Sharks worth more for tourism than in soup: study

Alister Doyle Reuters Yahoo News 31 May 13;

OSLO (Reuters) - Sharks swimming free in the oceans may soon become more valuable as tourist attractions than when caught, sliced up and served in soup, a global study showed on Friday.

It urged better protection for the fish, from Australia to the Caribbean, to reduce catches of an estimated 38 million a year to meet demand for shark fin soup, mainly in China.

"We are hoping that people will recognize that sharks are not only valuable on the plate," lead author Andres Cisneros-Montemayor of the University of British Columbia in Canada said.

Shark-watching tourism generates about $314 million a year and is projected to surge to $780 million in the next 20 years, according to the study in the journal Oryx - The International Journal of Conservation.

By contrast, the landed value of world shark fisheries is now $630 million a year and has been declining, according to the experts in Canada, the United States and Mexico.

In recent years Palau, the Maldives, Honduras, Tokelau, The Bahamas, the Marshall Islands, the Cook Islands, French Polynesia and New Caledonia have created sanctuaries by banning commercial shark fishing.

"Many countries have a significant financial incentive to conserve sharks and the places where they live," said Jill Hepp, director of global shark conservation at the Pew Charitable Trusts which took part in the study. Pew urged more sanctuaries.

The study is one of many about how to aid world fisheries, hit by pollution and over-fishing. Tourism draws almost 600,000 people annually to watch sharks from hammerheads to great whites, supporting 10,000 jobs in 29 countries, it said.

One problem is the separate sources of demand - Asian lovers of shark fin soup are unlikely to abandon the dish in favor of tourism, which has so far been mainly for Westerners.

Fishermen need to see a higher value from organizing tourism - such as running boat trips to view sharks or renting scuba gear - than from killing them for fins, said Carl Gustaf Lundin, director of the global marine program at the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which was not involved in the study.

(Editing by Andrew Roche)

Sharks Worth More in the Ocean Than On the Menu
ScienceAlert 30 May 13;

Sharks are worth more in the ocean than in a bowl of soup, according to researchers from the University of

A new study, published today in Oryx -- The International Journal of Conservation, shows that shark ecotourism currently generates more than US$314 million annually worldwide and is expected to more than double to US$780 million in the next 20 years.

In comparison, the landed value of global shark fisheries is currently US$630 million and has been in decline for the past decade. An estimated 38 million sharks were killed in 2009 to feed the global fin trade alone.

"The emerging shark tourism industry attracts nearly 600,000 shark watchers annually, directly supporting 10,000 jobs," says Andres Cisneros-Montemayor, a PhD candidate with UBC's Fisheries Economics Research Unit and lead author of the study. "It is abundantly clear that leaving sharks in the ocean is worth much more than putting them on the menu."

"Sharks are slow to mature and produce few offspring," says Rashid Sumaila, senior author and director of UBC's Fisheries Centre. "The protection of live sharks, especially through dedicated protected areas, can benefit a much wider economic spectrum while helping the species recover."

The research team from UBC, the University of Hawaii and Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur in Mexico examined shark fisheries and shark ecotourism data from 70 sites in 45 countries. Almost $124 million in tourism dollars were generated annually in the Caribbean from shark tourism, supporting more than 5,000 jobs. In Australia and New Zealand, 29,000 shark watchers help generate almost $40 million in tourism expenditure a year.

Journal Reference:

Andrés M. Cisneros-Montemayor, Michele Barnes-Mauthe, Dalal Al-Abdulrazzak, Estrella Navarro-Holm, U. Rashid Sumaila. Global economic value of shark ecotourism: implications for conservation. Oryx, 2013; : 1 DOI: 10.1017/S0030605312001718

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Protecting environment key to ending poverty, finds UN High Level Panel

WWF 30 May 13;

Gland: Taxes, incentives, regulations, subsidies, trade and public procurement need to be realigned to favour sustainable consumption and production patterns if the world wants to end poverty, according to the UN High Level Panel charged with setting the new direction for global development.

“Without environmental sustainability we cannot end poverty,” said the UN’s High Level Panel on the post-2015 Development Agenda.

The report of the 26-member panel, which included UK Prime Minister David Cameron, Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Queen Rania of Jordan and Unilever CEO Paul Polman, has the potential to influence over USD 25 trillion of development spending and marks a clear break from the practice of treating development and sustainability as separate topics.

