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THE
developing world will be the hot spot of breed diversity
loss in the 21st century, according to a report on the
state of farm diversity released recently by the United
Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
In “The
State of the World’s Animal Genetic Resources for Food
and Agriculture,” the FAO said the rapid spread of
large-scale industrial livestock production focused on a
narrow range of breeds is the biggest threat to the
world’s farm animal diversity.
The UN
unit noted that the rise in global demand for meat, milk
and eggs has led to heavy reliance on high-output
animals intensively bred to supply uniform products.
“In the
next 40 years, the world’s population will rise from
today’s 6.2 billion to 9 billion, with all the growth
occurring in the developing countries,” said FAO
assistant director-general Alexander Mueller.
Because
of this, FAO said, breed diversity loss may be faster in
the developing world.
The
report noted that in
Vietnam
the percentage of indigenous sows declined from 72
percent of the total population in 1994 to only 26
percent in 2002. Of its 14 local breeds, five breeds are
vulnerable, two in a critical state and three are facing
extinction.
In
Kenya, the introduction of the Dorper sheep has caused
the almost complete disappearance of pure-bred Red
Maasai sheep.
“Global
warming is an additional threat to all genetic
resources, increasing the pressure on biodiversity.
Yet, we need these genetic resources for the adaptation
of agriculture to climate change,” said Mueller.
FAO
warned that one livestock breed a month has become
extinct over the past seven years, and that time is
running out for one-fifth of the world’s best breeds of
cattle, goats, pigs, horses and poultry.
“[The]
report, the first-ever global overview of livestock
biodiversity and of the capacity within countries to
manage their animal genetic resources, is a wake-up call
to the world,” said Mueller.
FAO said
the report may only be a partial picture of the genetic
erosion taking place, as breed inventories are
inadequate in many parts of the world. The report draws
on the data from 169 countries including the
Philippines. |
