European Regional Focal Point for Animal Genetic Resources OVERVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF SUPPORT MEASURES FOR ENDANGERED LIVESTOCK BREEDS SUBSIBREED Final Project Report Edited by Drago Kompan, Marija Klopčič, Elzbieta Martyniuk 1 2 European Regional Focal Point for Animal Genetic Resources OVERVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF SUPPORT MEASURES FOR ENDANGERED LIVESTOCK BREEDS SUBSIBREED Final Project Report _____________________________ Edited by Drago KOMPAN Marija KLOPČIČ Elżbieta MARTYNIUK _____________________________ Authors: Oya Akin, Turkey Kristaq Kume, Albania Louisa Bagshaw, United Kingdom Christina Ligda, Greece Beate Berger, Austria Catherine Marguerat, Switzerland Giovanni Bitante, Italy Božidarka Marković, Montenegro Didier Bouchel, France Elżbieta Martyniuk, Poland Muhamed Brka, Bosnia and Herzegovina Vera Matlova, Czech Republic John D. Carty, Ireland Salko Muratović, Bosnia and Herzegovina Ólafur R. Dýrmundsson, Iceland Vasil Nikolov, Bulgaria Vladimir Dzabirski, FYR Macedonia Helle Palmø, Denmark Fakhrat Eminov, Azerbaijan Bernhard Polten, Germany Luis Telo da Gama, Portugal Kocho Porchu, FYR Macedonia Andreas Georgoudis, Greece Alma Rustempasic, Bosnia and Herzegovina Igor Guziev †, Ukraine Nina Sæther, Norway Georgia Hadjipavlou, Cyprus Isabel García Sanz, Spain Sipke Joost Hiemstra, The Netherlands Eva-Marie Stålhammar, Sweden Mervi Honkatukia, Finland Srdjan Stojanović, Serbia Rita Hoving, The Netherlands Tamás Szobolevszki, Hungary Ante Ivanković, Croatia Ruta Šveistienė Lithuania Gita Jansone, Latvia Asko Maki-Tanila, Finland Marija Klopčič, Slovenia Jan Tomka, Slovakia Drago Kompan, Slovenia Haldja Viinalass, Estonia Mark Maguire, Ireland 2014 3 Published by European Regional Focal Point for Animal Genetic Resources (ERFP) c/o Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE) 321 Information and Coordination Centre for Biological Diversity (IBV) Deichmanns Aue 29 DE-53179 Bonn Germany Layout Marija KLOPČIČ Print Electronic publication only http://www.rfp-europe.org/ ISBN © ERFP 2014 This designation employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the ERFP concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or areas or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The individual contributions in this publication and any liabilities arising from them remain the responsibility of the authors. Recommended Citation ERFP. [2014] SUBSIBREED - Overview and assessment of support measures for endangered livestock breeds Eds: Drago KOMPAN, Marija KLOPČIČ & Elżbieta MARTYNIUK ERFP European Regional Focal Point for Animal Genetic Resources 4 CONTENT OF THE REPORT: page 1. FOREWORD ............................................................................................................................ 6 2. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 7 3. OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT .................................................................................................. 8 4. PROJECT PARTNERS ................................................................................................................. 9 5. LEGAL ARRANGEMENTS RELEVANT TO ANIMAL GENETIC RESOURCES (AnGR) ....................... 16 6. COUNTRY PROGRAMME (ACTION PLAN) FOR THE CONSERVATION OF ANIMAL GENETIC RESOURCES .......................................................................................................................... 39 7. DEFINITION OF BREEDS ........................................................................................................ 58 8. ENDANGERMENT LEVEL: CRITERIA and ASSESSMENT ............................................................ 68 9. THE LEVEL OF SUBSIDIES ...................................................................................................... 68 10. BUDGET ALLOCATED TO AnGR CONSERVATION AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL .............................. 68 11. IMPLEMENTATION OF SUBSIDIES AND SUPPORT MEASURES ............................................... 201 12. METHODOLOGY FOR CALCULATING SUBSIDIES AND WAY OF PAYMENT ............................. 224 13. PROPOSALS FOR IMPROVEMENT OF THE CURRENT SITUATION ........................................... 232 14. RECCOMENDATIONS .......................................................................................................... 