On 21 October, representatives from governments, private sector, civil society and academia gathered in the FAO headquarters for the official kick-off meeting of the phase 3 of the Livestock Environmental Assessment and Performance Partnership (FAO LEAP). Under the title of A leap towards low carbon livestock, the meeting served as a platform for information exchange on relevant approaches, experiences, lessons learned and good practices at different scales on the use and adoption of FAO LEAP guidelines.

The event started with a welcome speech by Bukar Tijani, FAO Assistant Director-General, who emphasized the LEAP’s role in contributing to address trade-offs between productivity, climate change mitigation and food security. He highlighted the importance of LEAP as a coordinated global initiative to accelerate the sustainability journey of the livestock sector, and to support the work under the Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture (KJWA) in the context of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

As a multi-stakeholder partnership, “LEAP is a living proof of the advantages of that collaborative working approach”, said Caroline Emond, LEAP Chair 2019 and Director General of the International Dairy Federation (IDF). “We can use LEAP as an example of how we can bring value when we actually bring all stakeholders together”, she continued.

The role of research and academia was emphasized by Professor Greg Thoma from University of Arkansas (USA), pointing out the importance of the technical advisory groups where technical dialogue support the consensus building process eventually resulting in the FAO LEAP technical guidelines.

The need to explore new pathways towards low carbon livestock was illustrated by Henning Steinfeld, chief of the FAO Livestock Information, Sector Analysis and Policy Branch (AGAL). Improving efficiency, regenerating grazing, circular livestock and consumption and alternatives can be part of the solutions for low carbon livestock.

Through the panel discussions, participants learnt more about FAO LEAP and how it contributes to achieve low carbon livestock systems and sustainable production by enhancing environmental benefits and decreasing adverse impacts. The importance of road testing was at the core of the discussion in all sessions.

The closing remarks by Professor Pablo Frere from Redes Chaco was a call to collective action to support the environmental improvement of livestock supply chains and to road testing of FAO LEAP guidelines. Efforts need to be made and LEAP, through its work programme 2019-2021, aims to ensure clear, applicable and coherent technical guidance for the adoption and application of FAO LEAP guidelines at various scales.

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Presentations: Livestock Environmental Assessment and Performance (LEAP) Partnership | Pathways towards low carbon livestock