CHAPTER 5
WORK BY SABRAO ON CONSERVATION OP ANIMAL GENETIC RESOURCES

by

J. S. F. Barker

Department of Animal Science,
University of New England
Armidale, N.S.W. 2351, Australia

Summary

SABRAO - The Society for the Advancement of Breeding Researches in Asia and Oceania -is an international scientific society whose members are interested in plant and animal breeding. Members are not country representatives and the Society is not constituted to assist or to recommend action to any national government or international organization. Nevertheless, many society members are concerned about questions relating to animal genetic resources and their ulilization, and following the Third Congress of SABRAO in 1977, an Expert Committee on Animal Genetic Resources was set up to investigate the collection and collation of data on the breeds, strains and varieties of the economically important domestic animals of the SABRAO region.

While some data do exist, much of the information is not readily available in that it is unpublished, or if published, it is only in local or national documents and reports that generally have a very restricted distribution.

The complete study of animal genetic resources will involve documentation, evaluation, conservation and utilisation, but the SABRAO Committee has chosen to emphasize documentation;

As a first step, a Workshop was held in Japan in September 1979. one person from each of most of the countries from the SABRAO region was invited to prepare a report outlining the available information on the breeds in his country; these reports are to be the , working papers and basis for discussion at the Workshop. In addition, small working groups were set up to prepare draft Data Collection Forms suitable for the tabulation of existing data on each breed, strain or variety of: (i) cattle and buffalo, (ii) sheep and goats, (iii) pigs, (iv) poultry and other birds.

The country reports and Workshop discussions showed that while a high proportion of total human food and other requirements in the SABRAO region is produced by native strains, these strains generally are less well identified, documented and evaluated than are exotic breeds and their crosses.

5.1 Introduction

SABRAO - The Society for the Advancement of Breeding Researches in Asia and Oceania -is an international scientific society whose members are individuals interested in plant and animal breeding. Members are not country representatives, and the Society is not constituted to assist or to recommend action to any national government or international organization. Nevertheless, many Society members are concerned about questions relating to animal genetic resources and their utilization. In particular, in many countries of the SABRAO region, it is apparent that:

1. There is widespread tendency to introduce exotic breeds from temperate regions, in an attempt to improve production.
2. These introductions are based on the assumption that productivity of the indigenous breeds is very low, yet accurate data often are lacking.
3. Although productivity may appear low, many indigenous breeds are adapted to particularly harsh conditions. Their ability to survive and reproduce under these conditions may compensate for lower performance in production characters.

Thus, at the 3rd Congress of SABRAO (February 1977), the Farm Animals Section recommended that the SABHAO Board should set up an Expert Committee on Animal Glenetic Resources to investigate the collection and collation of data on the breeds, strains and varieties of the economically important domestic animals of the SABRAO region.

Subsequently, the SABRAO Board agreed to the formation of this Committee with myself as Chairman, and Dr. P.N. Bhat, Dr. C. Chantalakhana, Dr. T.K. Mukherjee, Dr. H.N. Turner and Dr. Y. Yamada as members.

The Committee believed that there is undoubtedly a great deal of information on the distribution, population numbers and production performance of the various breeds, strains and varieties of livestock in the SABRAO region. However, much of this information is not readily available to research workers or to national and international organizations involved in animal production in the region, in that it is unpublished, or if published, it is only in local or national documents and reports that are written in a variety of languages and that generally have a very restricted distribution.

Therefore the Committee determined that it is imperative that this information be collected and collated in readily available form:

1. to identify gaps in knowledge, and areas where research effort should be maximized,
2. to fully document productivity of local or native strains and to assess their adaptation to specific climate-management-production systems,
3. to ensure that such local or native strains are not displaced by so-called "improved breeds" before their present or potential value is known,
4. to allow research workers to know the extent of information in their area of interest, and hence to minimize the chance of repetition of what may be expensive, long-term studies,
5. to allow planners and adminstrators to make rational decisions with regard to national and international development programs, and hence overall, to maximize rates of improvement in livestock productivity in the SABRAO region.

