Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 7 • Number 16 • 21st September 2007
CONFERENCE AGREES STEPS TO SAFEGUARD FARM ANIMAL DIVERSITY
CONFERENCE AGREES STEPS TO SAFEGUARD FARM ANIMAL DIVERSITY
A recent international conference has agreed an action plan to protect the diversity of farm animals. Civil society groups — meeting in their own alternative forum — also adopted a declaration on protecting livestock diversity, focusing on the perils of global industrial farming.
With global human populations, as well as their appetites for meat, egg and dairy products, growing at rapid rates, a narrow range of farm animal species are becoming more popular — at the expense of traditional farm animals. However, the hardy traditional farm animals are often well-adapted to harsh conditions in developing countries. Also, in a world increasingly seeing the effects of climate change, having access to a wide range of animal genetic material would serve as an insurance regime. The world is, however, currently losing one traditional livestock breed per month.
Around 300 negotiators and representatives of international and non-governmental organisations were present at the first International Technical Conference on Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture to discuss these issues. The conference took place in Interlaken, Switzerland, from 3-7 September, and culminated in the adoption of Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources — the first internationally agreed framework to halt the erosion of livestock diversity and support the sustainable use, development and conservation of animal genetic resources.
Governments adopt global action plan
The conference kicked off with the presentation of a new UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) report on the state of the world’s animal genetic resources, entitled "The State of the World’s Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture." The report had evolved from a process initiated in 2001, when countries were asked to submit reports on their animal genetic resources (AnGR). It compiles information gathered from 169 countries and provides the first comprehensive assessment of global livestock biodiversity.
The rest of the conference focused on negotiations on the draft Global Plan of Action and Interlaken Declaration on Animal Genetic Resources. The draft Global Plan of Action had been the subject of earlier discussions, including during the eleventh regular session of the FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA) in December 2006, from which the text was forwarded to the Interlaken conference. At the end of the meeting, participants adopted the Global Plan and the Interlaken Declaration, which stresses the importance of AnGR and confirms the adoption of the Global Plan. Together, they provide a framework for future action on AnGR and represent the start of a longer process for countries and the FAO to sustainably manage the world’s AnGR for food and agriculture.
The Global Plan of Action draws on the findings of the FAO report, and "will provide the framework for action and international cooperation for many years to come. It is a visible sign of the urgency that all countries and regions give to ensuring the survival of these crucial resources, and to improving their use to achieve global food security and sustainable development," according to José María Sumpsi, FAO Assistant Director-General for Agriculture and Consumer Protection. He described the outcome as a "historic result" that would "define action on AnGR for many years to come."
There are four strategic priority areas under the Global Plan: characterisation, inventory and monitoring of trends and risks; sustainable use and development; conservation; and policies, institutions and capacity building. The plan calls for the provision of technical and financial assistance, especially to developing countries and countries with economies in transition, to help them implement its provisions.
Ahmed Djoghlaf, executive secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) noted that parties to the convention regard AnGR as essential for food security. He said that the adoption of the Global Plan and Interlaken Declaration would help further the objectives of the CBD. He mentioned ongoing work under the CBD on access and benefit sharing, the importance of indigenous peoples and traditional knowledge as areas of mutual interest.
NGOs call for action to promote food sovereignty and collective rights
Meeting in parallel with the FAO conference in Wilderswil, a number of organisations of pastoralists, indigenous peoples, smallholder farmers and NGOs discussed problems related to industrial livestock production, which they identified as the fundamental cause of the current crises leading to the erosion of farm animal genetic diversity. With a few breeding companies from the North dominating the markets, the life-styles and livelihoods of vulnerable small farmers have been put at risk. In a declaration of their own, the civil society organisations said they "want livestock keeping that is on a human scale. We defend a way of life that is linked deeply with our cultures and spirituality and not just aimed at production."
The civil society groups supported the concept of collective rights as a solution. In the Wilderswil Declaration, they stressed that "Ownership, knowledge and innovation at the community level are often of a collective nature. Therefore local knowledge and biodiversity can only be protected and promoted through collective rights. Collective knowledge is intimately linked to cultural diversity, particular ecosystems, and biodiversity and cannot be dissociated from any of these three aspects. Any definition and implementation of the rights of livestock keepers should take this fully into account."
Regarding modern intellectual property rights systems, the Declaration stressed that "[I]t is clear that the rights of livestock keepers are not compatible with intellectual property rights systems because these systems enable exclusive and private monopoly control. There must be no patents or other forms of intellectual property rights on biodiversity and the knowledge related to it". The Declaration further called for the "self-determination and autonomy" of local communities and indigenous peoples and criticised the FAO report for not paying attention to the industrial livestock system as one of the main forces behind the destruction of the biodiversity of domestic animals and for undermining the livelihoods of local communities that nurture this diversity.
Challenges ahead
Countries are now responsible for the implementation of the Global Plan, which faces many policy hurdles at the national level, including funding issues. Sumpsi warned that "Adopting a Global Plan of Action is not an end in itself. It now needs to be implemented. Governments must now demonstrate the sustained political will to do so, and resources will have to be found, nationally and internationally. Issues related to capacity building in developing countries and financing will be key to the effective implementation of the strategy to safeguard animal genetic resources, and remain to be made effective on the ground."
The Wilderswil Declaration criticised governments for showing a lack of commitment, as no substantial financial engagements to implement the plan were made in Interlaken. This now needs to take place as follow-up to the conference.
Background
The effective management of AnGR for food and agriculture is considered important for global food security, sustainable development, and the livelihoods of over one billion people worldwide. During the past two decades, concerns have grown about the future of livestock biodiversity. At least one livestock breed a month has become extinct over the past seven years, and around 20 percent of the world’s livestock breeds are at risk of extinction, according to the FAO. Animal genetic resources are also at risk from major disease epidemics and from disasters brought on by emerging threats such as climate change. In addition, the rapid growth in global demand for livestock products represents a major challenge for the effective and sustainable management of livestock.
During the 1990s the FAO launched a Global Strategy for the Management of Farm Animal Genetic Resources (CGRFA) to respond to these concerns.
The CGRFA initiated a process to help further develop and implement the Global Strategy. Consequently, an Intergovernmental Technical Working Group on Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture was established in 1998. This working group reiterated the concerns over the state of the world’s AnGR and suggested the development of country-driven efforts and progress on an internationally agreed framework. Hence, countries were invited to submit their national reports on the state of their AnGR. These submissions included information on the contribution of farm animals to food, agriculture and rural development, the state of national capacity to manage these resources, and a list of ‘priority actions’. This request resulted in 169 country communications. The main conclusion of all these reports was that farm animals are highly important to food security and sustainable development and their genetic diversity is being eroded in both developed and developing countries.