Abstract
AbstractEnsuring the conservation of wild relatives of domesticated animals that are important food sources for humans forms part of targets for both the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). There is, however, no indicator allowing progress toward these aims to be measured. We identified 30 domesticated mammal and bird taxa that are sources of food for humans and consider 55 mammal and 449 bird species to be their wild relatives. We developed a Red List Index for these wild relatives, which declined by 2.02% between 1988 and 2016. Currently, 15 species are Critically Endangered, indicating that the Red List Index could deteriorate sharply unless action is taken to ensure the survival of highly threatened species and the reversal of their declines. This Index can meet a range of global policy needs, including reporting on progress toward Aichi Target 13 of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 and SDG Target 2.5.
Highlights
In 2010, the 193 Parties to the Convention of Biological Diversity adopted 20 targets as part of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020
This Index can meet a range of global policy needs, including reporting on progress toward Aichi Target 13 of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 2.5
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2.5 commits countries to “By 2020, maintain the genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated animals and their related wild species, including through soundly managed and diversified seed and plant banks at the national, regional, and international levels, and promote access to and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, as internationally agreed” (United Nations, 2015)
Summary
In 2010, the 193 Parties to the Convention of Biological Diversity adopted 20 targets as part of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020. The existing indicator is concerned solely with local breeds of farmed animals, and doesn't address the status of wild species that are important to humans, whether as wild relatives of domesticated species or because of their direct relationship with humans, in culture or as a result of other socio-economic uses and relationships. The importance and benefits of species in a variety of contexts has been outlined by Gascon et al (2015), who indicated that cultural ecosystem services are “notoriously hard to measure.” They suggest that these services change over time and the range of contexts in which species can be considered to play a cultural service to people is increasingly diverse. We focused on the wild relatives of farmed and domesticated birds and mammals only, and did not consider the wild relatives of farmed fish or cultivated plants, as too few of the latter have been assessed for the IUCN Red List more than once
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