Of course, SABRAO is by no means taking a new initiative on this issue, but our action should be seen as a contribution to the growing international efforts relating to biological resources and their conservation. Within Asia and Oceania, SABRAO is not alone in consideration of the problem. In December,1975the animal on and Health Commission for Asia, the Bar East and South-West Pacific (APHCA) was established under Article XIV of the FA Constitution. In August, 1977, APHCA approved 12 projects for immediate implementation, three of which are particularly relevant to problems of animal genetic resources in our region, namelys

1. Buffalo research and development,
2. Improvement of the data base of livestock resources.
3. Goat development in Asia.

The APHCA project on improvement of the data base apparently relates only to numbers of each breed and species. However, production and other information also is essential in documenting livestock resources.

As it would have been quite undesirable for the SABRAO Committee to act independently of APHCA, the first objective of the Committee was to seek consultation with APHCA and to determine ways in which collaborative efforts could be developed. APHCA have agreed that close collaboration should be established with SABRAO, but no mechanism for this collabor­ation has been developed yet. At this stage, SABRAO is maintaining its own initiative, but I see this contact with APHCA as vital for action on the question of animal genetic resources, in so far as APHCA is an organization of the governments of the region, while SABRAO is an organization of individual scientists.

While the complete study of animal genetic resources will involve documentation, evaluation, conservation and utilization, we in SABRAO have chosen first to emphasize documentation and evaluation. If current information can be adequately documented, and stored in a central data bank from which data can be disseminated readily, areas where further information is required will be clarified, necessary and appropriate evaluation experiments will be defined more readily, and strains whose conservation is justified will be identified.

At the international level, there has been extensive discussion, largely fostered by FAO, of  the question of conservation and utilization of animal genetic resources. This dialogue has proceeded to the point where there seems general consensus that our genetic resources are important to the present and future needs of mankind; what is needed now is action.

In total, a truly international effort is required, involving individual animal scientists, national and international organizations and governments. Clearly the task will not be easy, as the problem lies not just in the collection and collation of inform­ation. In determining how to manage our animal genetic resources, two aspects must be considered: (i) the immediate need for increased productivity to keep up with the expanding human population and the increasing demand for animal proteins (Byerly 1977), and (ii) the conservation of resources for unforeseen needs.

Understandably, emphasis in national and international development programs is placed on the immediate needs. While these are not necessarily incompatible with future needs, the latter also must be considered so that potentially useful or interesting genetic material is not lost. Genetic variation is the basic tool of the animal breeder. We use it to mould our animal populations to our needs, but once lost, we cannot create it at will.

5.2 The Japan Workshop

As a first step towards the collection of available data, a Workshop was held in Japan in September, 1979.The program for the Workshop was formulated on the premise that a major problem would be in determining what information is available, and how this availably information was to be collected and collated. A prime function of the Workshop thus was to bring together experts in animal production from countries of the SABRAO region to consider this aspect, and to formulate proposals for action that would be followed up by each of these experts in their own countries.

Thus the objectives of the Workshop were to determine:

1. What resources are available and where are they?
2. How are they adapted to their local environments?
3. How best may these resources be identified, documented, evaluated and maintained?

To meet these objectives, one person from each of most of the countries of the SABRAO region was invited to prepare a report outlining the available information on the breeds, strains and varieties of livestock in his country; these reports to be the working papers and basis for discussion at the Workshop. In addition, during the Workshop, small working groups were set up to prepare draft Data Collection Forms suitable for the tabulation of existing data on each breed, strain or variety of:

1. cattle and buffalo,
2. sheep and goats,
3. pigs,
4. poultry and other birds.

The Proceedings of the Workshop (Barker and Turner, 1980), including all country reports and the draft Data Collection Forms, were published just prior to the FAO Technical Consul­tation, but would not have been seen by many participants in the Consultation.

Therefore it would seem most appropriate to present the conclusions of the Workshop, and to discuss some aspects of these and of the Workshop recommendations.

5.3 Workshop conclusions

1. There is already considerable information on the livestock breeds, strains and varieties of the SABRAO region.
   Nevertheless, it is apparent from the Reports to the Workshop that in many cases, the data are inadequate, being either:
   

- incomplete,
- based on small numbers of animals,
- based on inadequate definitions of traits.