“The Millennium Development Goals were a first global attempt to address poverty and other development challenges but protection of the environment was barely acknowledged and hardly addressed,” said Jim Leape, Director General of WWF International.

“Nearly fifteen years on, there is finally recognition that poverty cannot be eradicated and the well-being of people across the globe cannot be secured without addressing the grave pressures on the environment and the natural systems that support human life on this planet,” Leape added.

The report calls for hard-hitting measures to be taken in both developed and developing countries to reduce the impacts of consumption, production, trade, waste and pollution.

The Panel’s findings have the potential to influence over USD 25 trillion of international resource flows to developing countries and redrafting government and corporate behaviours.

“We came to the conclusion that the moment is right to merge the poverty and environmental tracks guiding international development” states the Panel report.

The Panel underlined the inadequacies of GDP measure of progress for mandatory social and environmental reporting by all companies with a market capitalisation above USD 100 million.

Proposed goals to secure food, water and energy for a growing world population should include key targets to safeguarding sustainable agriculture, fisheries, freshwater systems and energy supplies, the report said.

The High Level Panel also affirmed that the new development agenda is a global one.

“The world has changed since the MDGs were agreed,” said Jim Leape.

“The global financial and economic crises have shown that poverty and growing inequality are problems for all countries. Production and consumption choices in one place have environmental impacts across the globe.”

“We now look to all countries to build on the High Level Panel’s report and agree an ambitious set of goals and targets that will spur urgent action,” said Leape.

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Best of our wild blogs: 30 May 13

Five new Fast and Furious Ferrari shrimps at the Southern Expedition
from Mega Marine Survey of Singapore

Humungous cuttlefish on Day 10 of the Southern Expedition
from Mega Marine Survey of Singapore

#8 Labrador Nature Reserve
from My Nature Experiences

Copper-throated Sunbird nest-building
from Bird Ecology Study Group

Random Gallery - Yellow Palm Dart
from Butterflies of Singapore

Painted faces: revisited
from Life's Indulgences

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Cross Island Line: LTA will minimise environmental impact

Today Online 30 May 13;
Helen Lim
Director, Media Relations and Public Education, Land Transport Authority

We refer to Ms Vinita Ramani Mohan’s letter “A transportation plan that crosses the line” (May 20).

The detailed alignment of the Cross Island Line (CRL) has not been decided and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will carry out detailed studies before finalising the alignment. We would also like to assure that the LTA will be commissioning an independent Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to study the environmental impact of the CRL, as part of its overall assessment and design. As part of the EIA, the consultant is required to develop guidelines to guide the Engineering Investigative Works. The Engineering Investigative Works will be carried out in compliance with these guidelines.

In the coming months, the LTA will engage and consult various stakeholders, including nature and environmental groups, to ensure their views and concerns are accommodated as part of the EIA study. We share the environmentalists’ concern on any possible impact on the Central Catchment Nature Reserve and assure that sufficient time will be accorded to address these concerns.

Protecting the nature reserves will be an integral consideration for the project and all efforts would be taken to minimise impact to the environment.

In particular, we would like to assure the public that some of the concerns that have been expressed, such as the need or intention to clear large tracts of forest in the nature reserves, or the possibility of there being major construction works within the nature reserves, are not contemplated. We ask for some patience as we continue to make preparations for the consultation and the EIA.

Protecting nature reserves a key consideration
Straits Times Forum 31 May 13;

WE REFER to Wednesday's letters ("Rethink route of Cross Island MRT line" by Mr Chia Yong Soong; and "Cross Island Line: LTA must be proactive in engaging stakeholders" by Mr Eugene Tay Tse Chuan, Forum Online).

The detailed alignment of the Cross Island Line has not been decided and the Land Transport Authority will carry out detailed studies before finalising the alignment.

We assure readers that we will be commissioning an independent Environmental Impact Assessment to study the environmental impact of the line, as part of its overall assessment and design.

As part of the assessment, the consultant is required to develop guidelines to guide the engineering investigative works, which will be carried out in compliance with these guidelines.

In the coming months, we will engage and consult various stakeholders, including nature and environmental groups, to ensure that their views and concerns are accommodated as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment study.

We share the environmentalists' concerns over any possible impact on the Central Catchment Nature Reserve and assure them that sufficient time will be accorded to address these concerns.

Protecting the nature reserves will be an integral consideration for the project and all efforts will be taken to minimise impact to the environment.

