Biodiversity

Plants About 7,000 species of plants have been cultivated for consumption in human history. The great diversity of varieties resulting from human and ecosystem interaction guaranteed food for the survival and development of human populations throughout the world in spite of pests, diseases, climate fluctuations, droughts and other unexpected environmental events. Presently, only about 30 crops provide 95% of human food energy needs, four of which (rice, wheat, maize and potato) are responsible for more than 60% of our energy intake. Due to the dependency on this relatively small number of crops for global food security, it will be crucial to maintain a high genetic diversity within these crops to deal with increasing environmental stress and to provide farmers and researchers with opportunities to breed for crops that can be cultivated under unfavorable conditions, such as drought, salinity, flooding, poor soils and extreme temperatures. The conservation and sustainable use of PGRFA is necessary to ensure crop production and meet growing environmental challenges and climate change. Plant genetic resources are the basis of food security and consist of diversity of seeds and planting material of traditional varieties and modern cultivars, crop wild relatives and other wild plant species. These resources are used as food, feed for domesticated animals, fibre, clothing, shelter and energy. The conservation and sustainable use of PGRFA is necessary to ensure crop production and meet growing environmental challenges and climate change. The loss of these resources or a lack of adequate linkages between conservation and their use poses a severe threat to the world’s food security in the long term.The potential of plant genetic resources for food security, sustainable livelihoods, adequate nutrition and adaptation to climate change is enormous, if managed in a sustainable manner. FAO is dedicated to improve knowledge and conservation of plant genetic resources to ensure the sustainable provision of food in the long term, and contributing to make full use of the genetic resources available, including wild relatives of main crops currently used. (sources of the text: http://www.fao.org/biodiversity/components/plants/en/) Addis Ababa Animals The biodiversity of the 35 or so animal species that have been domesticated for use in agriculture and food production is the primary biological capital for livestock development and is vital to food security and sustainable rural development. Many indigenous breeds, some of which are threatened with extinction, have characteristics such as resilience to climatic stress and resistance to diseases and parasites, which make them well adapted to local conditions, and which are of great potential importance to future livestock production. Recent years have seen substantial erosion of domestic animal diversity – a trend that is likely to accelerate with the rapid changes currently affecting the livestock sector. Yet this resource is often neglected and poorly managed. Recent years have seen substantial erosion of domestic animal diversity – a trend that is likely to accelerate with the rapid changes currently affecting the livestock sector. The FAO State of Food and Agriculture 2009: Livestock in the balance (2010) provides a comprehensive assessment of current trends and anticipated developments in the livestock sector. Livestock development in the twentieth century concentrated on a very small number of breeds worldwide, frequently without due consideration to the way in which production environments affect animals’ ability to survive, produce and reproduce. According to The State of the World’s Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (2007), 20 percent of documented livestock breeds are at risk of extinction: 1500 of the 7600 breeds around the globe may be lost forever in the near future. (sources of the text: http://www.fao.org/biodiversity/components/plants/en/) Aquatic Organisms Marine, coastal and inland areas support a rich assortment of aquatic biological diversity that contributes to the economic, cultural, nutritional, social, recreational and spiritual betterment of human populations. Life originated in the world’s oceans and over the millennia has spread inland and evolved into the diverse forms used today by a variety of stakeholders, including commercial and artisanal fishers, fish farmers, developers and tourists. Maintaining aquatic biodiversity in capture fisheries is fundamental to guaranteeing the productivity of the world’s fish stocks, their resilience and their adaptability to environmental change, including climate change. The world’s capture fisheries harvested an estimated 1 938 aquatic species or species groups in 2011. The majority of this diversity was fin fishes (1 402 species), followed by crustaceans (194 species), mollusks (150 species) and other species. As such, capture fisheries use a greater variety of biological diversity than any other food production sector. Aquatic biodiversity provides great potential to enable the fisheries and aquaculture sector to further enhance its contribution to food security and meet future challenges in feeding a growing human population. Genetic biodiversity in aquaculture provides the raw ingredients that allow breeders to improve the production, efficiency and marketability of species of aquatic plants and animals. Over 360 species of fish, invertebrates and plants are farmed around the world. This represents a wealth of genetic diversity both within and among species that helps make aquaculture one of the fastest growing food production sectors. Humans began to domesticate terrestrial plants and animals about 12 000 years ago, however more than 90 percent of all cultured aquatic species have only been domesticated since the beginning of the twentieth century. Although aquatic biodiversity plays a vital role in livelihoods, it is being threatened by factors within the fisheries sector, such as overfishing, destructive