2. While some attention is being given to exotic breeds and their crosses, the Reports to the Workshop have shown that native strains are often less well identified, documented and evaluated. Because (a) a high proportion of total human food requirements in the SABRAO region is produoed by these native strains, (b) they are adapted to village or small farmer conditions, (c) they utilize low quality feeds, crop residues and human waste, and thus have low energy and low economio inputs, (d) they provide an important resource, in terms of sustenance, work and income, to the village and the small farmer, and (e) they are likely to remain important in these ways, it is essential that these native strains be given urgent priority in documentation and evaluation.
3. The water buffalo needs particular attention. Presently there are some 130 million head in the SABRAO region, comprising a large proportion of the world population. They may be divided into the river type of the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent, which supplies milk, meat and work, and the swamp type of eastern Asia which is the major work animal in the area, and also contributes large amounts of meat. There are several breeds and strains within each typebutttle is known about, their relative merits.
4. A number of breeds, strains or varieties that are rare and in danger of extinction have been identified in the Reports to the Workshop. Such strains should be urgently documented and specifically evaluated,, particttlarly to determine if they possess any unique or special inherited characteristics that would warrant their conservation. Until such evaluation is completed, steps must be taken to ensure preservation of these populations.
5. A number of native breeds, strains or varieties are, or may be, in danger of genetic dilution through indiscriminate crossbreeding with exotic breeds. Such native breeds should be identified, so that they can be evaluated before this process leads to their essential loss.
6. Some native breeds are in danger of losing genes for high production because high performing animals are withdrawn from breeding populations for use in  units of high production and/or subsequent slaughter (e.g., city milk production in India or slaughter animals chosen because of large size). Such breeds should be identified and breeding units kept intact.

5.4 Discussion and Workshop recommendations

I believe that the second conclusion above strikes at the crux of the problem. Native strains of all species in the developing countries of the tropics and sub-tropics are providing, and will continue to provide the bulk of human needs for animal products. Yet in many cases these strains already are being neglected, simply because of their lower productivity per animal.

Two aspects of this apparent neglect of native strains need to be recognized, one relating to total evaluation and not just productivity per animal, the other to the environmental conditions in which the evaluation is made.

In general it seems that under harsh environments, natural selection has been for small mature size, although it also will have been for adaptation to the harsh environment. Further, Frisch and Vercoe (1977) postulated that cattle breeds evolved under poor nutrit­ional conditions have been selected for lower fasting metabolism. Thus they will not be as productive under good nutritional conditions as will breeds selected under such good conditions.

Our concern therefore is not simply that potentially valuable native strains will be lost, but that those most suited to current production-management systems may be lost or genetically diluted through inappropriate crossing with exotic breeds. The SABRAO Work­shop therefore recommended:

1. That while documentation will provide basic information on different genetic groups within each species, there is a vital need for comparative evaluation studies; that is, comparison of the performance of samples of such genetic groups when run together under the same conditions.
2. That the conditions under which such evaluation is made must be the normal environment for the industry in which the groups being evaluated would be used. Thus these conditions will often be ones of very low input, but in addition, further evaluation should be done in a potential environment that might be used in the near future, economic and other circumstances permitting. Such conditions might be available on experiment stations or larger commercial enterprises.
3. That it should be possible to organize evaluation under conditions of low input by using artificial insemination, even where herds or flocks are small.
4. That the genetic groups being compared might consist of various local breeds (or strains) and crosses comprising different proportions of their genotypes and those of exotic breeds. However, local breeds whichconstitute the majority of the population must be included as purebreds in the evaluation.
5. That crosses of a local breed with an exotic breed should always be evaluated against the local breed.
6. That evaluation experiments must be carried out to a properly designed and prepared plan.
7. That evaluation must be made on total performance, including not only product­ivity measures but also reproduction rate, mortality and disease incidence. If possible, estimates of overall economic merit should be made.
8. That collaboration among countries of the SABRAO region in making these evaluat­ions should be encouraged.

Clearly, the available evidence indicates that there is no room for complacency, and the need for action is urgent. The SABRAO Expert Committee will continue to press for data collection and documentation, and is investigating the establishment of a computer system for the collation of data to be accumulated on the Data Collection Forms prepared at and subsequent to the Workshop.

In addition, it was apparent at the Workshop that problems exist for workers in the SABRAO region in (i) lack of information on the Organizations, Institutes, etc. through­out the region that are involved in work on animal genetic resources, and (ii) lack of access to the primary scientific literature, quite apart from the unpublished and/or local or national documents and reports. In order to meet these problems, the Committee is attempting to prepare a SABRAO region list of Organizations, Institutes, Government Departments and University or other Departments involved in work on animal genetic resources or animal breeding, and is investigating the development of a computer-based bibliography of material relating to animal genetic resources in the SABRAO region.

