Postdoctoral researcher
A large range of climate change impacts is expected during the twenty-first century in vulnerable regions such as West Africa, where local populations largely rely on livestock systems as their main food production and income source. As climate change threatens livestock systems in various ways, here we assess how regional livestock could be exposed to cumulated climate-related stressors in the future. Using the world’s largest multi-model climate impacts simulations database ISIMIP, we find that a large part of West Africa will experience at least 5–6 cumulated multiple climate stressors before the 2030s, including amplified severe heat stress conditions and flood risks. Consequently, about 30% of the current total regional livestock could be exposed to these cumulated stressors, with sheep and goat as the most affected species. This paper brings new quantifications that may help policy makers to prioritize decisions that could prepare local populations to face multiple climate-related impacts.
HABITABLE aims to significantly advance our understanding of the current interlinkages between climate impacts and migration and displacement patterns, in order to better anticipate their future evolutions.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 869395. The content reflects only the authors’ views, and the European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
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