BIODIVERSITY IN AGROECOSYSTEMS - CHAPTER 15 pot

CHAPTER 15Implementing the Global Strategy for the Management of Farm Animal Genetic Resources Keith Hammond and Helen W.. Erosion of adapted genetics threatens not only food security an

CHAPTER 15

Implementing the Global Strategy for

the Management of Farm Animal

Genetic Resources Keith Hammond and Helen W Leitch

CONTENTS

Introduction

Evolution of the Global Strategy

Principles of AnGR and the Rationale of the Strategy

Imperatives for Action

The Global Strategy

From Strategy to a Global Initiative

Benefits of the Global Strategy

Strengths and Innovative Features of the Global Strategy

References

INTRODUCTION

Domestic animals meet 30 to 40% of human needs for food and agriculture Over 1.96 billion people derive some livelihood from farm animals, and, for 12%

of the world population, domestic animals are the only assurance of food security

By the year 2030, world food production must increase by more than 75% in order simply to maintain current levels of food availability Animal production must increase by at least this amount

Domestic animal genetic resources (AnGR) underpin food security, yet irreplace-able resources are disappearing at an alarming rate: about 30% of the estimated

5000 breeds, comprising some 40 species of livestock, are at risk of extinction About 80% of these indigenous breeds at risk occur only in developing countries and few-to-no conservation programs are in place The fact that agriculture produc-tion depends on so few AnGR magnifies the importance of genetic diversity repre-sented by those remaining — diversity that provides farmers with the raw material

to develop livestock to be more productive; more able to resist diseases or better adapted to adverse conditions defined by available feeds, climate, and many other stresses; and more able to respond to the changing needs of modern communities AnGR is a key sector of agrobiodiversity Biodiversity enables the sustainable development of agriculture By definition, sustainability is production environment specific, and there is and will remain a diverse range of production environments globally Indigenous breeds are adapted to the low-input to medium-input production systems which account for about three quarters of production in the developing world However, encouraged by promises of high production, farmers are turning

to imported exotic breeds developed for high-input, comparatively benign agroeco-systems This displacement of locally adapted genetic resources often results in reduced productivity and sustainability and higher risk because the exotic breeds cannot tolerate the climatic, disease, and feed constraints and the frequent seasonal swings in these components Erosion of adapted genetics threatens not only food security and the ability to maintain sustainable agriculture throughout all production environments but also the cultural value of these indigenous resources

The best livestock development strategy for sustainable food and agriculture production and rural development is to improve or enhance breeds adapted to specific production environments

EVOLUTION OF THE GLOBAL STRATEGY

The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) mandate, which is regularly reviewed by its 174 member governments, covers (1) collating, analyzing, and reporting information; (2) providing technical assistance, with emphasis on the developing world; and (3) providing a forum for intergovernmental discussion and policy development The member governments have resolved that FAO should lead, coordinate, facilitate and report on the Strategy for the Management of Farm Animal

Genetic Resources (hereafter termed the Strategy) The term management

incorpo-rates the spectrum from surveying and characterizing, through to the development, use, maintenance, and access to these resources Member governments have accepted

a framework for the Strategy, and implementation involving donors and other holders has commenced The implementation of the Strategy involving all stake-holders is known as the Initiative for Domestic Animal Diversity

Since the early 1980s, FAO has provided technical assistance to member coun-tries in identifying and assessing their farm animal genetic resources, and in con-servation and utilization activities These activities, however, tended to be breed and country specific and on a scale which bore little relation to the magnitude of the problem The organization did contribute to the development of practical method-ologies for characterization and maintenance of animal genetic resources, and to a

growing awareness of the urgency and importance of addressing the problem of biodiversity erosion on an international scale While interventions ultimately must

be at the country level, farming systems and domestic animal breeds, and the threats

to their diversity and interest in accessing them, often cross national boundaries Further, an international approach to the management of this natural capital also offers many opportunities for economies, for understanding and sharing the task, and for the development and application of methodologies