Further, to assist communication among workers in different countries, the Workshop recommended:

1. That all Reports and publications written in languages other than English should have:

(i) Title and summary,
(ii) Table texts and table headings,
(iii) Figure texts and non-numerical figure information,

in English as well as the language of publication.

2. That SABRAO should forward this request:

(i) To Editors of all journals in the SABRAO region which publish papers relating to livestock,
(ii) To Heads of all Organizations, Institutes, etc. in the list to be compiled.

Finally, the Workshop drew particular attention to the importance of the water buffalo in the SABRAO region (as noted in Conclusion 3) and recommended:

1. That concerted efforts be made to evaluate the various strains and crosses of the water buffalo with regard to the production of milk, meat and work.
2. That much of the evaluation of the more important strains within each country can be undertaken by Governmental Institutions and Universities without over­burdening costs, and in this work, SABRAO members should participate actively.
3. That in order to obtain the crucial information on the comparative productivity of strains and crosses of different national origin, co-operation between countries will be required, and such co-operation will need some outside financial support.
4. That regional and international organizations as well as funding institutions engaged in agricultural development in the SABRAO region give urgent attention to the evaluation and genetic development of the water buffalo.
5. That in view of the importance of this buffalo evaluation, and the need for international co-operation in carrying it out, the SABRAO Board be requested to make formal representation to all Governments of the SABRAO region, inviting them to note this above recommendation from the Workshop, and to give their support to the international effort required to have the study expeditiously carried out.

Our brief for this part of the Consultation is to discuss work already done on conser­vation of animal genetic resources. The SABEAO initiative is still too recent to have generated much "work already done", but we have made a beginning, particularly in relation to documentation of available information and at least the recognition of the problem among' animal scientists of the SABRAO region.

Barker, J.S.Fand Turner, H.N. (Eds.) (198O) Proceedings of SABRAO Workshop on Animal Genetic Resources in Asia and Oceania. Publ. Ho. 47, Tropical Agriculture Research Center, Japan.

Byerly, T.C. (1977) Ruminant livestock research and development. Science 195, 451-456.

Frisch, J.E. and Vercoe, J.E. (1977) Pood intake, eating rate, weight gains, metabolic rate and efficiency of feed utilization in Bos taurus and Bos indicus crossbred cattle. Animal Production 25, 343-358.

Travaux de la SABRAO portant sur la conservation des ressouroes gene'tiques animales
Résumé

La SABRAO - Society for the Advancement of Breeding Researches in Asia and Oceania (Association pour le progrès de la séleotion animale et végétale en Asie et en Océanie) est une société savante intemationale dont les adhérents sont des particuliers qui s'inté-ressent à la sélection des végétaux et des animaux. II s'ensuit que les membres de cette Association ne sont pas des représentants de pays, l'Association n'avant pas ete formée pour fournir une aide ou des recommandations aux gouvernements nationaux ou aux organisa­tions internationales. Néanmoins, beaucoup de membres de cette Association se prl-occupent des questions relatives aux ressources génétiques animales et a leur utilisation. Les faits suivants, en particulier, sont manifestes dans de nombreux pays de la rágion couverte par la SABRAO:

1. On y constate une tendance gánárale á l'introduction de races étrangères en provenance des regions tempèrèes dans un effort d'amèlioration de la production.
2. Ces introductions sont dues à la supposition que les races indigènes ont un très faible rendement, mais on manque le plus souvent de données précises à ce sujet.
3. Bien que la productivité puisse paraítre faible, nombre des races indigènes sont adaptées à des conditions d'existence particulièrement rudes. II se peut que leur aptitude à survivre et à se reproduire dans ces conditions compense largement leurs moindres performances en matière de production.

Au 3ème Congrès de la SABRAO (février 1977), la Section des animaux de ferme a recommandé au Gonseil de la SABRAO de former un Comité d'experts des ressources génétiques animales chargé d'étudier la collecte et le classement des données sur les races et les variétés d'animaux domestiques présentant une importance économique dans la région de la SABRAO.

