Farm animal genetic resources. The global databank for farm animal genetic resources. Breeds currently in the global databank: Ukraine. Chicken. Domestic duck. Domestic goose. Turkey

World food production and agriculture utilize only a few animal species, within which many breeds with unique characteristics exist. These genetic resources form the pool of domestic animal diversity available to meet the increasing massive global demand for food and agriculture. This component of biodiversity is essential for efficient and sustainable production of food from the great range of production environments in the world, and to satisfy the many different needs of human societies. This biological diversity is being lost as human population and economic pressures accelerate the pace of change in traditional agricultural systems. As a result, more and more breeds of domestic animals are in danger of becoming extinct. Greater efforts in the conservation and sustainable use of these irreplaceable resources are required to prevent, stop and reverse this trend of erosion of diversity. Conservation is not simply preservation of those breeds currently not in use. It also encompasses the monitoring, characterization and well-managed development and utilization over time of the gene pool of each species.

Within its Global Programme for the Management of Farm Animal Genetic Resources FAO has established The Global Early Warning System for this sector of biological diversity. The basis of this system are databases for breed inventory and description, and for monitoring the preservation of animal genetic material. At this stage The Databank incorporates information on 3 882 breeds comprising twenty-eight species. This information has been used to prepare this second edition of the World Watch List for Domestic Animal Diversity (WWL-DAD:2)...