How Have Southeast Asian Countries Identified Animal Categories for More Accurate Livestock GHG Inventories?

Livestock emissions are shaped by the animals behind the numbers—their age, sex, breed, farm type, diet, productivity, and location. This publication explains how Southeast Asian countries have characterized livestock populations for more accurate Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Tier 2 greenhouse gas inventories, drawing lessons from cattle and other livestock systems across the region. Developed through the collaboration of the New Zealand Ag Emissions Centre (formerly the New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre) and SEARCA, it helps inventory teams, policymakers, and technical partners understand why better animal classification is essential for more reliable emissions estimates and more targeted climate-smart livestock strategies.

This publication forms part of the four-title Climate-Smart Livestock Series, a special set of SEARCA Agriculture and Development Notes developed to support more accurate livestock greenhouse gas inventories and climate-smart livestock action in Southeast Asia.