Contents I. Assesment of biodiversity in farm animals . 7 1. france and the farm sector . 7 1.1 france: european geography in a nutshell . 7 1.2 temperate climate . 8 1.3 overseas dependencies (dom-tom). 8 2. livestock farming at a glance . 9 2.1 farmers and their holdings . 9 2.2 agricultural land use and livestock production . 9 2.3 current state of genetic diversity . 11 2.4 breed trends. 12 3. assessment of conservation programmes . 13 3.1 in situ conservation. 13 3.2 ex situ conservation . 14 4. current use of animal genetic resources . 14 4.1 economic impact. 14 4.2 social impact . 16 4.3 optimising the use of animal genetic resources . 16 5. particular features of the French system. 17 II. Animal production demand trends in France . 19 1. livestock management policy, strategy. programmes and infrastructure . 19 1.1 the 1966 livestock law . 19 1.2 institutionalisation of conservation in France . 19 1.3 le bureau des ressources génétiques . 19 1.4 regional development projects . 19 2. management programmes and structures . 19 2.1 national cryobank . 19 2.2 biological resource centres . 20 2.3 genetic management systems . 20 2.4 health management systems . 20 3. demand . 21 3.1 livestock farming systems . 21 3.2 consumer demand . 21 3.3 joint development of breeds and their local environment . 21 4. alternative strategies for preserving and utilising farm animal genetic resources . 22 4.1 product diversification . 22 4.2 looking for variants . 23 4.3 strategies combining conservation and use . 23 4.4 biotechnology and conservation strategy . 24 5. policies, strategies and national plans . 24 III. Current state of national capacities and future needs for capacity building . 25 1. current state of national capacities . 25 1.1 livestock farmers . 25 1.2 decision bodies . 25 1.3 organisational framework . 28 2. national requirements for research, training and communication . 30 2.1 training. 30 2.2 research . 30 2.3 infrastructure, capital equipment and technology . 30 2.4 information and communication systems . 31 2.5 non-profit sector. 31 2.6 biological Resource Centres . ..