1. Level of characterization
The detail required for a Party’s livestock characterization is linked to the methods used by the Party to estimate emissions from each category, and should be done in accordance with the recommendations in the IPCC Good Practice Guidance. It is “[g]ood practice…to identify the appropriate method for estimating emissions for each source category, and then base the [livestock] characterization on the most detailed requirements identified for each livestock species.”

The IPCC Good Practice Guidance is clear in defining that the level of the livestock characterization (i.e., basic or enhanced) is determined after identification of the methods that have to be applied to each category, which is a function of the key category analysis and the individual significance of the sub-categories (see Figure 4.1 in IPCC Good Practice Guidance).