In particular, we assure the public that some of the scenarios that have been raised, such as the need or intention to clear large tracts of forest in the nature reserves, or the possibility of there being major construction works within the nature reserves, are not being contemplated.

We ask for some patience as we continue to make preparations for the consultation and the Environmental Impact Assessment.

Helen Lim (Ms)
Director, Media Relations and Public Education
Land Transport Authority

Related links
Love our MacRitchie Forest: walks, talks and petition. Also on facebook.

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Global warming spells trouble for Singapore

Straits Times Forum 30 May 13;

NATIONS around the world, including Singapore, are showing interest in the melting Arctic ice, more from an economic standpoint than in terms of human safety ("Fuelled by strategic interest in cold North"; May 21). This emphasis is misplaced.

These nations should focus instead on how they can best join forces to prevent the melting rate from accelerating, with a view to ultimately reversing the process.

Melting Arctic ice releases large amounts of methane, which is about 21 times more powerful at warming the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.

In recent weeks, carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere breached the 400 parts per million (ppm) mark, the highest level since the Ice Age ("World gone cold on global warming"; May 21). It could reach 1,000 ppm towards the end of this century.

Unfortunately, no amount of hurricanes, cyclones, monsoons or warnings seem compelling enough for world leaders to take action to reverse global warming and climate change.

For a low-lying island like Singapore, global warming can only mean a major catastrophe waiting to happen.

Already, shifts in weather patterns here have resulted in the authorities replacing some tall trees with shorter ones, to prevent them from falling ("Some tall trees being replaced"; May 19).

But this approach is just a quick fix and may not be sustainable in the long term. We need to get to the root of the problem - global warming - and tackle it head-on at the global level.

Singapore has always punched above its weight. It now needs to punch in the right direction and for the right cause.

Srirekam Kesava Purushotham

Singapore committed to tackling climate change
Straits Times Forum 4 Jun 13;

WE THANK Mr Srirekam Kesava Purushotham for his feedback ("Global warming spells trouble for Singapore"; last Thursday).

We agree that climate change is a global challenge that requires all countries to play their part.

Singapore therefore supports and actively participates in the multilateral negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and in other organisations such as the International Maritime Organisation and International Civil Aviation Organisation to develop measures to reduce emissions in these sectors.

Under the UNFCCC, we made a voluntary pledge to reduce our emissions below business-as-usual levels by 2020. We are working with other countries towards a new global agreement on climate change by 2015.

Domestically, we adopt a multi-pronged approach to meet our pledge and do our part in addressing climate change.

Given our limited ability to switch to renewable energy on a large scale, energy efficiency is one of Singapore's key strategies to reduce emissions.

We are the first country in the world to mandate minimum environmental sustainability standards for existing buildings, in addition to new buildings.

Our vehicle ownership and usage control measures are coupled with encouraging a switch to low-emission cars and taxis through the Carbon Emissions-based Vehicle Scheme.

The Energy Conservation Act requires large energy users to implement energy management practices.

Singapore is also taking action to address the potential impact of climate change on coastal protection, water supply and drainage, public health, biodiversity and infrastructure.

Since the end of 2011, we have raised the minimum reclamation level of new reclamation projects by an additional metre, to 2.25m above the highest recorded tide level.

The Centre for Climate Research Singapore is the first centre in the world for tropical climate research.

Addressing climate change also offers opportunities for green growth. Singapore is well-positioned to develop as a global cleantech hub that will provide high-value-added jobs and growth opportunities for Singaporeans.

Everyone has a part to play in the global effort against climate change. We also work with our partners in the people, public and private (3P) sectors on education and outreach programmes to promote climate change awareness and action.

Yuen Sai Kuan

Director, 3P Network Division

National Climate Change Secretariat, Prime Minister's Office

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Malaysia: Sun bears are 'forest doctors'

Avila Geraldine New Straits Times 30 May 13;

ECOSYSTEM PRESERVERS: They cannot survive in agricultural plantations, says conservation expert

KOTA KINABALU: THE Malayan sun bear plays an important role in the ecosystem as they serve as forest doctors, engineers and planters, contributing to a thriving forest.

Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) founder and chief executive officer Wong Siew Te said the sun bear used its claws to scrape off and destroy termite nests around tree bark.

This, in turn, saves the host tree from dying because of termite infestation.

"Sun bears do this to get termites and larvae, an important food source for them.

"If they do not do this, the termites will eventually kill the host tree by feeding on the wood fibre inside.

