The conservation and sustainable use of animal genetic resources (AGR) is now recognized as a legitimate activity of public concern in which inter-governmental, governmental, non-governmental and private sectors are involved. Livestock breeds became threatened on a large scale only in the second half of the 20th century. They are now recognized as a significant human heritage resulting from domestication whose loss would deplete the quality of human life. Conservation as a conscious and organized activity is therefore a new item on the public agenda. This paper traces the origin of livestock conservation from the Vision in the 1950s and 1960s through the awakening of the environmental movement with the creation of UNEP in 1972, followed by the development of a Joint Conservation Infrastructure and Programme for animal genetic resources in the 1980s by FAO and UNEP.

The paper describes the context, participants, constraints, opposition and activities of building the AGR Conservation Infrastructure and Programme. Although the concept of conservation was opposed by some and there were both financial and political difficulties, an effective institutional infrastructure for conservation was built by FAO by 1990 using UNEP funds. In 1992, the advent of the Convention on BioDiversity offered substantial funding for project activities for the first time through the Global Environmental Facility (GEF). At that point it was desirable to move activities from central planning to the design, funding and operation of local or national conservation projects. “Top-down” institutional control should have been replaced by “Bottom-up” conservation activities. Regrettably this did not happen during the 1990s and, as shown by successive editions of the World Watch List, the number of endangered livestock breeds has continued to increase. Now that the conservation vision is accepted and the institutional infrastructures are in place it is time for a new dynamic by creating and funding specific conservation projects which harness the local human resources of knowledge and enthusiasm.

This paper describes the process that lead to the creation of the European Regional Focal Point (ERFP). The action was suggested by the FAO Global Strategy (1995) aimed to assist countries to stop animal diversity erosion by helping them with a better use and preservation of their livestock resources.

In 1997, France accepted the responsibility of developing an ERFP though its Bureau des Ressources Génétiques (BRG). During the first year, the ERFP held meaningful discussions with the different European countries with the objective of finding a general agreement for an organisational structure as well as a medium-term work programme. The following step was settled during the Annual Meeting of the European Association for Animal Production (EAAP) in Warsaw where it was agreed that the new body had to have a light structure and respect national sovereignty regarding the AnGR.

In February 2000, following a difficult internal debate involving the establishment of a basic strategy and further steps, an enquiry was launched among the National Coordinators in order to have an overall picture and to evaluate the usefulness of the proposed organisation to be established. In 2000 during the 6th Workshop of the European NCs, the ERFP was created.

The new structure is based on

a) an Annual Meeting of National Focal Points;

b) a Steering Committee; and

c) a Secretariat to be elected among the National Focal Points to serve for a limited period.

The recent call from FAO to take part in the process of preparing the First Report on the State of the World Animal Genetic Resources (SoW) stressed the need to develop management capacity at country level to facilitate the preparation of country reports (CRs). A key role is played by the National Focal Points (NFPs) and the National Coordinators (NCs).

A national workshop was held in South Africa in 1998 and a National Committee for Farm Animal Genetic Resources (FanGR) was established. The existing Indigenous Livestock Committee was reviewed and adapted to make it more focused on the management of FAnGR. At the same time a National Coordinator was also identified and the Animal Improvement Institute was nominated as national coordinating institute for FAnGR.

The collaboration with some NGOs was strongly suggested, particularly with:

a) the Farm Animal Conservation Trust (FACT), to assist with the conservation of farm animal genetic resources. This NGO was modelled on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) in the United Kingdom and on Rare Breeds International (RBI)

b) The South African Stud Book and Livestock Improvement Association (SASB) and

c) many Rural Communities and National and Provincial animal genetic resource centres

The institutional frame for AnGR conservation in South Africa is briefly described, together with the aims of the South African conservation activities.

The Ongole cattle breed, also known as Nellore, is the native of the coastal districts Guntur, Prakasham and Nellore of Andhra Pradesh. This is a dual-purpose breed. Bullocks are very powerful and suitablefor ploughing and cart pulling. These animals are resistant to various insect-born diseases. The coat colour of Ongoles is glossy white but some maleshave grey markings on their hump and grey markings on the back quarters have also been noticed. The animals of this breed are heavy having long/large ears, dewlap, hump, limbs and barrel. The size of a tail, neck and horns is in general short. Ears are alert with a moderately short black tip. Horns are short and stumpy. The dewlap is large, fan shaped, fleshy and slightly pendulous. The udder is well formed with well-placed and developed teats. A survey was conducted in 60 villages in the breeding tract and 7 341 cattle true to the breed (Ongole) type were found. A genetic improvement/conservation programme for Ongoles is being executed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research in collaboration with Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh). The progress of the programme was presented.

Deoni is an important dual-purpose breed of cattle in Maharashtra. These animals are mainly found in the Latur district and the adjoining area of Prabhani, Nanded and Osmanabad districts of the Marathwada region of Maharashtra. From 1996 to 1999, a systematic survey was conducted in 13 strata involving 69 villages to determine geographic distribution, establish breed characteristics, determine socioeconomic status and existing management practices as well as to estimate the approximate population of Deoni cattle in its breeding tract. The total number of households enumerated was 9 132. The average herd size was 2.5 animals with a range of 1 to 16. About 30 percent of farmers were found rearing Deoni cattle. The total population of the Deoni in the entire breeding tract was estimated at 118 945. A decrease in Deoni cattle population (8.78 percent) was also noticed from August 1996 to August 1998.

