Resource efficiency in livestock production will have to be improved in order to: maintain
production systems within critical planetary limits; preserve the ecosystem services on which
agricultural production relies; and reduce land degradation, biodiversity loss and pressure on
water use and quality. As a driver of deforestation, demand for feed, and transportation and
processing infrastructure, the livestock sector is directly and indirectly responsible for 14.5 percent
of GHG emissions. At the same time, some livestock systems are among the most vulnerable to
climate change (particularly those in dry areas) and to new environment-related emerging
diseases. These challenges are huge but the livestock sector also has huge potential for
improvement, if the best existing practices in a given system and region can be shared and
learned from more widely.