Par la suite, le Conseil de la SABRAO a décidé de former ce Gomité, dont j'assure la présidence, qui est composé du Dr. P.N. Bhat, du Dr. C. Chantalakhana, du Or. T.K. Mukherjee, duDr. H.N. Turner et du Dr. Y. Yamada.

Le Comité a estimé que l'on dispose sans aucun doute d'une documentation abondante Bur la repartition, les effectifs et les performances de production des diverses races et souches d'animaux d'élevage dans la région de la SABRAO, mais une grande partie de ces renseignements fait défaut aux chercheurs ou aux organisations nationales et internationales B'occupant de production animale dans la region du fait qu'ils ne sont pas publiés ou, s'ils le sont, c'est uniqueraent dans des documents et rapports de caractère local ou national qui Be font généralement l'objet que d'une diffusion très restreinte.

Aussi le Comité a-t-il jugé indispensable que cette information soit rassemblée et classée sous une forme aisément disponible:

1. pour identifier les lacunes dans nos connaissances et les secteurs ou il convient de renforcer au maximum l'effort de recherche;
2. pour attester d'une manière complete la productivité des souches locales ou indigènes et pour évaluer leur adaptation à des comMnaisons spécifiques de climat-méthode d'exploitation-production;
3. pour s'assurer que ces souches locales ou indigènes ne soient pas supplantées par des races dites "améliorées" avant que leur valeur présente ou poten-tielle soit connue;
4. pour permettre aux chercheurs de connaétre la documentation qui existe dans leur domaine de compétence et, ainsi, réduire au minimum le risque de répéter des études à long terme qui pourraient se révéler très oûteuses;
5. pour permettre aux planificateurs et aux administrateurs de prendre des décisions rationnelles au sujet des programmes de développement nationaux et internationaux et, ainsi, maximiser dans l'ensemble les taux d'amélioration de la productivité de l'élevage dans la région de la SABRAO,

L'étude complète des ressources génétiques animales impliquera des efforts de documentation, d'évaluation, de conservation et d'utilisation, nous avons décidé en l'occurrence d'insister sur la documentation. Si l'on parvient a rassembler de facon adéquate les renseignements actuals et à les stocker dans une banque de données centrale permettant de diffuser aisément ses renseignements, on connattra les secteurs qui nécessitent un complément d'information, les expériences d'évaluation nécessaires et appropriées seront définies plus facilement et les souches dont la conservation est justifée seront recensées.

Comme première mesure en vue de la collecte des données disponibles, un atelier a ete organisé au Japon en septembre 1979. Une personne en provenance de la plupart des pays de la région de la SABRAO a été invitée a preparer un rapport dormant un apercu des renseigne­ments disponibles au sujet des races et souches d'animaux d'élevage dans son pays, ces rapports devant constituer les documents de travail et la base de discussion de l'atelier. En outre, pendant le déroulement de cet atelier, de petits groupes de travail ont été oons-tituSs pour preparer un projet de formulaire pour la collecte de données susceptible d'§tre utilise pour la raise en tableaux des donnees existantes sur chaque race ou souche de: (i) bovins et buffles; (ii) ovins et caprins; (iii) porcins; (iv) volailles et autres oiseaux.

Les travaux de cet atelier, y compris tous les rapports de pays et le pro jet de formulaire seront publies avant la consultation technique de la FAO.

II reseort des rapports des pays et des debats qui ont eu lieu à l'occasion de cet atelier qu'il existe une documentation abondante sur les races et souches d'animaux d'eievage dans la rlgion de la SABRAO. Toutefois, dans bien des cas, les données sont insuffisantes, soit qu'elles sont incomplètes, soit qu'elles sont fondées sur un petit nombre d'animaux, soit qu'elles reposent sur des definitions inadéquates des caractères.

Bien qu'une forte proportion des quantités totales de produits destinés à l'alimentation humaine dans la région de la SABRAO provienne de souches indigènes, celles-ci sont souvent moins bien recensé'ea, étudié'es et evaluées que les races étrangères et leurs produits de croisement.

Par ailleurs, il est évident qu'un certain nombre de souches indigénes sont menacées de dilution génétique et de diaparition par suite de croisements effectuSs sans discerneraent avec des races étrangères, tandis que certaines souches indigenes risquent de perdre des gènes assurant une forte production du fait que les animaux doué"s d¹aptitudes élevées sont retirls des populations de reproducteurs en vue d'être utilisSs dans des unité's de haute production ou d'Stre abattus (par exemple, production laitière urbaine en Inde ou animaux choisis pour 1'abattage en raiscn de leur forte taille).

