During COP16, specialists stressed that DSI and traditional knowledge are valuable assets to African livestock conservation. All the discussions drew the attention to the necessity of including these elements in the aims and objectives of the biodiversity policies and plans in order to build climate change resistance and foster sustainable development of the livestock sector in Africa.
Digital information obtained from an organism's DNA sequence is referred to as DSI. This information is important in identifying the genetic variability and the appropriate frame work for creating genotype that will adapt to future climate change and other hostile environments of the natural world. Since the identification of genes governing certain desirable characteristics for instance disease resistance or drought tolerance or high productivity is within the realms of possibilities, then DSI offers researchers an insight thereof.
Indigenous and local groups' customs, innovations, and knowledge systems are all included in traditional knowledge. In the case of livestock conservation traditional knowledge is useful for understanding low impact breeding strategies, animal husbandry practices and ecological management. Such knowledge is mainly based on an experience of working within a particular environment and can be used as an addition to scientific methods used in the study of the environment.
According to COP experts during COP16, there is the need for policy coherence and coordination for the support of livestock conservation. This comprises integration of livestock and the policies for the management of the biological diversity, so that the practice of conservation counts. The African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) wants a policy coherence relating to animal health, biological diversity and socioeconomic wellbeing in Africa. Through eliminating redundancy of the conservation policies in the wild, the strategy is also expected improve on the efficiency of conservation programs and promote sustainable use of natural resources such as livestock.
Special emphasis was directed towards endowing the local communities with data and instruments for successful management of their livestock. There are few resources available which contain information about the influence of livestock on the bio-diversity and for this reason, the formation of policies is a difficult task in many an area. As it is, AU-IBAR is helping to improve training and capacity development in the interior where livestock is livelihood asset. This approach will make sure that the local people are empowered to conserve their animals and reduce on the rate of copying all the usable animals.
Judging by the potentiality found here, climate change resilience is attained through managing genetic diversity of livestock. As we see that climate change leading to extreme weather conditions; thus, it is desirable to have different types of disaster-resistant live stocks. The specialists proposed the development of region-wide practices for the safeguard and advancement of these breeds, the preservation of genetic information, and the support of studies on the portable animals. This will assist the communities to adapt to climate change and also promote safe guarding the sustainability of the animal farming.
Digital sequence information
Digital Sequence Information (DSI) can be described as information in the form of digital code that characterizes organisms’ genetic sequences. This involves various kinds of genetic data which can be DNA, RNA and proteins set, stored and exchanged as well as analyzed in a digital form. This study shows that DSI is pivot significance modern biology genetics and biotechnology to tackling to issues genetic variation, evolutionary implied relationship, and functional genomics.
Components of DSI
DSI includes various types of genetic information:
- Nucleotide Sequences: The sequences of DNA, and RNA matured molecules, which are built from nucleotide bases, adenine, thymine, cytosine, guanine and uracil in RNA.
- Amino Acid Sequences: proteins, that are built of amino acids and individual nucleotides and define the structure and functions of proteins.
- Genomic Data: Comprehensive information about the entire genome of an organism, including coding and non-coding regions.
- Metagenomic Data: The sequences from meta-genomics, which are genetic fragments which are extracted from environmental samples, they contain the total DNA of microbial species.
Applications of DSI
DSI has a wide range of applications in scientific research, agriculture, medicine, and conservation:
- Genetic Research: This is so because using DSI researchers is in a position to analyse the organismal genome, to determine gene functions as well as the search for relations that exist in evolution. This information is foundational for genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics among other disciplines.
- Crop Improvement: In agriculture, DSI is applied to attempt the finding of the most valuable genetic markers relating to the production of a certain quality, disease resistance, drought tolerance, etc. This knowledge is useful to make enhancements to new food crop production through breeding programs.
- Medical Advancements: In medicine, DSI is used in identification of the gene changes that appertain to diseases and subsequent application of customized treatments. Another usefulness of genetic sequencing of pathogens is being used in the diagnosis as well as treatment of the cases of infectious diseases.
- Conservation Biology: DSI is useful in determining levels of polymorphism within the different species, successful identification of sampled genetic stock, and identification of successful management and conservation laws.