fishing practices and introduction of alien species, as well as by external factors such as habitat loss and degradation mainly caused by land-based activities. It will be essential to reduce these threats to continue providing high quality nutrients and economic opportunities to the millions of people that depend on aquatic biodiversity. The FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department is responsible for maintaining information on capture fisheries and aquaculture production, and the development of knowledge, policy and intergovernmental instruments devoted to the promotion of sustainable fisheries and aquaculture practices. In 2007, the FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department published the Technical Guidelines on Genetic Resource Management. These Technical Guidelines were developed to support sections of the FAO’s Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries on aspects of genetic resource management in aquaculture. The effective management of aquatic biodiversity can help promote responsible aquaculture by increasing production output and efficiency and help minimize adverse impacts on the environment. (sources of the text: http://www.fao.org/biodiversity/components/plants/en/) Microbes and Invertebrates Micro-organisms and invertebrates together are the most numerous group of species on Earth. Invertebrates are animals without a backbone. They account for more than 95% of all animals and comprise many subgroups of diverse species ranging from tiny insects to giant squid. Micro-organisms are too small to be seen by the human eye but though very small they are very important. Food and agriculture production depends on this “hidden” biodiversity. Micro-organisms establish mutually beneficial symbiosis with the roots of agricultural plants and some fungi, or with ruminant livestock, like cows, sheep or goats, living in their guts. Also, micro-organisms provide beneficial services in food processing, for example fermentation by yeasts, bacteria or fungi; and invertebrates, such as bees, butterflies and other insects, are important to pollinate our fruits and vegetables. Furthermore, both micro-organisms and invertebrates play major roles as bio-control agents, and are indispensable in the degradation and recycling of organic matter in soils. In addition to beneficial organisms, micro-organisms and invertebrates can also act as plant and animal pests and diseases. In this case, increasing the understanding of these harmful species, including their genetic variability, is critical, in order to find means to prevent and cure the diseases they cause. Micro-organisms and invertebrates provide essential ecosystem services and are essential in many food processing applications; however, they also can cause diseases that impact plant, animals and humans. FAO’s work in the field of micro-organisms and many species of invertebrates focuses on conservation and sustainable use of pollinators, soil organisms, or their use as biological control through integrated pest management (IPM). FAO’s work also includes preventing the spread of pests and diseases caused by micro-organisms and invertebrates. Through FAO’s Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, member countries are given a platform to plan FAO’s future work on micro-organisms and invertebrates cross-sectorially, including the variety of functions and services they provide for sustainable agriculture and food production. Pollinators Pollinators provide an essential ecosystem service, namely pollination. Indeed, approximately 80 percent of all flowering plant species are pollinated by animals, including vertebrates and mammals - but the main pollinators are insects. Pollination is responsible for providing us with a wide variety of food, mainly horticultural crops. In fact, pollinators such as bees, birds and bats affect 35 percent of the world’s crop production, increasing outputs of 87 of the leading food crops worldwide, as well as many plant-derived medicines. At least one-third of the world's agricultural crops depends upon pollination provided by insects and other animals. Pollination is a keystone process in both human managed and natural terrestrial ecosystems. Is an essential service that depends to a large extent on the symbiosis between species, the pollinated and the pollinator. In many cases, it is the result of intricate relationships between plants and animals, and the reduction or loss of either will affect the survival of both. Pollination is critical for food production and human livelihoods, and directly links wild ecosystems with agricultural production systems. Human activity, based on the assumption that pollination is a free and abundantly available ecological service, has put a large pressure on pollinators by both increasing their demand and removing their habitat. Horticulture has rapidly expanded over the last decades, while the landscape has become more uniform due to intensive agriculture. Lack of pollination has increased awareness of the value and management requirements of this service. Effective pollination requires resources, such as refuges of pristine natural vegetation. Where these are reduced or lost, pollinators are becoming scarce and adaptive management practices will be required to sustain food production. The International Initiative for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Pollinators was established by the 5th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) as a cross cutting initiative within its work on agricultural biodiversity. FAO was invited by the Executive Secretary to "facilitate and co-ordinate the initiative in co-operation with other relevant organizations who were invited to support actions in countries subject to pollinator decline." The FAO Global Action on Pollination Services for Sustainable Agriculture provides guidance to member countries and relevant tools to use and conserve pollination services that sustain agro-ecosystem functions.