Major developments, such as the UN Conference on Environment and Develop-ment (UNCED) in June 1992, the signing of Agenda 21, and ratification of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in December 1993, reinforced the need for the Strategy and served to shape the Strategy further The Commission on Sustainable Development mandated to review implementation of Agenda 21, and the Conference of the Parties (COP) negotiating and implementing the articles of the CBD will also influence the development of the Strategy

In November 1996, parties to the Rome Declaration on World Food Security recognized the need for sustainable food security and, to achieve this, for urgent action on erosion of biological diversity, pledging to implement the World Food Summit Plan of Action as their response Also in November, the third meeting of COP considered the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Agricultural Biological Diversity as a major agenda item and decided in relation to AnGR that the Conference:

20 Appreciates the importance of the country-based Global Strategy for the

Man-agement of Farm Animal Genetic Resources under the Food and Agriculture Orga-nization of the United Nations and strongly supports its further development,

(UNEP/CBD/COP/3/l.12)

PRINCIPLES OF AnGR AND THE RATIONALE

OF THE STRATEGY

Achieving “Food for All” will require sustainable intensification of agriculture

in many production environments The genetic makeup of an animal is the key to how it will respond to different aspects of the total production environment, partic-ularly those aspects related to the uses demanded of the animal, to climate, feed and water, exposure to disease, and to type of husbandry This tenet must be accepted

to achieve and maintain sustainable farming systems, to realize production and productivity increases, to manipulate product quality, and to minimize risk of pro-duction losses over time By definition, sustainability is specific to the propro-duction environment Further, there is and will remain a diverse range of production envi-ronments globally

Animals have been domesticated for thousands of years and have migrated over time as human communities occupied new areas Once settled in a new environment, little further movement occurred but the local animal populations were changed over time by the selection pressures exerted by the local environment, including the imposition of human needs The end result is that the gene pool of each farm animal species has been redistributed such that about half the quantitative genetic

differ-ences are unique to any one breed while the other half is common to all breed resources It is these quantitative genetic complexes associated with adaptation and performance that are central to food and agriculture production from animals Sustainable use of this between- and within-breed genetic diversity must be specific

to the production system

While genetic diversity underpins current production, both in terms of the aver-age level and consistency of production from season to season, diversity also provides the basis for achieving the necessary improvements in production, productivity, and product quality Activities directed at such sustainable intensification of livestock production should utilize genetic resources which are already adapted to the partic-ular farming system production environments This is because genetic adaptation takes generations to develop, so that use of resource material which is already adapted offers greater immediate and longer-term potential for achieving real and sustainable gains in system performance The challenge is to develop practical and affordable means of realizing this goal in responding to the Commitments of the World Food Summit Plan of Action (Rome Declaration)

The maintenance of genetic diversity also forms an essential hedge against future threats to world food security, especially those posed by diseases, climate change, and other modifications to the production environment The rapid modernization of agriculture, which has been so important in enabling the world to feed its expanding population during this century, has promoted as the solution the development and more or less universal adoption of high-intensity livestock production systems These systems have been based on a very few species and breeds that have been developed

to respond to intensive care, treatment, and feeding Although less resilient to harsh conditions, these developed breeds are displacing and contributing to the progressive elimination of breeds which have been adapted over time to lower inputs and often harsh environments Although this widespread displacement is the greatest cause of genetic erosion, there are several factors which place breeds at risk of loss and threaten domestic animal diversity These factors are listed in Table 1

Table 1 List of Causes for Risk of Loss or Extinction of Breeds

Aid Lack of incentive to develop and use breeds, giving preference to those few

developed for use in high-input, high-output relatively benign environments Product Undue emphasis placed on a specific product or trait leading to the rapid

dissemination of one breed of animal to exclusion and loss of others Crossbreeding Indiscriminate crossbreeding which can quickly lead to the loss of original

breeds Storage Failure of the cryopreservation equipment and inadequate supply of liquid

nitrogen to store samples of semen, ova, or embryos; or inadequate maintenance of animal populations for breeds not currently in use Technology Introduction of new machinery to replace animal draught and transport

resulting in permanent change of farming system Biotechnology Poorly interpreted international genetic evaluation; artificial insemination and

embryo transfer leading to rapid replacement of indigenous breeds Violence Wars and other forms of sociopolitical instability