"Uncontrolled termite populations can lead to the death of many trees," he said yesterday.

The sun bear is the smallest of the world's bears and is listed as "vulnerable" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List.

It is at risk of becoming endangered, unless the circumstances threatening its survival improve.

Wong said sun bears, which lived in the forests of Southeast Asia, were fond of eating honey.

Sun bears create holes in trees when extracting the honey of stingless bees that build nests under tree bark.

The holes are then used by hornbills or squirrels to nest in.

As forest planters, sun bears spread the seeds of large fruits, such as durian and jackfruit, when travelling.

They have a home range of 14 square kilometres.

"Sun bears are among the largest mammals in the tropical rainforest.

"Through their travels, they defecate swallowed seeds away from the mother tree.

"This increases the chances of the seeds' survival.

"Through their role as nutrient mixers, sun bears facilitate soil turnover and regeneration when they forage for termites and other insects."

Despite the many functions that sun bears served, their long-term survival in the wild depended on the continuous existence of natural forests, said Wong.

He said sun bears, as a forest-dependent species, could not survive in oil palm and other agricultural plantations.

"They need large tracts of natural forests for them to sustain viable populations, where they can search for food, shelter and reproduce.

"There is so much that sun bears are doing for the forest and this is something we all need to understand and appreciate.

"Today, their number is going down and more are ending up in captivity."

Wong added that BSBCC housed 28 rescued sun bears.

The centre, which is located adjacent to the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre in Sandakan, is hoping to hold a fundraiser on July 20.

This is to meet the ever-increasing cost of caring for sun bears in captivity, as well as raise public awareness of the species.
BSBCC is a non-governmental organisation set up in 2008 through a collaboration between the Sabah Wildlife Department, Sabah Forestry Department and Land Empowerment Animals People.

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Ice levels, rule changes to boost Arctic northern sea route

Balazs Koranyi Reuters 30 May 13;

Shipping along the Arctic northern sea route is set to grow more than 30-fold over the next eight years and could account for a quarter of the cargo traffic between Europe and Asia by 2030, experts said on Wednesday.

With global warming thawing sea ice, the route, which runs along Russia's northern coast and links Europe with ports in East Asia, is opening for longer and longer each year.

Russia is also easing regulations to accommodate more vessels aiming to spur use of the still fledgling route which can cut travel time between Europe and Asia by up to 40 percent.

"Russia clearly sees the opportunity and is trying to take advantage of it," said Mikhail Belkin, an adviser at Atomflot, the operator of Russia's nuclear icebreaker fleet.

"The northern sea route is not a rival to the Suez Canal, but it's a good seasonal complement... and has the potential to grow very fast."

Around 1.25 million metric tons (1.38 million tons) of cargo traversed the route last year, a tiny figure compared to the Suez Canal's 740 million metric tons.

But Belkin predicted a rise to 1.5 million metric tons this year and 40 million metric tons by 2021.

"Crossings (between Europe and Asia) will account for 15 million metric tons, LNG from the Yamal Peninsula for another 15 million and oil cargo out of that area for another 10 million," said Belkin, whose icebreakers need to accompany most vessels along the route.

The gas is expected to come from Yamal, which is being jointly developed by Novatek and Total, while the oil is expected to come from Gazprom's Novoportovskoye field in Siberia.

A recent deal by ExxonMobil to partner with state-controlled Rosneft to explore for oil on 150 million acres in the Chukchi, Kara and Laptev seas could mean further oil for export.

ICE LEVELS

Last September, Arctic sea ice reached its lowest level on record and scientists say there could be an ice-free summer by 2030-2040.

The northern sea route was open around six months last year with an LNG vessel crossing as late as November and the season could grow to 8 months within a decade.

To lower operating costs, Russia this year will allow vessels without ice classification to cross during the lightest period of ice, which lasts about two months each year, and has also reduced draft restrictions, allowing vessels of up to 100,000 deadweight metric tons to cross.

Jong-Deog Kim, a division director at the South Korean Maritime Institute, predicted that traffic between Europe and Asia along the route will grow by 6.5 percent a year and could potentially account for a quarter of all cargo traffic by 2030.

"It's a function of cost, not just the fees charged by Atomflot, but the total cost, from vessel construction and bureaucracy to the increased insurance cost," Kim said. "For crude, LNG and condensate, it's actually very competitive right now, but for coal or ore, not so much."

