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Book (stand-alone)People and Animals
Traditional Livestock Keepers: guardians of domestic animal diversity
2007Also available in:
No results found.Achieving food security for all is at the heart of the mandate of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The key role of agricultural biodiversity in meeting this objective was once more emphasized by the Secretary-General of the United Nations on World Food Day in 2004, when he urged for greater attention to the role of biodiversity in the fight against hunger. By protecting and increasing the world's stock of genetic resources, small-scale farmers and herders are making an especially important contribution to food security. Their role as guardians of biodiversity has formally been recognized by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in article 8j. Furthermore, in Decision VII/3 the CBD invited all governments to mainstream agricultural biodiversity in their national plans, programmes and strategies with the active participation of local and indigenous communities. It also encouraged them to recognize and support the efforts of local and i ndigenous communities in conserving agricultural biodiversity. The Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture facilitates and oversees cooperation between FAO and the Conference of Parties to the CBD. It coordinates FAO’s interaction and work with the CBD and with other international bodies, in the areas of conservation and sustainable utilization of genetic resources for food and agriculture, as well as the fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from their use. I n collaboration with livestock communities, research centres, universities, governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), FAO identified and documented 13 case studies on how communities manage their local animal genetic resources. These case studies demonstrate that local knowledge is crucial in preserving the equilibrium between farmers, their animals and the environment. However, livestock keepers’ role in maintaining this balance and conserving biodiversity is under a great deal of pressure from changing land tenure policies to the benefit of the private sector and the expansion of natural reserves. Formal government involvement could significantly reduce farmers’ exposure to these risks. This study aims to raise awareness and subsequently encourage decision-makers to include conservation and development of animal genetic resources in legal, regulatory and institutional planning. -
DocumentBiocultural Community Protocols for Livestock Keepers 2010
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No results found.Biocultural Community Protocols are a new approach that provides livestock-keeping communities the opportunity of documenting and showcasing their role in the management of animal genetic resources and agro-ecosystems. They offer insights into the all-important socio-cultural dimensions of livestock diversity that have remained invisible during standard livestock research on animal genetic resources. They provide an opportunity for communities to tell the story from their perspective and bring t o light issues that researchers and development workers have not paid attention to so far. They describe the ritual and ceremonial meaning of livestock, they document traditional resource management and drought adaptation strategies, they identify the factors that may have led to the decline of a breed, and they make specific requests to outsiders for recognition of their role as custodians of biological diversity. Establishment of a biocultural community protocol involves a facilitated process in which a community or group of livestock keepers reflects about the meaning of their breeds, their own role in maintaining it and their vision and concerns for and about the future. The reflections are put on paper, and the community is informed about existing national rules and international legal frameworks that support its role in biodiversity conservation. Although the number of biocultural community protocols that has been established by livestock keepers is still limited, they have alrea dy validated the concept and there is an enormous interest among other communities in developing their protocols. Biocultural community protocols contribute to the implementation of several international frameworks. The most important of these are the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and the Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources. They also correspond to and implement the provisions of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People as well as the Voluntary Guidelines to S upport the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security. Furthermore, they may provide an answer to the increasingly debated question of how to protect the rights of small-scale livestock keepers in a global scenario in which Intellectual Property Rights become ever more prevalent in animal breeding. At community level, the development of biocultural community protocols strengthens interest in the conservation of indigenous livestock breeds and i nitiates a discussion about how to deal with factors undermining conservation -
Book (stand-alone)The State of the World’s Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture 2007The wise management of the world’s agricultural biodiversity is becoming an ever greater challenge for the international community. The livestock sector in particular is undergoing dramatic changes as large-scale production expands in response to surging demand for meat, milk and eggs. A wide portfolio of animal genetic resources is crucial to adapting and developing our agricultural production systems. Climate change and the emergence of new and virulent animal diseases underline the need to re tain this adaptive capacity. For hundreds of millions of poor rural households, livestock remain a key asset, often meeting multiple needs, and enabling livelihoods to be built in some of the world’s harshest environments. Livestock production makes a vital contribution to food and livelihood security, and to meeting the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. It will be of increasing significance in the coming decades. And yet, genetic diversity is under threat. The reported rate of breed extinctions is of great concern, but it is even more worrying that unrecorded genetic resources are being lost before their characteristics can be studied and their potential evaluated. Strenuous efforts to understand, prioritize and protect the world’s animal genetic resources for food and agriculture are required. Sustainable patterns of utilization must be established. Traditional livestock keepers – often poor and in marginal environments – have been the stewards of much of our animal geneti c diversity. We should not ignore their role or neglect their needs. Equitable arrangements for benefit-sharing are needed, and broad access to genetic resources must be ensured. An agreed international framework for the management of these resources is crucial.
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