Follow the biodiversity concept

2020 is the decisive year for China to achieve poverty alleviation and prosperity. Judging from the data released by the provinces and cities on the domestication and breeding industry of wild animals, some people may worry: Will the closure of the domesticated breeding and farming grounds of wild animals and the total ban on wild animals affect the decisive victory? Will it cause returning to poverty?

On March 12, Liu Yongfu, Director of the Office of the Leading Group for Poverty Alleviation and Development of the State Council, responded to this at a press conference of the State Council Information Office. Restricted and banned wildlife breeding will not have much impact on poverty alleviation. This is because some rural areas invest hundreds of thousands and millions of yuan to develop industries featuring farming and sales of wild animals and increase economic income. This is true, but it has not reached scale and is not a pillar industry.

Therefore, although the transformation of aquaculture-type industries will cause pain, it will not hurt the Chinese economy. Under this premise, how should scientifically and effectively guide the transformation of the wild animal domestication and breeding industry? We believe that we can follow two general ideas: first, we must adhere to the guiding ideology of ecological civilization; second, we should follow the concept of biodiversity.

Ecological civilization is the values and methodology that promote the harmonious coexistence of man and nature. Various policies, regulations and protection plans related to wildlife carried out in China should use this as a guideline. So when biodiversity loss has become a global environmental challenge and wild animal and plant resources in China are increasingly endangered, it also makes sense to stop the domestication and reproduction of profitable wildlife. For the wild animal domestication and breeding industry that has been developed, the concept of agricultural biodiversity can give it specific guidance paths.

In the process of human development, it has already possessed safe, stable, and risk-controllable livestock and poultry species. These varieties are important strategic resources for maintaining human food security. In December 2019, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations released The State of the World Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture. The report shows that global livestock production is based on about 40 domestic animal breeds, a few of which provide the vast majority of meat, dairy and egg products. Of the 7745 native livestock breeds worldwide (that is, unique breeds that only exist in a certain country), 26% are endangered. The report warns that once food and agricultural biodiversity is lost, it cannot be restored.

And our country is exactly a country with very rich livestock resources, but these precious genetic resources are rapidly being lost. One of the important reasons for the loss of resources is that they are not favored by the industry and few people are engaged in aquaculture.

Take the pig industry as an example: when we talk about "pig", this is not a general concept. There are many different breeds of pigs, which are rich in genetic resources and biodiversity. There are many native pig breeds in China, nearly 90 species. However, these genetic resources are draining very quickly. In the past 20 years of development, China's pig industry has developed rapidly, but most of the farmed breeds in the market are American white pigs with fast sales and high profits. The domestic pig breeds in China have disappeared in large numbers, which not only means the biodiversity of pig, the rapid decrease will also easily lead to a decline in disease resistance caused by a single breed. Once a major epidemic occurs, the entire population will face major risks. The African swine fever outbreak in 2019 is a typical case. It should be noted that not only the resistance genes to damp, heat, drought, and high-altitude habitats exist in the domestic livestock population of China, but also the susceptibility to various diseases that threaten the livestock industry is generally high.

This is not just a biodiversity crisis faced by pig breeds. Many other traditional livestock also face similar, lesser known embarrassments. It has been reported that the Ministry of Agriculture and the National Animal Husbandry General Station conducted a survey over a period of six years. There are probably many varieties that were seen during the first observation, but they have not been seen since. Some local species have disappeared, which is a general trend. This situation not only happened in China, but also a global problem.

In the final analysis, this is still caused by the promotion of industrial civilization-in the era of industrial civilization, humans have discovered their own potential, a large number of explosive development and application of technology, and rapid population growth, and the development of industrial civilization and the pursuit of benefits and efficiency, on the one hand, has made certain products or species that are in line with its development philosophy favored. On the other hand, it has caused the planet ’s resource consumption to continue to intensify, the ecosystem has been severely damaged, and humans are facing sustainable crisis.

Propose to increase the transformation of policy support

At the press conference of the State Council Information Office on March 12, Liu Yongfu, director of the State Council's Poverty Alleviation Office, also pointed out: "We must thoroughly implement Decision of the National People's Congress Standing Committee's comprehensive ban on illegal wildlife trade, the elimination of the abuse of wild animals, and effective protection of the people's lives, health and safety. The shutdown of the shutdown, the transformation of the transformation. We will help in many ways and switch production."

At present, on the one hand, China needs to do a good job in the urgent transformation faced by the domestication and breeding industry of wild animals, on the other hand, it is necessary to solve the problem of the rapid disappearance of traditional livestock breeding varieties in the agricultural field. Combining the realities of these two aspects, it is recommended that China increase the promotion of the domestication of wild animals and the transformation of the breeding industry, as well as the restoration of the traditional livestock breeding of local breeds, not only can effectively solve the dilemma of the former transformation, but also benefit China ’s rapid restoration of agricultural biodiversity, enhance the ability to resist risks in major epidemics. It is also of great significance for enriching people's "vegetable baskets" and ensuring ecological safety. In addition, these traditional local animal husbandry varieties with more taste and nutritional value can also fully satisfy the public's pursuit of deliciousness, eating experience and nutritional value.

Throughout the history of agriculture at home and abroad, every breakthrough of the green revolution stems from the exploration and utilization of germplasm resources. Statistics show that the contribution of improved varieties to the increase of agricultural output in China is over 45%; the core species of livestock and poultry in China have a satisfaction rate of over 70%. Fine varieties cannot be lost.

Original Chinese article:

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/z_V4RwyH_q_rKa-QpiaGRA

By / Maggie