Atomflot fees vary depending on the customer but tend to be 10 to 15 percent higher than Suez Canal charges. Yet once the savings from the shorter voyage are factored in, firms can save as much as 20 percent, Belkin said.

Still, the route has its clear limits. Russia is just starting work on up to 10 relief ports along the route, search and rescue capability is patchy, commercial weather forecasting is limited and insurers charge a large premium for operators using the route.

"It's a given that traffic will increase and probably increase dramatically," said Sturla Henriksen, director general of the Norwegian shipowners' association. "But the commercial viability will be limited for quite some time."

(Editing by Jason Neely)

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Best of our wild blogs: 29 May 13

Saturday 01 June 2013, 10:30 AM at Botany Centre, Singapore Botanic Gardens. Kevin Tilbrook on Lace Corals and Moss Animals from Raffles Museum News

Fri 31 May 2013: 9.00am @ DBS CR2: Daniel Ng on “Impacts of climate change on tropical amphibians” from The Biodiversity crew @ NUS

Reefy Day 9 at the Southern Expedition
from Mega Marine Survey of Singapore

Updates on the Southern Expedition
from Lazy Lizard's Tales

Toddycats at the Mega Marine Survey!
from Toddycats!

Places - Of Boar And Men
from POSKOD.SG

Random Gallery - Plain Tiger
from Butterflies of Singapore

Plastic recycling is just not economically attractive enough to be a solution from News from the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore

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Rethink route of Cross Island MRT line

Straits Times Forum 29 May 13;

THE proposal to run the Cross Island Line across the gazetted Central Catchment Nature Reserve is a cause for concern ("Route of MRT line a concern: Nature Society"; last Saturday).

At stake is a national treasure trove of biodiversity - a verdant stretch of primary, secondary and young forest that supports many native plants and trees, and is home to insects, animals, birds and fishes.

Water from natural sources there drains into the surrounding reservoirs. The vast catchment forest also acts as a green lung in the central part of our island, providing clean air and counteracting the greenhouse effect.

Even if the rail system runs underground, much construction work will have to be done on the surface, such as providing access to transportation and building site offices.

Large tracts of forest would have to be cleared. This means erosion, pollution, noise and a whole host of other ill effects.

One wonders how an Environmental Impact Assessment can have anything positive to say about such a venture.

That such a proposal came to pass throws into question the claims by the Government of its commitment to protect the environment. It seems that even a gazetted nature reserve is no longer protected.

There should not be soft or easy options, and certainly not explanations such as "this is the most direct and shortest route across".

I urge the Government to seriously rethink the route of the line and avoid the destruction of a major part of our natural heritage.

Chia Yong Soong

Cross Island Line: LTA must be proactive in engaging stakeholders
Straits Times Forum 29 May 13;

THE Land Transport Authority (LTA) must be proactive and sincere in engaging stakeholders when planning the Cross Island Line, whose present design has tracks cutting across the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and Central Catchment Area ("Route of MRT line a concern: Nature Society"; last Saturday).

Nature reserves are sensitive habitats and gazetted areas, and the LTA should have anticipated the concerns of stakeholders before unveiling its plans in January.

There were apparently no proactive attempts to engage or consult stakeholders before the announcement.

Concerned stakeholders have waited patiently for four months to engage LTA to understand its plans for the Environmental Impact Assessment and feasibility studies. How much longer do they have to wait?

The LTA should come forward with a concrete date for the stakeholder engagement.

Now is the time for it to be proactive and sincere in engaging the Nature Society and interested individuals and groups. The future of our nature reserves is at stake.

Eugene Tay Tse Chuan

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Is monkey trapping the best solution?

Straits Times Forum 29 May 13;

WE READ with alarm two recent reports ("AVA moves to control monkey problem", April 29; and "AVA explains monkey trapping video"; last Wednesday) about the capture and removal of macaques from Bukit Timah.

We would like to ask:

- Why were the macaques being trapped? Was it for ecological reasons and/or because of threats to human safety? If it was the latter, what risk assessment criteria were used?

- What is the strategy for monkey capture? Are troops studied carefully before specific monkeys are targeted? Are there numerical targets for the trapping?

- How closely were wildlife experts, in particular, those who specialise in primate biology, consulted prior to the implementation of the monkey-trapping programme? How frequently do the contractors entrusted with the monkey capture seek the advice of experts?

A macaque-trapping exercise that is not based on solid data, built on a sound knowledge of macaque behaviour and conducted with inputs from experts is difficult to justify.

