Development of in situ micro-projects in farm animal populations of the mountain regions of North of Vietnam (BIODIVA Project)

For a number of geographical and historical reasons, the mountain areas of North Vietnam have preserved an extraordinary ethnic and domestic animal diversity of huge genetic, economic and cultural interest. This paper presents the "bottom-up and top-down" strategy implemented in the BIODIVA project through complementary policy and socio-economic, scientific and technical approaches. In close collaboration with smallholders and with the help of local and national authorities, our work comprises field inventories of animal populations and farming systems, collecting data on breeding systems, including smallholders' traditional knowledge and needs, and complex data analysis using a geographic information system. The final objective of this in situ conservation project, a management partnership with local authorities and communities, is to set up several original and concrete development micro-projects with programmes ranging from women's education—as it is mostly women who are in charge of animal rearing-through micro-credits for breeding and integrated ecotourism pilot projects to, more conventionally, specific in situ genetic improvement programmes that are well-adapted to the environment and increase the value of remarkable gene pools present in the farm animal's genetic resources. On a more global scale, this project might help the local communities to improve and diversify their animal production whilst respecting their cultural traditions and allowing for quick responses to environmental changes. It will reinforce the government's capacity to control the ecological, social and economic stakes of biodiversity, at a time when private companies are investing massively in this sector. Finally, BIODIVA will, in future, allow Vietnamese institutes and public laboratories to integrate important regional and international projects concerning the conservation and management of genetic resources within the framework of the Rio and Cartagena Conventions.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Maillard, Jean-Charles, Berthouly, Cécile
Format: conference_item biblioteca
Language:eng
Published: Biodiversity International
Subjects:L01 - Élevage - Considérations générales, L60 - Taxonomie et géographie animales, E14 - Économie et politique du développement, L10 - Génétique et amélioration des animaux, P01 - Conservation de la nature et ressources foncières,
Online Access:http://agritrop.cirad.fr/581602/
http://agritrop.cirad.fr/581602/1/Page%20123%20de%20Presented%20Papers-2.pdf
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Summary:For a number of geographical and historical reasons, the mountain areas of North Vietnam have preserved an extraordinary ethnic and domestic animal diversity of huge genetic, economic and cultural interest. This paper presents the "bottom-up and top-down" strategy implemented in the BIODIVA project through complementary policy and socio-economic, scientific and technical approaches. In close collaboration with smallholders and with the help of local and national authorities, our work comprises field inventories of animal populations and farming systems, collecting data on breeding systems, including smallholders' traditional knowledge and needs, and complex data analysis using a geographic information system. The final objective of this in situ conservation project, a management partnership with local authorities and communities, is to set up several original and concrete development micro-projects with programmes ranging from women's education—as it is mostly women who are in charge of animal rearing-through micro-credits for breeding and integrated ecotourism pilot projects to, more conventionally, specific in situ genetic improvement programmes that are well-adapted to the environment and increase the value of remarkable gene pools present in the farm animal's genetic resources. On a more global scale, this project might help the local communities to improve and diversify their animal production whilst respecting their cultural traditions and allowing for quick responses to environmental changes. It will reinforce the government's capacity to control the ecological, social and economic stakes of biodiversity, at a time when private companies are investing massively in this sector. Finally, BIODIVA will, in future, allow Vietnamese institutes and public laboratories to integrate important regional and international projects concerning the conservation and management of genetic resources within the framework of the Rio and Cartagena Conventions.