Do community seed banks contribute to socio-ecological resilience? The case of the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, Guatemala

A community seed bank is a locally governed and managed, mostly informal institution whose core function is to maintain seeds for local use, strengthen local seed systems and support on-farm agrobiodiversity conservation. The objective of this study was to explore, from a farmer’s perspective, if and how community seed banks are supporting change towards a more resilient socio-ecological system. The research used a participatory case study approach and the methodology combined tools of participatory research and standard qualitative methods. Theories of socio-ecological resilience are used for the analysis of change. Field work was conducted between March and July 2017 in the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, Guatemala, in collaboration with Bioversity International and ASOCUCH, a Guatemalan association of agricultural cooperatives. Financial support was provided by the Seeds, Soil and Culture Fund of RSF Social Finance, a programme managed by the New Field Foundation. The research contributes to the CGIAR program on Policies, Institutions and Markets led by IFPRI. The research will be used to write a Master thesis to complete the study program in Organic Farming Systems and Agroecology at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences of Vienna (BOKU)

Do community seed banks contribute to socio-ecological resilience? The case of the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, Guatemala

A community seed bank is a locally governed and managed, mostly informal institution whose core function is to maintain seeds for local use, strengthen local seed systems and support on-farm agrobiodiversity conservation. The objective of this study was to explore, from a farmer’s perspective, if and how community seed banks are supporting change towards a more resilient socio-ecological system. The research used a participatory case study approach and the methodology combined tools of participatory research and standard qualitative methods. Theories of socio-ecological resilience are used for the analysis of change. Field work was conducted between March and July 2017 in the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes, Guatemala, in collaboration with Bioversity International and ASOCUCH, a Guatemalan association of agricultural cooperatives. Financial support was provided by the Seeds, Soil and Culture Fund of RSF Social Finance, a programme managed by the New Field Foundation. The research contributes to the CGIAR program on Policies, Institutions and Markets led by IFPRI. The research will be used to write a Master thesis to complete the study program in Organic Farming Systems and Agroecology at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences of Vienna (BOKU)

Local communities' perceptions of wild edible plant and mushroom change : A systematic review

The use of wild edible plants and mushrooms can help to counteract the homogenisation of diets and decreasing resilience of food systems. We performed a systematic review to consolidate information about perceptions of wild edible plant and mushroom changes from the perspective of local communities. We found that 92% of all perceived changes of wild edibles relate to their decreased abundance. 76% of the wild edibles with perceived decreased abundance are fruits and vegetables and 23% crop wild relatives. The main drivers of decreased abundance are perceived to be land use change (38% of all taxa) and direct exploitation (31%). These changes have potential negative implications on food systems from local to global scales

Protocol for the Collection of Cross-cultural Comparative Data on Local Indicators of Climate Change Impacts

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-MThis protocol has been designed to collect local perceptions of climate change impacts on climatic (e.g. rainfall patterns change), physical (e.g., shrinking glaciers), biological (e.g., phenological changes), and socioeconomic systems (e.g., crop failure due to rainfall patterns change), but also adaptations to those impacts, local agricultural calendars and local narratives to allow the reconstruction of historical and relevant events using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies

A collaborative approach to bring insights from local observations of climate change impacts into global climate change research

Bringing insights from Indigenous and local knowledge into climate change research requires addressing the transferability, integration, and scalability of this knowledge. Using a review of research on place-based observations of climate change impacts, we explore ways to address these challenges. Our search mostly captured scientist-led qualitative research, which - while facilitating place-based knowledge transferability to global research - did not include locally led efforts documenting climate change impacts. We classified and organized qualitative multi-site place-based information into a hierarchical system that fosters dialogue with global research, providing an enriched picture of climate change impacts on local social-ecological systems. A network coordinating the scalability of place-based research on climate change impacts is needed to bring Indigenous and local knowledge into global research and policy agendas.Peer reviewe

Indigenous Peoples and local communities report ongoing and widespread climate change impacts on local social-ecological systems

