Abstract:
Animal and human welfare are interlinked with each other and to climate change as well. The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) defines vulnerability to climate change as “the
degree to which a system is susceptible, or unable to cope with adverse effect of climate change,
including climate variability and extremes. Vulnerability is a function of the character, magnitude,
and rate of climate variation to which a system is exposed, its sensitivity, and its adaptive
capacity.” Exposure is the nature and degree to which a system is exposed to significant climatic
variations. Sensitivity is the degree to which a system is affected, either adversely or beneficially
by climate-related stimuli. Adaptive capacity is the ability of a system to adjust to climate change
including climate variability and extremes, to moderate the potential damage from it, to take
advantage of its opportunities, or to cope with its consequences (IPCC 2001). Vulnerability indices
for large communities, crop agriculture, businesses/industries, and regions/counties have been
prepared and are commonly used by developmental agencies in quantifying climate change
vulnerability and prioritizing fund allocation. Besides climatic variables, such as livestock sector
has special consideration for experimental data like feed and fodder compositions and availability,
soil nutrients, animals’ blood biochemistry, prevalence diseases, incidence of metabolic diseases
like mastitis, reproductive performance of animals etc. The commonly available vulnerability
models have no provision for including this type of data. Therefore, there is need for exploring the
possibility of quantifying vulnerabilities and adaptive capacity in livestock production systems,
factors (called indicators and sub-indicators; reported and available from reliable sources). There
are very few models for mathematical representation of vulnerability in animal production
systems. These indices can be used for mathematical quantification of vulnerability which can
help in prioritizing fund allocation for climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies.
