New Zealand

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You’ve reached the Global Research Alliance New Zealand page

Globally, around 14% of all greenhouse gas emissions come from agricultural activities; in New Zealand, the figure is nearly 50% (see inventory). Our emissions profile and our well-established scientific research programmes to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from temperate pastoral livestock systems have made New Zealand a key contributor to the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases (GRA).

New Zealand’s involvement with the GRA also provides opportunities for our scientists to collaborate with renowned institutes and researchers from around the world, and to share knowledge and expertise with the global science community.

New Zealand’s contributions to the GRA

New Zealand is a founding member and contributes to the GRA by:

hosting the GRA Secretariat, including the Special Representative
accelerating global research;
building international capability;
co-chairing the Livestock Research Group, alongside Ireland and UK;
co-chairing the Indigenous Research Network, alongside Samoa;
participating in the Integrative Research Group and Croplands Research Group;
formerly chairing the GRA Council from June 2011 to June 2012.

In 2020, the New Zealand Government provided additional funding of $34 million over 4 years contributing to New Zealand’s continued leadership, participation and investment in the GRA, including working with other countries to build capability or researchers, policy makers and farmers.

New Zealand is represented in the GRA by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), working closely with the environment and climate change groups from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and the Ministry for the Environment (MfE). MPI contracts the New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre to manage New Zealand’s involvement in the Livestock Research Group and New Zealand’s GRA science research activities.

On this page, you will find New Zealand’s Research Group contacts and information on our research collaborations and capability building activities to support the GRA.

Mitigation Research Collaboration Projects

New Zealand supports research collaborations through international research projects. Research has been divided into methane, soil carbon, and nitrous oxide projects, as well as whole farm systems projects. Click on the appropriate heading below to view each detailed list. The priorities and funding mechanisms for New Zealand GRA mitigation research funding can be viewed here: MPI GRA Mitigation Research Priorities – Jan2021

New Zealand GRA Contacts

Dr Harry Clark

New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre

Livestock Research Group Co-Chair

harry.clark@nzagrc.org.nz

Professor Louis Schipper

University of Waikato

Croplands Research Group

schipper@waikato.ac.nz

Dr Mike Beare

Plant and Food Research

Croplands Research Group

mike.beare@plantandfood.co.nz

Andrea Pickering

New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Centre

Agricultural GHG Inventories

andrea.pickering@nzagrc.org.nz

Mitigation Research Collaboration Projects

New Zealand supports research collaborations through international research projects. Research is divided into methane, soil carbon, and nitrous oxide projects, as well as whole farm systems projects. Click on the appropriate heading below to view each detailed list.

Research to reduce enteric methane (CH4) emissions from ruminant livestock is very important in New Zealand agricultural greenhouse gas mitigation. Around 1/3 of our GHG emissions are in the form of enteric methane (a much higher proportion than found in other Annex 1 countries), reflecting our heavily agricultural economy.

Project Title	Objectives / Outcomes	Countries Involved	Time Frame
Antibody binding to antigenic targets in the rumen	To better optimise antigen production and improve the effectiveness of anti-methanogen vaccines, through better understanding protein recognition by antibodies and strength of binding.	New Zealand Argentina, Australia	Nov 2017 – Sept 2020
Using microbiomes to predict methane emissions from cattle	To offer sequencing of microbial composition to GRA member countries in order to provide a technology to predict and select low methane emitting ruminant systems, which previously was out of reach; and collate a data set that could be used to develop predictors.	New Zealand, Ireland, UK, Finland, France, Uruguay, Brazil	May 2018 – Jun 2021
Using microbiomes to predict methane emissions in sheep	To understand whether the microbial community that is hosted in the forestomach of the sheep in symbiotic relationship could be sampled and described sufficiently to test whether the composition 1) varied between individual sheep and 2) could be used to predict how much methane a sheep might emit during digestion.	New Zealand, Australia	Aug 2017 – Sept 2020
Delivering methane inhibitors to pasture-fed ruminants	To develop a proof of concept method for modifying filamentous fungi to produce methane inhibitors for supply to pasture-grazing ruminants.	New Zealand	May 2018 – Sept 2020
Capturing Effects of Diet on Emissions from Ruminant Systems (CEDERS)	To extend knowledge of ruminant dietary effects on GHG emissions and sustainable production and improving GHG accounting methodologies, using a transnational approach.	New Zealand Netherlands, UK, France	Sept 2017 – Jun 2021
Predicting appropriate GHG mitigation strategies based on modelling variables that contribute to ruminant environmental impact (RUMEN PREDICT)	The New Zealand contribution to the RumenPredict project was to analyse, and integrate into the project database, existing sheep rumen metagenome and metatranscriptome datasets and generate new sequence datasets from rumen contents and buccal samples of pasture-fed sheep with associated methane yield measurements via a Community Science Program project at the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute.	New Zealand, UK, Finland, France, Sweden, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands	Sept 2017 – Sept 2020
Refining direct fed microbial and silage inoculants for reduction of methane emissions from ruminants (METHLAB)	To develop lactic acid bacteria (LAB) as on-farm technologies (direct-fed microbial supplements, silage inoculants) to reduce methane emissions from ruminant livestock.	New Zealand, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Italy	Sept 2017 -Sept 2020
Support for the Hungate 1000 culture collection	To revive, maintain, preserve, ensure availability of the Hungate 1000 culture collection strains to international researchers and the planning of transition of the Hungate 1000 culture collection to an internationally recognised commercial culture collection.	New Zealand	Feb 2019 – Jun 2020
Targeting hydrogen and methyl-compound production in the rumen to prevent methanogens using these compounds to make methane	This project targets the main microbial groups producing hydrogen and methyl-compounds and aims to lower their activities to reduce substrate supply to methanogens.	New Zealand, Japan, USA	Aug 2017 – Dec 2020

