The Advisory Board on Animal Genetic Resources aims to raise awareness in public administration and associations of the diversity of native livestock breeds and their endangerment as well as their capabilities in landscape conservation and contractual nature conservation. This offers a good opportunity for mutually beneficial co-operation between nature conservation and agriculture. The statement is a plea and a recommendation in favour of integrating indigenous livestock breeds more closely into contract-based nature conservation and landscape management. In this way, a synergy can be created between the conservation of natural and species diversity and the preservation of the diversity of indigenous livestock breeds.
The Federal Republic of Germany has recognised its responsibility in national and international agreements - both at the level of nature and species conservation law and in the area of the conservation of animal genetic resources for agriculture and food. The use of (especially endangered) indigenous livestock breeds in landscape conservation represents a sensible symbiosis of the two areas. This could also symbolise future constructive cooperation between nature conservation and agriculture. There are already enough successful projects in which our native livestock breeds have proven their suitability for landscape conservation.
For example, a field study has shown that Weiße Hornlose Heidschnucken and their crossbreeds are insensitive to ragwort. However, the Advisory Board on Animal Genetic Resources believes that the use of these breeds should be expanded much further. In order to better demonstrate the suitability of native breeds for landscape management and contract-based nature conservation, the federal and state governments should support practical research in this area with the involvement of the associations involved.
You can find the opinion paper here.
Background
The National Advisory Board on Animal Genetic Resources is a working committee of the German Society for Animal Production (DGfZ) that deals with specific issues relating to animal genetic resources. The members of the advisory board are representatives of the federal and state governments, science and animal breeding.
https://www.genres.de/en/expert-committees/expert-committee-on-animal-genetic-resources
The Information and Coordination Centre for Biological Diversity (IBV) of the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE) acts as the office of the advisory board.