Optimum allocation of conservation funds and choice of conservation programs for a set of African cattle breeds

Abstract

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Although funds for livestock conservation are limited there is little known about the optimal allocation of conservation funds. A new algorithm was used to allocate Mio US$ 1, 2, 3, 5 or unlimited funds, discounted over 50 years, on 23 African cattle breeds conserved with four different possible conservation programs. Additionally, Mio US$ 1 was preferably allocated to breeds with special traits. The conceptional <it>in situ </it>conservation programs strongly involve breeders and give them part of the responsibility for the conservation of the breed. Therefore, the pure <it>in situ </it>conservation was more efficient than cryoconservation or combined <it>in situ </it>and cryoconservation. The average annual discounted conservation cost for a breed can be as low as US$ 1000 to US$ 4400 depending on the design of the conservation program and the economic situation of the country of conservation. The choice of the breeds and the optimal conservation program and the amount of money allocated to each breed depend on many factors such as the amount of funds available, the conservation potential of each breed, the effects of the conservation program as well as its cost. With Mio US$ 1, 64% of the present diversity could be maintained over 50 years, which is 13% more than would be maintained if no conservation measures were implemented. Special traits could be conserved with a rather small amount of the total funds. Diversity can not be conserved completely, not even with unlimited funds. A maximum of 92% of the present diversity could be conserved with Mio US$ 10, leaving 8% of the diversity to unpredictable happenings. The suggested algorithm proved to be useful for optimal allocation of conservation funds. It allocated the funds optimally among breeds by identifying the most suited conservation program for each breed, also accounting for differences in currency exchange rates between the different countries.</p

Conservation priorities and optimum allocation of conservation funds for Vietnamese local chicken breeds

“…This also shows that the prioritization approach is robust with respect to the assumed model of allocation. As the definition of a detailed cost model for conservation measures is highly complex (Reist‐Marti et al. 2006), the demonstrated robustness of decision‐making towards a misspecification of the cost model appears reassuring.…”

“…However, conservation decisions also have to take into account other factors, such as genetic diversity within breed, socio‐cultural role, special features, current or future economic and scientific values of the breed. The choice of breeds and the amount of money allocated to each breed should also consider the cost‐effectiveness of conservation activities in different breeds, the effects of the optimal conservation programmes and the cost of conservation programme as indicated by Reist‐Marti et al. (2006).…”

Optimizing ex situ genetic resource collections for European livestock conservation

“…In a collaborative system of material exchange this redundancy increases the cost of supplying diversity (Blackburn, ). While there is considerable focus on the efficiency of in situ biodiversity conservation, including area selection algorithms for systematic conservation planning (Kukkala & Moilanen, ; Önal, ) or conservation funds allocation (Reist‐Marti, Abdulai, & Simianer, ) we are unaware of work optimizing ex situ livestock collections. Specifically, the ex situ literature is apparently limited to optimizing genetic variability; that is, which breeds to conserve.…”