Click here for completed projects

Nitrous oxide is also very important to agricultural greenhouse gas mitigation in New Zealand, particularly in our pasture based grazing systems where the emissions can be difficult to control. Nitrous oxide represents 1/5 of New Zealand’s GHGs.

Project Title

Objectives / Outcomes

Countries Involved

Time Frame

Mitigation of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions by improved pH management of soils

This project is based on the emerging understanding of how soil pH controls the N2O/N2 product ratio of denitrification.

New Zealand, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, UK

Sept 2017- Jun 2020

Discovery of new nitrification inhibitors: Phase II

To build on the round three GPLER project which identified potential nitrification inhibitors by testing these substances under laboratory and field conditions.

New Zealand, China, UK

Aug 2017 – Dec 2020

The N2O switch

To develop a tool to identify N2O emission pathways in order to better target mitigation.

New Zealand, Germany

Jul 2017 – Sept 2020

Improving national GHG inventories for manure management (DataMan)

To provide access to the most up-to-date knowledge on nitrous oxide, ammonia, and methane emission factors for all relevant activity and ancillary data relating to manure management.

New Zealand

Jun 2018 – Jun 2020

Mitigating N₂O emissions by optimising irrigation management

To understand how irrigation can be effectively managed to maximise soil diffusivity (Dp/Do) to mitigate N2O emissions.

New Zealand, Australia

Aug 2017 – Sept 2020

Mapping and managing urine patches to reduce nitrous oxide emissions (SPIKEY)

To develop a new mitigation technology (“Spikey-Rˮ) for farmers and agricultural industries in New Zealand and internationally that can accurately locate and map the size and shape of urine patches, for use in measuring and reducing N2O emissions from grazed pastures.

New Zealand, Australia, Ireland

Jul 2017 – Jun 2020

Click here for completed projects

Capability Building

These projects aim to help developing countries improve their ability to understand, measure and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from pastoral livestock agriculture, drawing on New Zealand’s extensive experience and expertise in this area. New Zealand supports regional capability projects, technical training and regional workshops as well as fellowships and awards.

