Nationality: Ecuadorian
Partner Institution: University of Aberdeen
Start and end of PhD project: April 2017- September 2020
e-mail: juan.inamagua@abdn.ac.uk
Supervisors: Prof. Pete Smith and Prof Jon Hillier
PhD title: The potential of alternative livestock systems to contribute to food security and climate change mitigation in the tropics
Link to research group at University of Aberdeen
Description of PhD project:
This project aims to understand the role of tropical livestock systems in climate change and food security. Is well know that the livestock sector is one of the main contributors of greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere. Despite this negative characteristic, this systems are the main livelihood for millions of people living in poor conditions, and play a key role in the food security. With a growing population and increasing demand for food in the next years, livestock systems in the tropics face different challenges that had to be addressed, this systems, currently characterized by a low efficiency and input use, have to increase their food production in order to satisfy the growing food demand, but at the same time, contribute to climate change mitigation.
This project will study the contribution of tropical livestock systems to climate change (greenhouse gas emissions), potential for negative emissions (carbon sequestration mostly through silvopastoral systems) and assess their importance to local and global food security. Using national data and field data, this project will model this characteristics under future food demand scenarios.