De toute èvidence, les indices que l'on possède montrent bien qu'il n'existe aucun motif de satisfaction et qu'il est nScessaire d'agir de toute urgence. Le Comitè d'experts de la SABRAO continuera d'insister pour ou'on rèunisse des donnèes et de la docunentation et il Studio la mise au point d'un système informatique pour le collationnement des données qui seront recueillies sur les forirrulaires préparés á l'occasion de l'atelier susmentionne.

D'autre part, cet atelier a révélé que les chercheurs dans la région de la SABRAO se heurtant à divers problèm en raison: (i) du manque d'informations sur les organisations, institute, etc., qui, dans la région, participent aux travaux portant but les ressources génétiques animales, et (ii) du manque d'accès à la, littérature scientifique de première main, ainsi qu'aux documents et rapports non publiés et/ou de caractère local ou national . Pour faire face à ces problèmes, le Comité s'éfforce d'e'tablir puiir la région de la SABRAO une liste des organisations, institute, services publics et organismes universitaires ou autres qui se consacrent aux ressourees genetiques animales ou à la sélection animale et il étudie 1'élaboration d'une bibiiographie, mise sur ordinateur, de toute la documentation concernant lee ressources gé'né'tiques animales dans la région de la SABRAO.

Actividades realizadas en materia de conservación de recursos zoogenéticos - SABRAO
Resumen

SABRAO (Sociedad para la Promocion de las Investigaciones Zoogeneticas en Asia y Oceania) es una entidad cientffica internacional cuyos miembros son particulares interesados en la erfa de plantas y animals. Como tales particulares, los miembros no son representantes de paises, y la Sociedad no estS constituida para ayudar or recomendar acciones a ningun gobierno nacional u organizacion internacional. Sin embargo, muchos miembros de la Sociedad estan interesados en cuestiones relativas a recursos zoogené"ticos y en su utilización.En concreto, en muchos pafses de la region que abarca SABRAO, resulta evidente que:

1. Existe una amplia tendencia a introucir razas o variedades exóticas procedentes de regiones templadas, con miras a mejorar la producción.
2. Estas importaciones se basan en la suposición de que la productividad de las razas o variedades indfgenas es muy baja, aunque fecuentemente falten datos precisos al respecto.
3. Aunque la productividad pueda parecer baja, muchas razas o variedades indfgenas están adaptadas a condiciones especialmente duras. Su aptitud para sobrevivir y reproducirse en tales condiciones puede compensar rendimientos más ajos en los caracteres de producción.

Asf, en el tercer Congreso de SABRAO (febrero de 1977), la Seocion de Animales Agrfcolas reoomendo" que el Consejo de SABRAO creara un Comite* de Expertos sobre Recursos Zoogenélticos para investigar la reuniÓn y confrontaciÓn de datos sobre razas y variedades de los animales domésticos de importancia econÓmica en la region comprendida en las actividades de la SABRAO.

Seguidamente, el Consejo de SABRAO acordo la formacion de este Comité en el que desempenolas funciones de Presidente, y del que son miembros el Dr. P.N. Bhat, Dr. C. Chantalakhana, el Dr. T.K. Hukherjee, el Dr. H.N. Turner y el Dr. Y. Yamada.

Aunque a juicio del Comite existe indudablemente abundante informacion sobre la distribucion, poblacion y productividad de las diversas razas, cepas y variedades de ganado en la region de la SABRAO, gran parte de esta informacion no resulta facilmente asequible para los investigadores u organizaciones nacionales e internacionales que se ocupan de la produccion ganadera en la region, ya que no está publicada o, si lo está, solo se encuentra en documentos locales o nacionales y en informes que generalmente tienen una distribucion muy limitada.

