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150 | Central and West Asia and North Africa (CWANA) Report
a declining diversity in agriculture itself (Haykazyan and Pretty, 2006) have resulted from pesticide and fertilizer use, expansion of cropped surfaces, land degradation and the use of a narrow range of high-yielding crop varieties based on conventional breeding or biotechnology. To counteract these trends, appropriate legislation is required that fosters ICM practices and promotes the provision of ecosystem services through agriculture.
However, awareness about the importance of biodiversity
is generally low in CWANA, particularly among farmers.
Initiatives to conserve biodiversity have so far mainly
been successful only if tangible benefits were perceived. It
is therefore necessary to raise awareness about the benefits
of conserving biodiversity such as reduced pest and disease
pressure in diversified systems and resilience of diverse agricultural
systems and landscapes to shocks and stresses.
Emerging markets for biodiversity-based products may offer
economic incentives to land users. Participatory approaches
and shared management, possibly including payments or
other incentives for ecosystem services, may represent acceptable
approaches to encourage the adoption of conservation
practices. In situ and ex situ conservation of biodiversity,
participatory decentralized breeding approaches, and integration
of local, traditional knowledge and experiences in
AKST may further contribute to conserving biodiversity in
intensified production systems. Interaction between livestock and the environment has been a subject of global debate in recent years, focusing on negative aspects such as global warming with little attention being paid to the positive attributes. It is not disputed that livestock contribute to greenhouse gas and other atmospheric emissions, which contribute to climate change; it has been reported that livestock account for 35-40% of all anthropogenic emissions of methane (Steinfeld et al., 2006). Livestock also contribute to carbon dioxide emissions through basic metabolism and respiration. These negative factors of livestock rearing may be reduced considerably, and there are also many positive elements of livestockâenvironment interactions that should not be overlooked. 5.3.2.1 Zoonoses and other diseases The perpetuation and transmission of a group of diseases shared between humans and other vertebrates that act as reservoirs of infection is an important hazard for human health that arises from livestock rearing. These diseases are popularly known as zoonoses. Some like trichinosis and salmonellosis are exclusively or partially food-borne through meat, milk or eggs (Majok and Schwabe, 1996; Payne and Wilson, 1999). A second group that is emerging is thought to be perpetuated through humanâanimal interactions, such as avian influenza (bird flu). The current challenge is that there are no known technologies or management practices acceptable to farming communities to deal with these groups of infections. Zoonoses are among the most complicated human diseases from an epidemiological standpoint and therefore controlling them requires an extremely good understanding. This knowledge first has to be developed in most of the CWANA region. Important methods for dealing with this group of infections are to promote surveillance and |
reporting by collaborating with medical and public health experts, and to conduct education and awareness campaigns about how people are exposed through animals and their products and the risks of such infections. Good hygiene practices in processing foods of animal origin are further safeguards for insuring food safety for human consumption. These practices will have to be improved as technologies become more advanced with the acquisition of new scientific knowledge. 5.3.2.2 Residues Health risks also occur as a result of livestock management practices. Currently, human hazards from chemical residues in foods of animal origin may not be an issue of major proportion in CWANA because the costs of such products are too expensive for most resource-poor small-scale farmers. Mineral supplements such as sulfur and phosphorus, which ruminants must have to utilize nitrogen, as yet have little if any market in CWANA. The use of anabolic steroids and other compounds used as feed additives for cattle to promote faster growth, as well as elevation of natural levels of somatotropins in cattle, pigs, poultry and sheep are not yet widespread. However, such hazards may become of major concern in the near future as chemicals, medicines and agricultural by-products for feeding livestock become less expensive and more widely used (Smith et al., 2005), and as awareness rises about health risks with foods of animal origin. The challenge, therefore, is to design and operate organized multilevel systems for detecting and assessing the environmental hazards and monitoring environmental quality (Schwabe, 1984). Possible technological approaches for consideration involve the following:
Assays for toxicity and safety of manufactured chemical substances of diverse natureâdrugs, food additives, pesticides, and other agricultural and industrial chemicalsâthat are currently used to assess human risk will probably have to be complemented by a range of tests with appropriate animal species (Newberne, 1980; Squire, 1981) to detect not only acute toxicities but also mutagenic, carcinogenic, teratogenic or other chronic effects. Dealing with issues of residues of growth hormones, antibiotics, feed additives, heavy metals, etc., in livestock products is, however, often problematic because farmers want their animals to grow fast to reach market weight quickly. Nevertheless, health risks due to residues are a concern and have therefore to be considered. 5.3.2.3 Manure and waste management Besides the close interaction between livestock and humans and the consumption of animal products, direct human health effects of pollution from rearing livestock pose an additional threat to human health and the environment, particularly in intensified production systems. High levels of nitrates in water may lead to disease such as the blue baby syndrome (Pretty and Conway, 1988). More impora |
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