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Livestock are the primary source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture in most African countries, but there is a paucity of baseline data and monitoring of GHG emissions from livestock in Africa, particularly for extreme or shock events. The COVID-19 pandemic represents a novels shock to livestock systems and may result in indirect effects on livestock emissions and other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Due to the pandemic in 2020, extensive pastoralist livestock systems in Northern Kenya were subjected to restrictions on movement, increased costs of transportation, and closure of livestock markets.

The objective of this study was to assess the indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on GHG emissions from livestock systems in Northern Kenya using proxy data and a three-part framework based on changes in 1) herd size, 2) feed availability, and 3) livestock …