Disaster Natural disasters such as floods, drought, or famine

Paradoxically, then, the very success of modern animal-breeding programs is the principal factor redirecting effort from adapted and local breed use and development, eroding the breadth of genetic material available for future breeding work

A series of expert consultations supported by FAO and the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) have identified and described the major issues underlying the rationale for the Strategy,

1 Demand for animal products in most developing countries is increasing more rapidly than for plant products; the main effect of this will be intensification of the range of periurban and mixed farming production systems This must be sustainable intensification It will also require that the large pastoral areas, to which local species and breeds are well adapted, are kept in production under sustainable systems.

2 Increasing sophistication of developed country consumers is moving demand away from uniform animal products to more varied products but with consistency of each variant also being increasingly demanded Animal welfare and human health concerns are also being increasingly highlighted Consumers are paying premium prices for foods which are grown under lower-intensity systems and which meet current lifestyle nutritional needs These trends will continue to generate stronger market incentives for the use of more-diverse genetic resources and consequently for the maintenance of some additional farm animal biodiversity.

These observations reinforce the view that the most cost-effective way to maintain animal breeds is the development of production and marketing policies that make

it financially attractive for farmers to maintain and improve local breeds Sound genetic resource utilization policy will be particularly important for the animal species because of the high unit cost of individual animals and the often long generation interval of species

Preliminary survey results show that most countries possess a number of the

5000 or so remaining breeds of farm livestock, with the majority of these breeds occurring only in developing countries Most of these animal genetic resources are owned by small farmers, emphasizing the importance of private good to the sound management of these resources The World Watch List for Domestic Animal Diver-sity (FAO/UNEP, 1995) lists 3882 breeds for 25 domestic species in over 180 countries Globally, 30% of breeds are classified as endangered and criticial based

on population size (Table 2) FAO defines “endangered” as populations having <1000 breeding females and <20 breeding males, and critical as populations having <100 breeding females and <5 breeding males Of the breeds listed under these two categories, 36% are managed either through a conservation program or maintained

by an institute Presumably, the risk of loss of these breeds actively managed or maintained is far lower than breed populations outside such management programs

Of the total number of breeds with population data identified globally (2924), 19% are categorized as endangered or critical and lack a breed conservation management program As such, there is a very high risk of loss of these animal genetic resources Where pricing systems and allocation of benefits are inadequate, public funding will

be required for effective management of these resources

The development of competitive, sustainable production systems does not war-rant the use of all existing breeds for a particular period of time Consequently,

utilization does not provide the universal solution for conservation of domestic animal diversity Nor is it essential to retain all breeds to ensure the ready availability

of the breadth of domestic animal diversity Systematic breed-level characterization

of the genetic composition of species would make it possible to develop least-cost strategies for maintaining a maximum of genetic breadth within each species from

a limited number of breeds

Table 2 Breeds of Domestic Animals at High Risk by Species

Species

Total No

Breeds on File

No Breeds with Population Data ( of Total)

No of Breeds Categorized

as Critical or Endangered (% of Which Are Maintained)

No of Breeds

at High Risk of Loss (%) a Mammalian

Avian

a At risk determined based on breeds with population data having <1000 breeding females or

<20 breeding males and for which there is no conservation program in place.

b Includes mithan and banteng.

c Includes cassowary, emu, and nandu.

Source: Adapted from FAO/UNEP (1995).

