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When livestock are good for the environment

benefit- sharing of environmental goods and services

Year of publication 2005

Pages 29

Author Robin Mearns;Animal Production and Health Division

Product type Book (stand-alone)

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) Livestock producers are coming in for increasing criticism world- wide on the grounds that livestock production is bad for the environment. Mention ’ cattle’ and ’ developing countries’ in the same breath, and many will immediately think of overgrazing, desertification, and deforestation. But the environmental consequences of livestock production vary widely, depending on the opportunities and constraints afforded by different production systems, institutional and policy contexts. Focusing princ ipally on pastoral grazing systems and integrated crop- livestock systems, this paper examines the less widely documented case that there are also positive environmental externalities associated with livestock production. Livestock production can play an instrumental role, for example, in supporting sustainable rangeland management, preserving wildlife and other forms of biodiversity, enhancing soil fertility and nutrient cycling, and in directly promoting the amenity value of particular landsca pes to other users.

Language English

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