Category Archives: Environment

Training on modelling greenhouse gas emissions from livestock systems in Africa
Capacity strengthening / CCAFS / Climate change / Countries / CRPs / Emission Factors / Environment / Greenhouse Gas / ILRI / Livestock / LIVESTOCKCRP / Mazingira / SLS

Training on modelling greenhouse gas emissions from livestock systems in Africa

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Between 22nd and 26th October, ILRI’s Mazingira Centre and FAO jointly organised a training workshop on modelling greenhouse gas emissions from livestock systems in Africa. Why is this important? Current greenhouse gas emission estimates from livestock and manure in Africa are primarily estimating based on existing expert knowledge which is predominantly derived from livestock systems in developed … Continue reading →

First continuous greenhouse gas measurements and validation of satellite derived land surface temperature estimates in East African drylands
Capacity strengthening / Climate change / Countries / East Africa / Emission Factors / Environment / Greenhouse Gas / ILRI / Kenya / Mazingira / Regions / Research Infrastructure

First continuous greenhouse gas measurements and validation of satellite derived land surface temperature estimates in East African drylands

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by Thomas Dowling (King’s College London) and Lutz Merbold (Mazingira Centre, ILRI) Since the beginning of August 2018, the International Livestock Research Institute’s (ILRI’s) Kapiti research station, approximately 60km South of Nairobi, has become a reference site for the validation of satellite derived land surface temperature (LST) in partnership with King’s College London (KCL). While … Continue reading →

Strengthening African research infrastructure for greenhouse gas observations
Capacity strengthening / Climate change / Emission Factors / Environment / Greenhouse Gas / Research Infrastructure / SLS

Strengthening African research infrastructure for greenhouse gas observations

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Initial results of the EU-African SEACRIFOG project, which aims to design a GHG observation research infrastructure, highlight the current GHG emissions research gaps in the continent. Current efforts to strengthen research infrastructure are also highlighted.
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CCAFS / Climate change / East Africa / Environment / Greenhouse Gas / Livestock / SLS

Investing in low emissions development strategies in the dairy sector: Viable options for Kenya and Ethiopia

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Originally posted on Sustainable livestock systems:
Livestock production plays a critical role in sustaining livelihoods and ensuring food and nutrition security for millions of families across Africa. The centrality of livestock in achieving sustainable development for cannot be overstated. It is also true that livestock production is the largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from…

Greenhouse gas emissions from dung patches in developing countries are ‘likely highly overestimated’—New report
Climate change / Environment / Greenhouse Gas / Livestock / SLS

Greenhouse gas emissions from dung patches in developing countries are ‘likely highly overestimated’—New report

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Originally posted on ILRI news:
Cattle herding in Kenya (photo credit: CCAFS/Cecilia Schubert). A new research paper published by scientists of the Mazingira Centre (‘mazingira’ means ‘environment’ in Swahili) of the Nairobi-based International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) reports evidence that greenhouse gas emissions from dung patches in developing countries are ‘likely highly overestimated’ in global…

New studies provide the first accurate estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from East African livestock
Climate change / East Africa / Emission Factors / Environment / Greenhouse Gas / Livestock / SLS

New studies provide the first accurate estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from East African livestock

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Originally posted on ILRI Clippings:
ILRI scientist John Goopy describes ILRI’s Mazingira Centre research on livestock and greenhouse gas emissions to ILRI partners at the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security and leads them on a tour of Mazingira’s Greenhouse Gas Laboratory, in Nairobi, Kenya (photo credit: CCAFS/S Kilungu). The following…

Managing the environmental footprint of livestock: Context-specific information needed in Africa
CCAFS / Climate change / East Africa / Emission Factors / Environment / Greenhouse Gas / Livestock / LIVESTOCKCRP / SLS

Managing the environmental footprint of livestock: Context-specific information needed in Africa

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Efforts towards mitigating green house gas emissions should help resource-poor farmers to not only decrease the environmental footprint of their small-scale livestock and whole-farm production systems but to simultaneously increase productivity and improve their livelihoods. Continue reading →

Feedback workshops yield significant insights for smallholder dairy farmers in Nandi and Bomet
Capacity strengthening / CCAFS / CRPs / Dairying / East Africa / Emission Factors / Environment / Greenhouse Gas / Kenya / Livestock / LIVESTOCKCRP / Mazingira / SLS

Feedback workshops yield significant insights for smallholder dairy farmers in Nandi and Bomet

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Farmer feedback workshops carried out in Nandi and Bomet counties in Kenya address various challenges faced by dairy smallholders. Based on results from previous data collected, training sessions on various aspects of dairy farming are delivered. Continue reading →

Voices from the lab: Postdoctoral researcher shares her first field trip experience
Climate change / Countries / Dairying / East Africa / Emission Factors / Environment / Greenhouse Gas / ILRI / Kenya / Livestock / Mazingira / Regions / SLS

Voices from the lab: Postdoctoral researcher shares her first field trip experience

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In this blog, one of the most recent Mazingira members, Sonja Leitner (Postdoctoral researcher, soil ecologist) who started with the team on 1st March 2018, shares an experience of her first field trip to Tanzania. From 25-30/03/2018, I joined Lutz Merbold and Phyllis Ndung’u on a field trip to Tanzania, where we visited different smallholder … Continue reading →

Mazingira contributes to a global litter decomposition initiative
Climate change / East Africa / Environment / ILRI / Mazingira / Regions

Mazingira contributes to a global litter decomposition initiative

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Plant litter represents a major carbon pool in the global carbon cycle and accurate estimates of litter decomposition resulting in a major flux of CO2 to the atmosphere will allow to better constrain carbon turnover in ecosystems. Therefore a global approach – the TeaComposition Initiative – was taken (more info here: TeaComposition). In brief, within … Continue reading →