In the global South, dairying is often promoted as a means of poverty alleviation. Yet, under conditions of climate warming, little is known regarding the ability of small-scale dairy producers to maintain production and/or the robustness of possible adaptation options in meeting the challenges presented, particularly heat stress. The authors created a simple, deterministic model to explore the influence of breed and heat stress relief options on smallholder dairy farmers in Odisha, India. Breeds included indigenous Indian (non-descript), low-grade Jersey crossbreed and high-grade Jersey crossbreed. Relief strategies included providing shade, fanning and bathing. The impact of predicted critical global climate parameters, a 2°C and 4°C temperature rise were explored. A feed price scenario was modelled to illustrate the importance of feed in impact estimation. Feed costs were increased by 10% to 30%. Across the simulations, high-grade Jersey crossbreeds maintained higher milk yields, despite being the most sensitive to the negative effects of temperature. Low-capital relief strategies were the most effective at reducing heat stress impacts on household income. However, as feed costs increased the lower-grade Jersey crossbreed became the most profitable breed. The high-grade Jersey crossbreed was only marginally (4.64%) more profitable than the indigenous breed. The results demonstrate the importance of understanding the factors and practical trade-offs that underpin adaptation. The model also highlights the need for hot-climate dairying projects and programmes to consider animal genetic resources alongside environmentally sustainable adaptation measures for greatest poverty impact.

The Nigerian indigenous pigs (NIP) are threatened to lose their genetic diversity through unsustainable farming practices in Nigeria. Therefore, the genetic relationships of NIP and commercially developed cross-bred pigs were evaluated to pinpoint a possible source of pure uncontaminated genetic stocks of NIP for conservation. Blood protein polymorphisms were used as a preliminary genetic analysis of blood samples from a total of 120 pigs (79 NIP from three separate locations and 41 cross-bred pigs). Nineteen polymorphic bands of the blood proteins globulin, transferrin and albumin were observed by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and a phylogenetic dendrogram was developed to analyse the genetic relationship between the NIPs. The three NIPs were found to have a high genetic similarity (84 percent similarity coefficient), and were found to be distinctly different from the commercially cross-bred strains. One line from a farm in Ogbooro, Saki Oyo, Nigeria was identified as a relatively stable genetic resource that may be a suitable NIP for future conservation efforts.

The loss of biodiversity has become a major environmental issue during the course of the twentieth century. Numerous indigenous farm animal breeds have been replaced by commercial breeds in agricultural production processes in industrialized countries, sometimes resulting in complete breed loss and at other times placing the breed in an endangered status. Loss of breeds occurs mainly due to the striving for more intensive production, which often means that indigenous farm animal breeds are kept in conventional production only in marginal agricultural areas. One such endangered breed is the Yakutian Cattle, an indigenous Siberian cattle breed that is kept in the Russian Far East. The cattle have a low output but valuable characteristics that confer adaptation to the northern environment. This article addresses the socio-cultural and political context of conservation of the cattle at different levels in society. The conservation of animal genetic resources is embedded in the international agenda, and the Russian Federation has ratified conventions to protect them. The conservation is de facto organized at the republic level. The local communities carry out the conservation in practice by keeping and maintaining the cattle, although the conservation was initiated by the scientific community. We suggest that the conservation of Yakutian Cattle is based on national and local interests, rather than on global conventions on biological or cultural diversity. Furthermore, the reasons for conservation are different at different levels, which constitute both an advantage and a challenge for the future.

This paper reviews the current situation of conservation activities in Europe. It includes an overview of the current situation of the relevant policy measures and related activities, the involvement of the public and private sector, and funding and estimated benefits of these actions. The review is based on the results of a survey conducted within the European National Coordinators for the management of animal genetic resources (AnGR), initiated by the GLOBALDIV project. The objective of this review is to bring to the attention of policy-makers and European Commission the conclusions and recommendations as a contribution to the formulation of future policies. The increasing awareness to the importance of AnGR biodiversity is reflected in the responses to this survey, particularly in the issues related to the cryoconservation activities in the different countries and the discussion on the expected benefits of the implementation of conservation programmes. The concept of biodiversity as a public good has already been accepted by European public and by policy-makers. The additional scope of protection of farm animal biodiversity, as an investment in the future food security, needs to be reflected in the future policies.