243 5 1. FOREWORD This report has been developed on the basis of many contributions from the network of the European National Coordinators on Animal Genetic Resources and their colleagues and co-workers as a part of activities undertak- en within a framework of the European Regional Focal Point on Animal Genetic Resources. The SUBSIBREED project was initiated because of a common feeling that the current state of conservation programmes and support systems that are established within European countries should be documented and analysed, and lessons learnt shared among countries. In most European countries, farmers keeping in situ endangered local breed are supported directly by the state, or in the case of most of the 28 EU Member States, by agri-environmental programmes within National Rural Development Programmes. The level and scope of the support, the measures applied and the practical arrangement of their implementation differs substantailly among countries. The impacts of the subsidies pro- vided for in situ conservation on population size and structure of breeds covered by these measures also differs and needed to be examined. The project also aimed to analyse the basis for estimation of the level of support provided in each country, if the current measures were sufficient, and most of all, what the consequences might be if support systems were abolished in the future. In many countries, support provided for in-situ conservation has a relatively short history. Therefore, it was important to find out if breeds included in-situ conservation programmes were able to strengthen and further develop and what is needed to facilitate their sustainability in the longer term. Examination of the state and scope of the legal basis for in-situ conservation of animal genetic resources was also important in this analysis to enable reflection on the impacts of the existence and advancement of legal frameworks in supporting conservation measures. The native breeds, in addition to being a source of genetic diversity for livestock production, constitute a part of the national heritage and provide for local community identity. The long-term survival of native breeds is not only a matter of insurance for the future needs of agriculture development; there conservation is a matter of protecting and cherishing cultures and traditions and helping to sustain local communities. Native breeds should be considered as public goods and their long term conservation an obligation of the state. The SUBSIBREED project aimed to answer the question how we are doing in fulfiling our obligations in European countries, and what might be done to be more succesful and efficient in this respect in the future. Elżbieta Martyniuk 6 2. INTRODUCTION Livestock production has contributed to food security and economic development for thousands of years. Adaptation to wide range of environmental conditions and artificial selection has led to the development of numerous indigenous breeds that are part of the wealth of diversity in agriculture. They are producing a wide range of products for local and domestic consumption as well as for international trade. Livestock are for many local communities, invaluable sources of food and other products and essential sources of income. Maintaining the diversity of breeds in various species of domestic animals enables farmers and breeders to respond to ever changing consumer demands as well as changing production conditions, especially in light of climate change. No one can predict future demands and production conditions, and thus, maintaining the greatest diversity of animal genetic resources provides an insurance policy to enable necessary adaptation. Lack of appreciation for the need to maintain genetic diversity or inadequate farmer and breeder support pro- grammes has resulted in the rapid global erosion of local breeds. Greater effort is required to stem this erosion. 7 3. OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT The project SUBSIBREED was proposed by prof. Drago Kompan, the national coordinator for Animal Genetic Resources (AnGR) of Slovenia within the Call for Action of the European Regional Focal Point for AnGR (ERFP) in 2008. The project was accepted for implementation and obtained financing from the ERFP. The objectives of the project were: • to review the legal framework for AnGR conservation • to review the national programmes and action plans for AnGR in the member countries • to identify national systems for defining breeds and assessing the endangerment level of autochthonous breeds • to provide an overview of subsidies and other support measures to enhance AnGR conservation provided at the national level • to analyze the impact of subsidies for in situ conservation on trends in population size of endangered breeds • to identify monitoring systems to evaluate the status and trends of AnGR • to analyse various approaches for implementation of subsidy systems • to better understand methodologies applied for calculation of subsidy level • to reflect on the current subsidy level for in situ conservation and