Participants in New Zealand during the February 2019 GRA-WFO study tour

Project & Duration	Objectives / Outcomes	Countries involved
“The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Regional Fund for Agricultural Technology (FONTAGRO) Project 2” In Progress	Two regional projects, one on Andean dairy production systems and the second on central American silvo-pastoral production systems, aims to improved national greenhouse gas inventory reporting and develop specific mitigation options related to local farming conditions.	NZ, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
“IDB FONTAGRO Project 1” Completed	This regional project on beef production systems in Latin American has improved national greenhouse gas inventory reporting and developed specific mitigation options related to local farming conditions.	NZ, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Dominican Republic, Uruguay
“South East Asia inventory project” Completed	New Zealand supported these countries to work together to identify common areas of need in livestock emission research, improving relations among researchers in New Zealand and in the countries involved. Further collaborations developing a number of projects based on the priority areas identified are underway.	NZ, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia
“African Inventory and Monitoring workshop”NZ, 27-31 July 2015 Completed	African regional inventory compilers and/or agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU)/agriculture sector experts attended an inventories workshop in NZ to understand benefits of improving national agriculture greenhouse gas inventory reporting.	NZ, Botswana, Ghana, South Africa
“SE Asia Inventory and Monitoring workshop”Bangkok, Thailand 23-25 September 2015 Completed	Demonstrated the benefits of higher-Tier GHG inventories for livestock systems and improved participating countries’ inventories consistent with their national circumstances, priorities and capacities by demonstrating identifying the steps needed to be taken.	NZ, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Viet Nam
“Measurement and mitigation of greenhouse gases in South-East Asian livestock systems”Bangkok, ThailandMarch 2012 CompletedHanoi, Vietnam September 2012 Completed	New Zealand supported the LRG to hold a workshop identifying mitigation options common across SE Asian Livestock Systems. Following the technical workshop New Zealand funded an additional meeting to develop a 12-month regional project involving Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia to build capability in GHG emission measurement and mitigation.	NZ, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam
“Measurement and mitigation of greenhouse gases in African livestock systems: building capability to meet the challenge”Nairobi, Kenya 24-26 September 2012 Completed	The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) hosted by MPI, ILRI and Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) in support of the objectives of the LRG. Improved understanding of the diversity of livestock systems in the region, the greenhouse gas emissions and the special characteristics of those systems. Also showcased existing research programmes and document critical data, knowledge and capability gaps in order to identify activities that would help enhance the region’s ability to measure, monitor and develop options to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions intensity from livestock systems while improving the livelihoods of small holder farmers.	NZ, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda
“Workshop on building capability in measurement, inventory and mitigation of greenhouse gases for African farming systems”Accra, Ghana November 2012 Completed	Measurement and inventory of agricultural greenhouse gases in African farming systems. Improved understanding of farming systems and documented critical data, knowledge, and capability gaps that need to be addressed to enhance the countries’ ability to measure, monitor, and inventory greenhouse gas emissions in order to inform ways to improve productivity and resiliency of agriculture under climate change in a sustainable manner.	NZ, Canada, France, Netherlands, BeninGabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Niger, South Africa, Togo, Zambia, Zimbabwe
“Methods of measurement of methane emissions from forage-fed ruminants”Palmerston North, NZ January 2013 Completed	Participants received ‘hands-on’ training to develop skills that when applied in their home organisation/country will improve the measurement of and understanding of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. This will facilitate their future or ongoing participation in research, development and extension activities or programmes directly related to the mitigation of livestock greenhouse gas emissions. This course covered aspects of methane measurement using both the SF₆ and chamber techniques.	NZ, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Uruguay
“Training course in livestock and climate change, and methods for measuring GHG emissions”South Africa, September 2014 Completed	An introduction to the issues facing ‘Livestock and Climate Change’ was provided followed by technical training on nitrous oxide measurements from manual/automatic chambers and methane emission measurements from ruminants using the SF6 tracer technique and respiration chambers.	NZ, Botswana, Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Project Title	Objectives / Outcomes	Countries Involved	Time Frame
Wise use of drained peatlands in a bio-based economy (PEATWISE)	To quantify emission factors from different land uses and production systems such as agriculture, silviculture, paludiculture and energy supply, building on past experience and interdisciplinary research. Contract signed and project underway.	New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands	Sept 2017 – Sept 2020
Development of novel GHG mitigation strategies and smart monitoring tools for dairy production systems (GREENMILK)	To identify a range of a methane reduction traits that could be used within a genetic improvement program, and to evaluate the policy frameworks that could be used to incentivise adoption.	New Zealand	Apr 2017 – Jun 2020
Understanding the effects of variation in individual animal production on greenhouse gas emissions (BIGDATA)	To develop systems to enable real-time tracking of feed intake and production, which can be used to optimize farm management practices and reduce greenhouse gas emissions for commercial dairy and beef farms in New Zealand.	New Zealand, UK	May 2018 – Sep 2020

New Zealand

You’ve reached the Global Research Alliance New Zealand page

New Zealand’s contributions to the GRA

New Zealand GRA Contacts

Dr Harry Clark

Professor Louis Schipper

Dr Mike Beare

Andrea Pickering

Mitigation Research Collaboration Projects

Capability Building

Project & Duration

Objectives / Outcomes

Countries involved

Events

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