Although semen and embryos of only a few of the endangered breeds are held

in cryopreservation storage, where the technology has been developed, it appears to offer a viable alternative to live animal conservation when that is not feasible The nature of cryopreservation of animal cells renders such storage very high risk without sample duplication

The geographically dispersed nature of the resources and the need to involve a range of stakeholders nationally and internationally strongly suggest that a cost-effective Strategy must also incorporate efficient information-sharing systems Mod-ern data processing, storage, analysis, and communication technologies offer par-ticularly important new potential for achieving this, and full advantage must be taken

of these opportunities in developing the Strategy

Many policy issues concerning the good management of animal genetic resources remain to be addressed, such as:

1 Ownership and sovereignty;

2 Access rights and sharing of benefits;

3 Facilitating use and development;

4 Roles of culture, gender, and indigenous knowledge;

5 Priorities for conservation of breed-level diversity;

6 Intellectual property rights;

7 Use of biotechnology in characterization, utilization, maintenance, and in research and training;

8 Biosafety concerning the use of modified organisms and alien genetic resources; and

9 Zoosanitary aspects of transport of resources for purposes of research, training, and commercial use.

Because of the transboundary and legal implications which these present, such issues must be dealt with by an intergovernmental mechanism; hence, the framework for the Strategy must provide for an intergovernmental mechanism

IMPERATIVES FOR ACTION

Based on this rationale for upgrading the management of farm animal genetic resources, FAO has identified the following imperatives for action:

1 Identify and understand the genetic resources of each domesticated animal

spe-cies which collectively comprise the global gene pool for food and agriculture;

2 Develop and utilize correctly the associated diversity to increase production and

productivity, to achieve sustainable agricultural systems, and, where required, to meet demands for specific product types;

3 Monitor, in particular, those resources which are currently represented by very

few animals or which are being displaced by breed replacement strategies;

4 Preserve the unique resources which are not currently in demand by farmers;

5 Train and involve people in all essential facets of management of these resources;

and

6 Communicate to the world at large the importance and value of the domestic

animal genetic resources and of the associated diversity, its current high exposure

to loss, and the impossibility of its replacement To facilitate effective communi-cation a clear set of terminology is necessary A minimum set of terms is given in Table 3.

The Strategy must be country focused both to recognize properly the sovereignty that nations have over their AnGR and because resources are lost or saved at the country level For success, and in understanding and developing genetic resources, the Strategy must also focus interventions on identifiable production environments

THE GLOBAL STRATEGY

To assist countries to respond to these imperatives for upgrading the management

of animal genetic resources, a framework for a global strategy has been supported and is known as the Strategy for the Management of Farm Animal Genetic Resources

Table 3 Working Definitions Proposed for Conservation

Animal Genetic Resources (AnGR) At the breed level, the genetically unique breed populations formed throughout all domestication processes within each animal species used for the production of food and agriculture, together with their immediate wild relatives (here

“breed” is accepted as a cultural rather than a technical term, i.e., to emphasize ownership, and also includes strains and research lines).

Domestic Animal Diversity (DAD) The genetic variation or genetic diversity existing among the species, breeds and individuals, for all animal species which have been domesticated and their immediate wild relatives.

Conservation (of DAD) The sum total of all operations involved in the management of animal genetic resources, such that these resources are best used and developed to meet immediate and short-term requirements for food and agriculture, and to ensure the diversity they harbor remains available to meet possible longer-term needs.

Conservation (in general) The management of human use of the biosphere so that it may yield the greatest sustainable benefit to present generations while maintaining its potential to meet the needs and aspirations of future generations Thus, conservation is positive, embracing preservation, maintenance, sustainable utilization, restoration, and enhancement of the natural environment (IUCN-UNEP-WWF and FAO-UNESCO, 1980).

In Situ Conservation Primarily the active breeding of animal populations for food production and agriculture, such that diversity is both best utilized in the short term and maintained for the longer term Operations pertaining to in situ conservation include performance-recording schemes and development (breeding) programs In situ conservation also includes ecosystem management and use for the sustainable production of food and agriculture For wild relatives

in situ conservation — generally called in situ preservation — is the maintenance of live populations of animals in their adaptive environment or as close to it as practically possible.