Based on reports, the monkey-trapping strategy appears ecologically unsound, largely avoidable and futile. At the end of these rounds of trapping, residents have no more understanding of the macaques than they did before the trapping started.

More importantly, the ecosystem would have lost seed dispersers who play an important role in forest regeneration, and macaque troops may be destabilised (which may give rise to other behavioural problems among the remaining macaques).

The monkey incursions are likely to continue and the trapping cycle repeated, with no one except perhaps the monkey-removal contractors profiting from these episodes.

Wildlife live in forests. When housing is built next to forested areas, insects, birds, lizards and macaques come with the territory.

Understanding how to minimise the conflict between residents and wildlife - from building and buffer area design, to reaching out to residents prior to and during occupation, and seeking holistic solutions - would be more consistent with the rational, systematic and tolerant approach for which Singapore is famed.

One needs to look no further than our airport to see an excellent example of how to manage human-wildlife interaction ("Changi keeps fowl-ups to a minimum"; May 20).

Changi Airport works with stakeholders and wildlife experts to minimise the chances of birds compromising aircraft safety. Killing birds is not their first course of action. They employ a scientifically sound and humane strategy that protects people, planes and birds.

Perhaps this approach could be a model for managing and raising our understanding of wildlife in other areas.

Tay Kae Fong
President, Jane Goodall Institute (Singapore)

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NParks signs MOU with Brunei's Forestry Department on joint botanical survey

Saifulbahri Ismail Channel NewAsia 29 May 13;

SINGAPORE: Researchers from Singapore will now have greater access to study plants and forests in Brunei.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the National Parks Board (NParks) and Brunei's Forestry Department was signed Wednesday in Bandar Seri Begawan.

With the MOU on a joint botanical survey, Singapore becomes the first ASEAN country to conclude a formal agreement with Brunei in the environment sector.

Deputy Chief Executive Officer of NParks Leong Chee Chiew said the MOU will benefit both countries.

Under the agreement, Singapore will contribute its expertise to conduct a planned and systematic study of the rich flora in Brunei.

Researchers will help to identify and document different species of plants in the Bruneian forests.

Brunei last conducted an inventory of its flora database in 1996.

It is estimated that Brunei is home to around 5,000 plant species.

NParks said it has other collaborative efforts in the region.

Its scientists are involved in studying ginger in Vietnam and orchids in Myanmar.

- CNA/xq

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Decline in biodiversity of farmed plants, animals gathering pace

Alister Doyle Reuters 28 May 13;

A decline in the diversity of farmed plants and livestock breeds is gathering pace, threatening future food supplies for the world's growing population, the head of a new United Nations panel on biodiversity said on Monday.

Preserving neglected animal breeds and plants was necessary as they could have genes resistant to future diseases or to shifts in the climate to warmer temperatures, more droughts or downpours, Zakri Abdul Hamid said.

"The loss of biodiversity is happening faster and everywhere, even among farm animals," Zakri told a conference of 450 experts in Trondheim, central Norway, in his first speech as founding chair of the U.N. biodiversity panel.

Many traditional breeds of cows, sheep or goats have fallen out of favor, often because they yield less meat or milk than new breeds. Globalization also means that people's food preferences narrow down to fewer plants.

Zakri said there were 30,000 edible plants but that just 30 crops accounted for 95 percent of the energy in human food that is dominated by rice, wheat, maize, millet and sorghum.

He said it was "more important than ever to have a large genetic pool to enable organisms to withstand and adapt to new conditions." That would help to ensure food for a global population set to reach 9 billion by 2050 from 7 billion now.

Zakri noted that the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization estimated last year that 22 percent of the world's livestock breeds were at risk of extinction. That means there are fewer than 1,000 animals in each breed.

The extinctions of some domesticated animals and plants was happening in tandem with accelerating losses of wild species caused by factors such as deforestation, expansion of cities, pollution and climate change, he said.

Irene Hoffmann, chief of the FAO's animal genetic resources branch, told Reuters that eight percent of livestock breeds had already become extinct.

Many nations had started breeding programs for rare livestock, from llamas to pigs. Some were freezing embryos or even stem cells that might be used in cloning, she said.

In 2010, governments set goals including halting extinction of known threatened species by 2020 and expanding the area set aside in parks or protected areas for wildlife to 17 percent of the Earth's land surface from about 13 percent now.

(Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)

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