Thesis Abstract and Dissertation Abstracts

Climate Change and Indian Dairy Sector: A Study of Baseline Scenario of Methane Emissions

Thesis Abstract by E. Karunanithi from Date Submitted: Apr 11, 2005, 08:48 M.Sc. (Dairy Economics), National Dairy Research Institute (Deemed Univ.) Karnal , 2004

Email abstract to a friend Printer friendly page Contact Author of Abstract         (only if email was submitted)

Dissertation Keywords: CDM, Methane emissions, baseline, hot-spots

This Thesis Abstract | Dissertation Abstract may be cited as follows:

Thesis Abstract or Dissertation Abstract (Summary):
Methane is the most important greenhouse gas (GHG) emitted from the livestock sector. In India, this sector has the potential to attract foreign capital for projects that can mitigate methane emissions together with meeting the country’s sustainable development goals, under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol. The baseline setting – delineating business-as-usual scenario in the absence of the project activity – is the first step under the activities of the CDM project cycle. The available studies on methane emission in India had limited utility for this purpose. The present study was a pioneering attempt to estimate the methane emissions at disaggregated level from the calculations based on regional enteric methane emission factors. The study also identified the ‘hot spots’ of CDM projects where initiating a potential project can generate high carbon credits at low cost.

The study was carried out in 13 states of the country, covering 66 zones, comprising of 267 districts and worked out the enteric methane emission from adult indigenous cattle, crossbred cattle and buffaloes of either sex. It emerged rather robustly from the study that there exist sharp inter-regional variations in methane emission rates which substantiates the need for baseline estimation with a regional dimension. The animals in high dairy potential zones of Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat emit more methane than animals in low dairy potential zones due to better feed and fodder availability. Methane emissions of dry animals are in general lower than the in-milk animals. Highest methane emissions come from buffalo followed by crossbred and indigenous cattle. The hot spots identified for attracting potential CDM projects in dairy sector are entire Haryana, parts of Punjab, Western Uttar Pradesh, the Amul belt of Gujarat, the sugarcane belt of Maharashtra, coastal Andhra and North Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh.

The district-wise baseline emissions estimated in the study can easily be recasted as project specific baselines, thus, reducing the transactions cost and investor bias in working out project specific baseline of any potential project.

Great care has been taken to ensure that this information is correct, however ThesisAbstracts.com cannot accept responsibility for the contents of this page title "Climate Change and Indian Dairy Sector: A Study of Baseline Scenario of Methane Emissions". This abstract has been submitted by E. Karunanithi on Apr 11, 2005 08:48. © Copyright 2003 - 2006 of ThesisAbstracts.com and respective owners.