon storage impact of holistically managed grazing (AMP / HDG / UHDG / Mob etc). A great example of the powerful positive impact that can be delivered by mimicking nature (large herds of bison/buffalo/wildebeest moving quickly). Another reminder of what Allan Savory has been preaching for decades. While 'rewilding' has a romantic sound to it, where natural animal populations were historically removed, we can't expect grassland ecosystem balance (especially in brittle environments) without the vitalising impact on soil/plants of packed hooves, mouths and nutrient deposits for a short period, followed by rest. 12 tonnes/ha/yr plus the ecosystem services delivered certainly gives weight to this regenerative ranching approach. Cheers and thank you to the pioneers that have innovated cattle and livestock management to heal the planet. Allan Savory, Will Harris, Gabe Brown, Polyface Farm, Alejandro Carrillo #managedgrazing #carbonstore #regenerativefarming #holisticmanagement #carbonsequestration

“… land and cattle produce fewer net emissions than is being taken up by the land… the methane production by the land goes up when the cattle are not present… Without cows, we actually see more carbon emitted.” This is why you should enroll in carbon projects. They are protecting our industry with data showing the benefit that livestock provide, and proving that ranchers are defending ecosystems. Thanks for sharing, Heather Stiles. EarthOptics The Land Board Cowboy Carbon https://lnkd.in/gqDrW8fD

Habitat loss due to the expanding production of livestock, primarily cattle, is the biggest driver of this collapse. It’s time we shifted to an agricultural policy that supports farmers who choose to ranch carbon instead of cattle! #habitatloss #climatechange #biodiversity #wildnature

Too much livestock on a given amount of land can lead to carbon losses, but appropriate numbers can actually help sequester the carbon. | Click below to read the full article on Sunalei

These grazing animals are wild, but it is a clear message that both types of rewilding and regenerative farming with grazed livestock offer a real option for policymakers in the face of rapidly accelerating climate change.

🐂Rangelands, vital for biodiversity and millions of pastoralists, are facing severe degradation. Despite their importance, these ecosystems receive far less funding than forests. This is addressed by the Sustainable Investments for Large-Scale Rangeland Restoration (STELARR) project. The project promotes sustainable livestock value chains. STELARR, which is co-developed by IUCN and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and funded by the Global Environment Facility, is designed to redirect the profitability of sustainable livestock into the restoration of these critical landscapes. With diverse partners, the project targets value chains like cashmere, mohair, and pasture-fed beef in Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East/Central Asia. More: https://lnkd.in/dnHqBR9x #ClimateAction

If you can raise the level to the big concepts being researched it seems to be clear that large ruminants have a record of a bigger impact on the total carbon structure of environments than ever imagined. Be it American grasslands or, as in this research, European forests. This involves opening the forest up, reducing wildfires, speeding the nutrient cycles, spreading wildflower seeds, adjusting the soil temperature, increasing soil carbon capture and improving the entire eco-system. The discussion about livestock should not be about methane important as it is. For farmed livestock we are seeing from current discussions at the CLEAR centre University of California, Davis that there are many ways to reduce this methane, and achieve quite dramatic results. Increasingly we are recognising that ruminants are friends, and should not be treated as enemies.