Ex Situ Conservation In the context of conservation of domestic animal diversity, ex situ

conservation means storage It involves the preservation as animals of a sample of a breed in

a situation removed from its normal production environment or habitat, and/or the collection and cryopreservation of resources in the form of living semen, ova, embryos, or tissues, which can be used to regenerate animals While other methods of genetic manipulation, such as the use of various recombinant DNA techniques, may represent useful means of studying or improving breeds, they do not constitute ex situ conservation and may not serve conservation objectives At present, the technical capacity to regenerate whole organisms from isolated DNA does not exist.

Source: Adapted from FAO (1995).

The framework of the Strategy consists of four fundamental components The

Strategy is designed to be comprehensive to emphasize the balanced approach required to understand, utilize, and maintain AnGR better and more cost-effectively over time The four fundamental components of the Strategy are

1 A global, country-based structure comprising three elements:

a Focal points and networks to assist countries design, implement, and maintain comprehensive national strategies for the management of their AnGR The need has been clearly demonstrated to distribute the focal points to at least three levels — country, regional and global — although for effective policy and technical development subregional networks are also indicated for some regions.

b Stakeholder involvement, which FAO will lead and coordinate This element provides for a broad range of dimensions of involvement: geographical, AnGR management element, production environment, species, time, and funding level.

c A virtual structure to enable collection and use of information, coordination, reporting, and to facilitate the spectrum of management processes This virtual structure is known as the Domestic Animal Diversity Information System (DAD-IS) ( Figure 1 ) It is being developed as an advanced communications and information system primarily for country use Its security protocols enable countries to be responsible for validation of data and to determine what and when data are released to the world, emphasizing the country-based concept DAD-IS also serves as the primary clearinghouse mechanism for this sector of biodiversity as required under the CBD.

2 A technical program of activity aimed at supporting effective management action

at the country level, in harmony with the CBD, and comprising a set of six elements:

a Characterization, encompassing demographic and environment, phenotypic, and genetic indicators and assessment;

b In situ utilization and conservation;

c Ex situ conservation;

d Communication and information system development, including the develop-ment of DAD-IS and training;

e Guidelines development and action planning; and

f Collaboration, coordination, and policy instrument development ( Figure 2 ).

3 Cadres of experts to guide development of the Strategy and maximize its cost-effectiveness.

4 An intergovernmental mechanism for direct government involvement, policy devel-opment, and support This is provided by the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA) (Figure 2).

To take full advantage of the Strategy, countries are being invited by FAO to nominate an institution as a National Focal Point (NFP) and to identify a national technical coordinator (NC) The NC serves as the point of contact for the involvement

of the country in the Strategy and will assist in organizing the essential in-country networking, facilitating, and coordinating activity To ensure the country level has access to the necessary level of assistance and to best utilize the limited resources

of the Global Focus, the planned coordination structure provides for decentralization

to the regional level Regional Focal Points (RFP) are to be implemented in each major genetic storehouse region of the world

The technical program of activity is structured to facilitate implementation and reporting and is being developed to align with the CBD (see Figure 2) Each technical element provides for a set of connected activities, for example,

1 Characterization Indicators and assessment of AnGR are essential to mount a

program of management These are required at four levels:

a Baseline surveys — national inventories of AnGR and of primary production

environments form the essential starting points for the development of Action Plans, including the Early Warning System for AnGR.

b Monitoring — review of the population status of particular AnGR at risk for

effective and efficient conservation and as the ongoing basic need for Early Warning.

c Comparative genetic evaluation — increased knowledge of the unique qualities

of breeds under each production environment, as the basis for making best use

of these resources in the short and longer term.

d Genetic distancing — a comparative molecular description strategy is being

developed to establish which breeds harbor significant unique genetic diversity, allowing better-targeted conservation actions and facilitating baseline surveying.

2 In situ utilization and conservation These activities primarily involve the active

breeding of animal populations such that genetic diversity is best utilized in the

short term and maintained for the longer term In situ operations include establishing

Figure 1 Structure of Domestic Animal Diversity Information System (DAD-IS).