“When it rains and drylands bloom, one realises the remarkable diversity of living organisms they harbour. Long overlooked, this diversity is crucial to the food security of a large share of the world’s population.” This information brief describes the importance of dryland agricultural biodiversity, outlines the threats facing it, and points to the key role that local people play in conserving it.
Summary of a presentation at the conference on “Ethnoveterinary medicine: Tradition, science, cultural richness”. Bologna, 29 October 2010. Società Italiana di Veterinaria e Zootecnia Tropicale per la cooperazione internazionale Veterinari Senza Frontiere Italia
A group of non-government organizations has called on governments and international organizations to support the conservation of livestock breeds in their original habitats – and by the livestock-keeping groups that developed them.
Members of the LIFE Network, a grouping of organizations focusing on local livestock breeds, made the call at a conference at Kuttapalayam, in Tamil Nadu, India, on 13-15 August 2010.
The final statement from the conference calls on the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to promote agro-ecosystems approaches to the management of animal genetic resources and support indigenous and local production systems. These goals are already incorporated in the Global Plan of Action on Animal Genetic Resources.
The NGOs also demanded that livestock keepers be included in the debate about the future of livestock production and to be recognized as guardians of livestock biodiversity.
The conference statement was signed by 21 NGOs from India, South Africa, Kenya, Spain and Germany.