Numerous threats to animal genetic resources for food and agriculture (AnGR) have been described in the literature. Yet knowledge regarding the threats facing particular breeds and production systems is patchy and often unavailable to relevant stakeholders. Lack of knowledge about threats often goes hand in hand with a more general lack of knowledge about the characteristics, use, management and distribution of livestock breeds. The study of threats should be an integral part of national surveying and monitoring strategies for AnGR. Field surveys are an opportunity to draw upon the knowledge of livestock keepers and other local stakeholders and to map breed distributions. Insights from the field should be integrated, together with information on economic trends, policy developments and the distribution of risks associated with epidemics and other disasters, into a broader understanding of threats. If a large-scale survey of stakeholder opinion is envisaged, it is important to be clear about the objectives of the exercise when designing any classification framework to be used for data collection and analysis. Analysis of threats should aim not only to record the presence or absence of particular threats but also to provide a better understanding of their spatial and temporal dynamics and how they are affected by context (location, production environment, human attitudes and objectives, etc.).

The first International Technical Conference on Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture adopted the Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources, the first ever international framework for the promotion of the wise management of animal genetic resources for food and agriculture, endorsed by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations member countries. The adoption of the Global Plan of Action has created unprecedented momentum for promoting the sustainable use, development and conservation of the world's livestock diversity. This article describes the first steps that countries have taken in its implementation.

General trends of development imply an increasing uniformity of animal genetic resources, caused by the loss of endangered breeds and increased inbreeding within commercial breeding populations. The implications of these trends point to a reduction in the genetic diversity of the animal genetic resources, which may reduce possibilities for utilization in the future, while at the same time a dramatic change in environmental production conditions can be observed. In order to change this developmental trend, sustainable management of animal genetic resources must be promoted globally. The fundamental issues for such sustainable management are illustrated by the principles given in the Convention on Biological Diversity. In order to accomplish sustainable management of these resources, the following actions must be taken:

• The development of policies to promote national and global responsibility for maintaining genetic diversity, which will not be addressed within this paper

• The development of knowledge as a fundamental concept to impose sustainable management principles on these animal genetic resources. This will be dealt with in this paper. A more complete description of these features can be found in Woolliams et al, 2005 in (Sustainable Management of Animal Genetic Resources).

As part of the country-driven strategy for the management of animal genetic resources, FAO invited 188 countries to participate in the preparation of the First Report on the State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources. Utilizing the information provided in the 148 country reports ready for analysis in July 2005, this paper presents a global overview of the state of capacity and utilization of reproductive and molecular biotechnologies in the management of animal genetic resources. Regional descriptions outline the distribution of different biotechnologies, along with a discussion of the species and breed focus of their use, and stakeholder involvement in service delivery. Unsurprisingly, there is a big gap in biotechnology use between developed and developing countries, with artificial insemination being the technology most widely applied in developing countries. More complex technologies such as embryo transfer and molecular tools, are even less common in developing countries. Use of biotechnologies is in general biased towards cattle, and examples of the application of biotechnologies in the management of locally adapted breeds are limited. Most developing countries express the wish to increase the utilization of biotechnologies. However, in many cases clear plans for incorporating technologies into animal genetic resource management are lacking.

Some countries have introduced a requirement for genetic impact assessments prior to granting permission for the import of new exotic livestock breeds. However, the merits of such a system are not universally accepted. During February 2007 a discussion on the subject took place on FAO's Domestic Animal Diversity Network (DAD-Net) electronic forum. This paper presents a description of how the discussion developed, and a summary of the issues raised. Arguments both for and against requiring impact assessments were put forward. Those opposing such measures focused on the risks of limiting access to animal genetic resources (AnGR), and questioned the benefits of government interference. Practical constraints to implementation and enforcement were also noted. Counter arguments pointed to the potential for avoiding the loss of valuable AnGR, and stressed governments' responsibilities to intervene where necessary to promote sustainable development, to defend the interests of the poor, or to protect national heritage. The debate ranged more widely — encompassing the respective roles of local and exotic AnGR in different regions of the world and in different production systems.

In response to the rapid loss of animal genetic resources, a world wide emergency program is proposed to create national genebanks on the basis of somatic cells. Contrary to other procedures, like storing deep frozen semen or embryos, collection and storage of somatic cells can be done cheaply and rapidly for any species. Only in this way can an emergency store of animal genetic resources be created fast enough to forestall the ongoing rapid erosion of animal biodiversity. While animals can already be produced from somatic cells for 10 species, this number will continue to rise in the future. A layered strategy is proposed which is based on collection and storage within individual countries, thus leaving execution of the program, responsibility and ownership of these national cryobanks with those countries. After a pilot study, more country genebanks could be created as funds become available. With a limited effort, the creation of a network of national genebanks of last resort are a realistic option.

