Adapting Livestock Production Systems to Climate Change: Community Capacity-Building for Better Animal Health, Feed, Soil and Water

Durga D. Poudel, School of Geosciences, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Louisiana, USA

A comprehensive study in the Thulokhola watershed in Nuwakot district, Nepal is being undertaken in order to document a livestock production system and its adaptability to climate change. These systems are currently deteriorating due to massive deforestation and forest degradation, declining soil productivity, climate change, and insufficient food and human nutrition.

Researchers have formed community livestock groups (CLGs) whose members assess community assets by monitoring water quality, recording livestock production, collecting livestock fecal samples to test for parasites, and gathering fodder samples for nutritional determination. These members also attend trainings and workshops to learn about adapting livestock production systems in order to address issues found in early results of the research.  Read Research Brief >>