En consecuencia, el Comité determino que es indispensable que esta informacion se reúna y coteje en forma fácilmente utilizable

1. para identificar lagunas de conocimientos y sectores donde debieran intensificarse al máximo los esfuerzos de investigación;
2. para documentar plenarnente la productividad de variedades locales o nativas y para estimar su adaptacion a sistemas especfficos de clima-ordenacion-produccion;
3. para asegurar que tales variedades locales nativas no se vean desplazadas por las llamadas "razas mejoradas" antes de que se conozca su valor actual o potencial;
4. para que los investigadores puedan conocer la amplitud de la información en su esfera de interés y minimizar en consecuencia la possibilidad de que se repitan estudios susceptibles de resultar largos y costosos;
5. para permitir a los planificadores y administradores la adopción de decisiones racionales respecto a programas de desarrollo macionales e internacionales y elever asf al máximo en todas partes los fndices de mejora de la productividad ganadera, en la región abarcada por SABRAO.

Aunque el estudio complete de los recursos zoogenéticos implicará trabajos de documentación, evaluación, conservación y utilización, hemos decidido nacer hincapié" en la documentación. Si la información actual puede documentarse y eonservarse de manera adecuada en un Banco Central de Datos desde donde difundir tales datos inmediata-mente, se sabrá claramente en que sectores se requiere más información, se definirán con mayor facilidad los necesarios y apropriados experimentos de evaluación y se identificarán variedades cuya conservación sea justificada.

Como primer paso hacia la reunión de los datos disponibles, en septiembre de 1979, se ha celebrado un seminario en el Japón. Se invitó a una persona de cada una de la mayoría de los pafses de la región de la SABRAO a preparar un informe, en el que se indicara en lineas generales la información disponible sobre razas y variedades de ganado en su país; estos informes constituirían los documentos de trabajo y las bases de los debates del Seminario. Además, durante el Seminario, se formaron pequenos grupos de trabajo encargados de redactar Fbrmularios de Reuni6n de Datos que resultaran adecuados para la tabulaci<5n de los datos existentes sobre cada raza or variedad de: (i) bovinos y bufalús; (ii) ovejas y cabras; (iii) cerdos; (iv) aves de corral y otras aves.

Las Actas del Seminario, incluidos todos los informes por países y los borradores de Formularios de Reuni6n de Datos so publicarán con anterioridad a la Consulta de Expertos de la FAO.

Los informes por países y los debates del Seminario han demostrado que existe un considerable volumen de datos disponibles sobre razas y variedades de ganado en la región de la SABRAO. Sin embargo, en muchos casos los datos resultan inadecuados, ya que o son incompletos o se baoan en un número reducido de animales, o en defirn.ciones in-adecuadas de caracteres.

Aunque un porcentaje alto del total de los alimentos para consumo humano y de otros productos necesarios para la región de la SABRAO se obtienen de variedades nativas, estas variedades naelen ser mejor identíficadas, documentadas y evaluadas que las razas exóticas y sus cruzamientos.

Es más, resul ta evidente que una serie de variedades nativas estcán, o pueden estar, en peligro de dilución genética y de pérdida esencial por cruzamientos indisoriminados con razas exóticas, mientras que ciertas variedades nativas corren el peligro de perder genes de alta producción, pues los animales de a] ho rendimiento se retiran de la poblaciones ganaderas para su utilización en centros de alta producci6n y/o su sxibsiguiente sacrificio (por ejemplo: producción de leche en las ciudades de Ja India, o sacrificio de aninales escogidos por su gran tamano).

Evidentemente, las indicaciones recogidas no ofrecen ningún motivo de satisfacción y senalan, en cambio, que la necesidad de acción es urgente. El Comité de Expertos de la SABRAO continuará presionando por la reunión de datos y documentación, al tiempo que estudia la forma de establecer un sistema de computadores para cotejar los datos que habrán de recogerse en los Formularios de Reunión de Datos, preparados en el Seminario y después del mismo.

En el Seminario resultó asímismo evidente que en la región de la SABRAO el personal especializado tropieza en los problemas planteados por: (i) la falta de información sobre las organizaciones, institutos, etc., de la región que se ocupa de recursos zoogenéticos, y (ii) la falta de acceso a la documentaci6n científica básica, prescindiendo de los documentos e informes no publicados, y/o locales o nacionales. Con miras a afrontar estos problemas, el Comité está tratando de preparar una lista de Organizaciones, Institutos, Departamentos gubernaraentales y Universidades u otros Departamentos de la region de la SABRAO que se ocupan de recursos zoogenéticos o de selecci6n genética animal, y está estudiando el establecimiento de una bibliografía basada en computadores sobre material relativo a recursos zoogenéticos en la región comprendida en las actividades de la SABRAO.