Assessing national livestock populations for the production of methane emission inventories

In an effort to accurately assess national methane (CH₄) production levels, many African countries are producing inventories of their national livestock populations. Conducting accurate livestock surveys is an expensive and time-consuming process, but is necessary because the most readily available data on livestock production are often incomplete or unsatisfactory. This paper looks at practical approaches to collecting data on livestock production and on the reproductive parameters for livestock, with special reference to African pastoralist populations, and makes qualified recommendations as to how inventory teams might be able to produce more accurate assessments of their total livestock populations. The methodology used during Nigeria's National Livestock Census (1990–92) serves as a basis for a discussion of the issues.