Genetic Diversity Under Threat

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2013, Cary Fowler, Charlotte Lusty and Maria Vinje Dodson, and Global Crop Diversity Trust, "The Youth Guide to Biodiversity" 1st Edition (Chapter 3) Youth and United Nations Global Alliance. Reproduced with permission.

Chapter 3. Verbatim.

A place without genetic diversity is chronically fragile and poised for disaster. In 1845, a deadly disease destroyed the potato crop, the main crop of the rural poor in Ireland, leading to the starvation or migration of two million people. There have been many events like this in human history.

Apart from dramatic famines or extinctions, there is the more gradual threat of genetic erosion or loss of genes and the traits that they produce. Present-day agricultural, forestry or aquaculture systems are more homogeneous (similar) over wide geographical areas than ever before, cultivating a smaller number of the same species and varieties. But diversity is still very much appreciated and used, especially in areas where people depend entirely on their crops throughout the year as a source of food. How else does a family eat if one crop fails? A very rich source of crop diversity is also hidden in remaining wild habitats, where the wild relatives of crop species can still be found.

In the volatile world in which we live, diversity is an important factor. A large number of scientists, breeders and farmers are working to safeguard biodiversity to allow humans to meet the challenges of an unpredictable future. This can be achieved in different ways.