The LEAD (Livestock, Environment and Development) initiative is
an inter-institutional consortium with the secretariat located
within FAO. The work of the initiative targets the protection
and enhancement of natural resources affected by livestock
production while at the same time alleviating poverty. The work
of the LEAD initiative focuses on the close and complex
interactions between government policies and the environmental
impact of livestock production. Its scope is to support the
formulation and implementation of effective policy frameworks,
at local, national and global levels. To this effect, LEAD
conducts analysis and maintains databases to monitor and
estimate the consequences of livestock sector’s growth and
structural changes. It also identifies technologies to mitigate
the negative effects and maximise the positive effects of
different modes of production, and assesses ways to enhance
their development and adoption. From 2000 to 2007, LEAD operated
as an FAO project supported by the World Bank, t