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MEKARN Workshop 2009: Livestock, Climate Change and the Environment |
This paper reviewed and discussed the livestock, climate change and the environmental interactions in challenging environment and development of sustainable strategies in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a disaster prone country that is affected almost every year by a natural disaster of some kinds. Due to climate change, Bangladesh has already experienced unpredictable and highly variable rainfall patterns, greater weather extremes and increasing droughts and floods. This kind of natural catastrophes are destroying crops, drowning livestock, and damaging homes and others infrastructures. A devastation damaged also has been occurred on domestic livestock. Environmental factors of livestock production systems are highlighted in this paper. Possibility of multiple uses of cattle manure, farmer’s awareness and environmental consideration for environmentally sustainable integrated organic farming in Bangladesh is also discussed. There were significant correlation between rainfall, average temperature, humidity, and used cow dung/farmer/day. The major environmental threats of intensive livestock production are eutrophication, leaching of nitrate, spreading of disease and parasites, accumulation of nutrients, odour, volatilisation of ammonia in the air and emissions of methane. A model of crop-livestock-environment is produced for sustainable development in Bangladesh. We need to assess the risks and threats and remedies for livestock and livestock owner. It can be suggested that the climate and environmental factors of livestock production systems starting from farm to consumers need to be considered to supply quality and hygienic livestock products as human food in Bangladesh.
Keywords: Crop, livestock, manure, global environment, Bangladesh
* Associate Professor, Department of Animal Science, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh-2202, Bangladesh.