El presente trabajo tuvo como objetivo caracterizar fenotípicamente un rebaño de cabras azules, pertenecientes a la granja Carnaúba, municipio de Taperoá, Estado de Paraiba, Brasil, con el propósito de contribuir a la homologación del patrón racial en el Ministerio de Agricultura. Fueron evaluadas 62 hembras azules con edades a partir de dos años y peso medio de 40,3 kg, tomándose las siguientes medidas morfométricas: longitud corporal (71,5±5,6 cm), altura a la cruz (59,0±4,3 cm), perímetro torácico (76,9±4,8 cm), longitud de las orejas (12,6 cm), formato de los cuernos (bien implantados, simétricos, dirigidos hacia arriba, hacia detrás y hacia afuera, con pequeñas curvaturas hacia el frente en las extremidades y color ceniza oscuro). Los animales presentaron tres patrones distintos de capa: ceniza claro, ceniza azulado y ceniza azulado muy oscuro. Este estudio contribuirá al fortalecimiento de los trabajos de conservación de esta raza, que se encuentra en estado crítico debido a cruzamientos absorbentes e indiscriminados con otras razas exóticas.

The Brazilian Amazon is a wide territory totalling 60 percent of the country's area. Of this area, 600 000 km2 is occupied by humans and related activities. This, among other factors, leads to the destruction of the Amazon's natural resources. The area of cut down and degraded forest may range from 5 to 12 percent of the total area. Therefore, many of the Amazon species are at risk of extinction. However, it is deemed urgent to investigate and preserve the threatened animal species.

The total number of mammal species in the world is recorded at 4 629 and there is a great diversity of them in the Amazon, including animals that live on land, water or those that fly. Despite this huge biodiversity, the most relevant species for the human population, are the domestic species, brought to the continent by the first settlers: Portuguese and Spanish.

The most important livestock in the Amazon region are cattle, horses, buffaloes, sheep and goats. They occupy all Amazon ecosystems and are of very important consideration for the opening of agricultural frontiers and for influencing the natural ecosystems, since the main reason for the cutting down of large forest areas has been to use them for pastures. This has resulted in an artificial ecosystem of degraded natural environment.

The Animal Germplasm Bank of East Amazon (BAGAM) is the animal germplasm bank for the conservation of animal genetic resources of Embrapa East Amazon, and is part of the research project entitled “Animal Genetic Resources of East Amazon”. The project is formed by two sub-projects: “Germplasm bank of animals of interest to the East Region of the Brazilian Amazon” and “Genetic characterisation of buffaloes in the Brazilian Amazon, through the use of molecular markers”. These two sub-projects are linked to the research programme led by CENARGEN, called Conservation and Utilisation of Animal Genetic Resources.

The Criollo horse bred in Uruguay is a direct descendant of the Andalusian horses that were brought to America by the Spanish conquerors. It is not an isolated population. Ever since its coming into existence it has been related to the other populations of the southern countries of South America (Chile, Argentina and Uruguay). It is adapted to the most divergent regions of the continent, evolving through natural selection into a versatile breed, suited in particular for farm work because of its endurance, courage and capacity for recuperation.

At the beginning of this century, its existence was endangered because of the tendency of crossing with European breeds. Around this time, breeder organisations appeared in various countries and with them the standardisation of the Criollo horse as a breed. From this moment on, its growth was well maintained and constant, and today it is also being bred in Germany and Italy.

El caballo Losino, Pony sp Losino segun Mason (1960), recibe su denominacion del area oringinal de cria, el Valle de Losa, en el Norte de la provincia de Burgos (España). Se encuentra emparentado con otras razas autoctonas derivadas del tronco Cantabro-Pirenaico: el garrano portugues, el faco gallego, el caballo asturcon, el thieldon, la jaca soriana, el caballo navarro, el pottoka vasco, el caballo de Merens y el extinguido caballo catalan. La Raza Losina mantuvo sus efectivos hasta los anos 50 pero posteriormente, y debido principalmente a la mecanizacion del campo, al cruce con razas de aptitud carnica y con ganado asnal para la produccion mulatera, su poblacion descendio hasta llegar en 1986 a los limites mas criticos de toda su historia. Ese ano, en vista de la alarmante situacion, se inicio el proyecto de recuperacion de la raza creandose posteriormente en Pancorbo (Burgos) el primer Centro de Cria y Seleccion del caballo Losino. En este Centro se viene manteniendo el sistema natural de crianza en libertad. Los animales, una vez que han sido desbravados y domados, vienen utilizados para la equitación infantil juvenil, en enganches y para realizar las rutas ecuestres por zonas rurales y de montaña.

The Tswana cattle breed is indigenous to Botswana. Its popularity and numbers in the national herd is declining due to crossbreeding. This paper presents results of work done so far to characterise the breed for milk and beef production and describes the current breed conservation program. Suggestions on more characterisation work and improvement on the conservation program are given.