The effects of climate change depend on specific local circumstances, posing a challenge for worldwide research to comprehensively encompass the diverse impacts on various local social-ecological systems. Here we use a place-specific but cross-culturally comparable protocol to document climate change indicators and impacts as locally experienced and analyze their distribution. We collected first-hand data in 48 sites inhabited by Indigenous Peoples and local communities and covering all climate zones and nature-dependent livelihoods. We documented 1,661 site-agreed reports of change corresponding to 369 indicators. Reports of change vary according to climate zone and livelihood activity. We provide compelling evidence that climate change impacts on Indigenous Peoples and local communities are ongoing, tangible, widespread, and affect multiple elements of their social-ecological systems. Beyond potentially informing contextualized adaptation plans, our results show that local reports could help identify economic and non-economic loss and damage related to climate change impacts suffered by Indigenous Peoples and local communities

How to develop and manage your own community seed bank: Farmers’ handbook (Booklet 3 of 3). [Bari version]

Bari edition of: Vernooy, R.; Bessette, G.; Sthapit, B.; Porcuna Ferrer, A. (2018) How to develop and manage your own community seed bank: Farmers’ handbook. Management, networking, policies and a final checklist: Booklet 3 of 3. This handbook is a companion to Vernooy, R., Sthapit, B. and Bessette, G. (2020). Community seed banks: concept and practice. Facilitator handbook (updated version). Bioversity International, Rome, Italy (https://hdl.handle.net/10568/81286). Booklet 1 of 3 can be found here: https://hdl.handle.net/10568/119168. Booklet 2 of 3 can be found here: https://hdl.handle.net/10568/119177. The three booklets making up this handbook were written and designed for rural producers who are interested in establishing, supporting, and managing a community seed bank. Each booklet focuses on a theme presented by the members of a community seed bank in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Translation and adaptation to the local language is encouraged. If you would like to receive a hard copy of the booklets or give feedback or suggestions for improvement, please contact [email protected]

How to develop and manage your own community seed bank: Farmers’ handbook (Booklet 3 of 3). Otuho version.

Otuho language edition of: Vernooy, R.; Bessette, G.; Sthapit, B.; Porcuna Ferrer, A. (2018) How to develop and manage your own community seed bank: Farmers’ handbook. Management, networking, policies and a final checklist: Booklet 3 of 3. This handbook is a companion to Vernooy, R., Sthapit, B. and Bessette, G. (2020). Community seed banks: concept and practice. Facilitator handbook (updated version). Bioversity International, Rome, Italy (https://hdl.handle.net/10568/81286). The three booklets making up this handbook were written and designed for rural producers who are interested in establishing, supporting, and managing a community seed bank. Each booklet focuses on a theme presented by the members of a community seed bank in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Translation and adaptation to the local language is encouraged. If you would like to receive a hard copy of the booklets or give feedback or suggestions for improvement, please contact [email protected]

"So many things have changed" : situated understandings of climate change impacts among the Bassari, south-eastern Senegal

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-MMainstream discourses frame anthropogenic climate change as a biophysical apolitical problem, thus privileging Western science and silencing other worldviews. Through a case study among the Bassari, an ethnic group in South-Eastern Senegal, we assess the local, embodied, and situated understandings of climate change and the tensions that arise when the apolitical global climate change discourse interacts with situated understandings. Drawing on data from 47 semi-structured interviews and 176 surveys, we find that while the global climate change discourse has not permeated into the Bassari, they experience climate change through its many impacts on the biophysical and socio-economic systems. Results also highlight that climate is not considered the main or only driver of change, but that changes in elements of the climate system are inextricably linked with political and economic dynamics and environmental degradation. Finally, our results point toward the importance of values and supernatural forces in defining situated ways of conceptualizing, interpreting, and responding to change. By including situated worldviews in theoretical understandings of climate and environmental change, we contribute to the claims about the need to reframe how climate change is conceptualized. Our research emphasizes the importance of a relational view of climate change, which requires moving beyond understanding isolated climate change impacts towards defining climate change as a systemic problem. Building on feminist and decolonial literature, we argue for the need for more plural and democratic ways of thinking about climate change, crossing epistemological and ontological boundaries and including local communities and their knowledge and understanding