Ethical and Legalities
With the student data being used through DSI, the following ethical and legal questions arise, majorly about access to and distribution of benefits. The Conference on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Nagoya protocol aim at guaranteeing that some of the benefits to be accrued from use of genetic resources including DSI are fairly shared among those countries and communities that provide them. This encompasses availability of access regimes, reporting results and acknowledging the roles of the indigenous and local communities.
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
CBD is a multilateral framework convention that focuses on implementing measures that will protect the world’s biological diversity and its equitable access, as well as enhancing the utilization of the genetic resource that have been discovered. Entered into force in the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in May 1992, the CBD is a key part of global environmental governance with current 196 parties to the convention.
Objectives and Scope
The CBD has three primary objectives:
- Conservation of Biological Diversity: This covers the conservation of species, genetic, and ecosystem to reduce biological diversity. CBD largely covers all kinds of activities aimed at the preservation of natural values and includes measures to preserve the biophysical environment, including the creation of protected areas, the restoration of natural systems, and the preservation of threatened species.
- Sustainable Use of Biodiversity: CBD means for sustainable utilization of biological resources without depleting the biodiversity is in practice. This has comprised of the agriculture, the forest sector, fishery and aquaculture and the tourist sector. Through this integration of the protection of the biological variety in different sectors of social life, the CBD seeks to sustain the stability of ecosystems and bring blessings to human generations in future.
- Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits: The CBD also focuses on the question of the distribution of costs and benefits resulting from the use of genetic resources. They involve, for instance, use of genetic resources, especially in distribution of the gains arising from use of gene based products such as bio-technologically produced food items. To encapsulate this objective, the Nagoya Protocol, signed in 2010, considers the ABS and guarantees that countries and communities, which contribute genetic resources, will receive fair benefits.
Implementation and Strategies
The CBD works with the system of strategic plans and action frames directing the countries toward the accomplishment of its goals. The strategic plans for Biodiversity 2011-2020 including the Aichi Biodiversity Targets were set and presented 20 goals to reach on year 2020. These targets covered policy areas related to the aspects of conservation as well as sustainable use and sharing of the benefits of BIODIVERSITY and BIODIVERSITY POLICIES. The most recent one, still under discussion, the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, will seek to follow up and consolidate the experience acquired during the accomplishment of the previous strategic plan. This new framework will seek to establish transformative targets for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, with the overall vision of living in a world in which the rich and poor are equal in making a start towards achieving that vision and saving the planet by 2030.
National Implementation
Member countries of the CBD are mandated to draw and execute national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs). These plans are comprehensive specifics of action and policies for the country regarding its ecological belt and socio-economy of the country. NBSAPs are considered as important strategies that provide a platform for accommodation of cross-sectorial biodiversity concerns in the policies and actions of any country, and the mainstreaming of the concept of conservation of biodiversity in the development agenda of a country.
Global collaboration
CBD promotes international cooperation and associations in the fight against biodiversity. Non-governmental organizations operate in close contact with other global organizations, conventions and movements like United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and many more. These partnerships also improve complementarity and guarantee the unity of action towards global environmental challenges.
Also, the CBD stresses the need for public awareness and encourages stakeholders, including governments, indigenous peoples, local communities, businesses, and civil society to become involved actively, given that the last of them is essential for attaining the organisation’s goals. Awareness raising campaigns, capacity development and awareness establishment projects are part of the plans of the CBD in order to mobilize actions and support.
The Implications and Future Prospects
Nevertheless, the CBD still encounters some factors which hinder it to meet its intended goals as follows. Habitat destruction, change in climate, pollution, and overexploitation remain rife worldwide exposing the world to further loss of biological diversity. It present a complex agenda to be addressed and solving these, demands more political will, and funding and creativity.
The achievement of the goals of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and the on-going negotiations towards the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework provides an opportunity to give new directions and to commit the international community towards the conservation of biological diversity and sustainable use of its components. Thus, due to promoting multilateralism, providing for implementation of measures for the integration of biodiversity into all sectors of society, and securing the participation of local communities, the CBD seeks to provide for the sustainable development of the future for all world citizens.