Deoni is a medium heavy animal. It is found in three-colour variations viz.Wannera, Balankya and Shevera. The body is moderately developed and symmetrical with distinct muscles. Horn length, ear length, head length, chest girth, body length and height averaged 17.61, 26.18, 49.82, 151.82, 120.11 and122.22 cm in adult cows and 19.97, 26.67, 53.68, 163.55, 129.59 and 134.36 cm in bullocks. Lactation milk yield averaged 868 litres. The average fat content in the milk of Deoni cows was 4.3 percent. Cows showed their first estrus at the average age of 36 months. Average age at first calving was 46 months. Service period and inter-calving period averaged 170 and 447 days. The selected bulls started breeding at the age of 30 months. Calf and adultmortality was found to be negligible and the breed was found to be hardy and well adapted to tropical draught prone areas. The declining trend of the Deoni cattle breed calls for immediate steps to control the reasons. Regarding conservation and improvement, both models need to be implemented effectively to make the programme successful.

A unique strain of sheep, known to lead the flock, has evolvedwithin the short-tailed, native breed of Iceland sheep. Leadersheep, known for centuries, walk or run in front of the flock, even in bad weather conditions, they may foresee climatic events and are generally very alert and attentive. The high level of intelligence expressed by these sheep is known to be strongly inherited, without being linked to sex, age, colour and otherexternal traits. However, little is known about the genetics of leadersheepper se. Most of them are non-white and horned with a slender body conformation. Since they are endangered with a breeding population of only some 1 000 purebred animals, mostly ewes, conservation measures are in progress, mainly through AI and individual recording. To strengthen these effortsenthusiastic breeders and scientists founded the Leadersheep Society of Iceland in the spring of 2000. While the main aim is to conserve and maintain leadersheep, future possibilities of utilizing their unique characteristicsare being considered.

La chèvre Draa est la seule des populations caprines marocaines qui peut être considérée comme une race bien distincte. C'est une sorte d'isolat génétique qui est localisée et élevée principalement dans les oasis de la vallée du Draa à un climat aride. Il ressort des études réalisées que le potentiel laitier de la chèvre Draa est satisfaisant (142 litres sur 150j de lactation). De même, l’évaluation des ses performances de reproduction en station a montré une prolificité de 158 % avec une aptitude à réaliser deux mises bas par an.

De plus, la chèvre Draa présente quelques capacités adaptatives pour produire et survivre dans les conditions arides. En effet, son turnover de l'eau corporelle est relativement faible comparativement aux races caprines européennes étudiées dans les mêmes conditions expérimentales. Enfin, la chèvre Draa présente une bonne capacité à préserver l'appétit en cas de privation d'eau. Ces caractéristiques de production et d'adaptation, prises ensemble, font d'elle un bon candidat pour le développement d'une race caprine laitière marocaine et pour continuer les efforts pour sa préservation, son amélioration et la connaissance de ses caractéristiques physiologiques.

The history and development of the four Southern African horse breeds, i.e. Basutho Pony, Nooitgedacht, South African (SA) Boerperd and Cape Boerperd, are traced from their common ancestor, the Cape Horse, to the present day. Recent blood-typing studies of the first three have shown them to be closer related to each other than to any other world breed. At the beginning of the twentieth century the Southern African horse industry was devastated after the Anglo Boer War (1899–1902). Indiscriminate crossbreeding and intentional importation of other specialized breeds led to the near extinction of the descendants of the Cape Horse in South Africa. Fortunately, the efforts of the Government Department of Agriculture and a number of private breeders to identify, conserve and develop the then existing genetic material over the past half century, resulted in the existence today of three small, but viable, registered breeds of locally adapted and versatile horses viz. Nooitgedacht, SA Boerperd and Cape Boerperd. The recent history and apparent present situation of the Basutho Pony in the neighbouring country of Lesotho was also described.

The small East African short horned Zebu (SEAZ) is an important source of animal protein in Kenya. This indigenous genotype is well adapted to environmental stresses including endemic diseases of the tropics. However, literature available on its genetic potential is scarce. The Government of Kenya, in order to study this valuable germplasm in a systematic manner, has recently initiated some research and breed improvement programmes. This paper reports on some of the results of this work. Information was obtained-using a structured questionnaire administered to 430 farmers in Makueni, Kitui, Taita Taveta and Kajiado districts, Kenya. A multi-level stratified sampling technique was used to select the farmers to be interviewed. Utilization and reasons for preference of SEAZ cattle differed across and within districts in rankings. Generally, the SEAZ cattle are kept as multi-purpose animals and were mainly preferred to the exotic breeds due to their superior adaptive capacity to the local environmental stresses. Herd structures differed between the agro-pastoral and pastoral herds, but showed a management system that is subsistence oriented with milk production and draught power being the main objectives of herd owners. Breeding bulls were sourced from within or obtained from other herds for pure- or crossbreeding by natural, uncontrolled mating. Natural pastures, under continuous grazing were the main source of livestock feeds. The herds surveyed had advanced ages at first calving and prolonged calving intervals. The average milk production per day was 1.6 litres with significant differences being observed between districts, and hence Zebu strains, at the start and peak of lactation.

The Iraqi indigenous chickens (I.I.C.) are well adapted to a wide range of ambient temperature (-5°C to 50°C). They are found throughout the country and are raised for meat and eggs. The birds are active and independent foragers.

The IPA Agricultural Research Centre played a role in the purification and multiplication of five different genetic lines according to feather colour. These lines are the progeny of segregating populations of the foundation stock which was a specimen collected from all over the country. The plumage colour of the I.I.C. lines varied from white to black. Most of the birds have white skin colour; comb type is single; egg-shell colour varied between white, tinted to brown; age at sexual maturity ranged between 162 to 166 days; body weight at sexual maturity was found to be similar for the differentlines (1.4 kg) indicating that I.I.C are small-sized birds and variations among lines of the I.I.C were significant for egg production, egg weight and feed efficiency.