Integrating traditional crop genetic diversity for mountain food security

Introduction brochure to the project 'Integrating Traditional Crop Genetic Diversity into Technology: Using a Biodiversity Portfolio Approach to Buffer against Unpredictable Environmental Change in the Nepal Himalayas'. The project aims to contribute to the conservation of globally important crop biodiversity, which form the basis for food security in areas of high environmental instability and variability in many high-elevation agricultural systems throughout the world. It is implemented by UNEP and executed by Bioversity International, NARC, DoA and LI-BIRD

A guide to the identification and importance of custodian farmers

We often talk about custodian farmers; several countries recognized them by facilitating awards and we often interact with them about what they do on their farm? However, some questions remain, “what do we really mean by custodian farmers?", “what are the characteristics of such custodian farmers?”, "what role they for on-farm and in situ conservation projects and beyond?", “what potential roles they can play?” This guide aims to help practitioners to identify and document such farmers in a systematic manner for better understanding and to enable targeted support towards custodian farmers?

Community seed banks: concept and practice. Facilitator handbook (updated version)

Over three decades, a number of international and national organizations have provided technical and financial support to community seed banks around the world. Only a few of these organizations have developed and published a practical guide about how they have offered this support. This handbook, first published in 2017, fills the gap and advances research and capacity development regarding community seed banks. The handbook is organized as a guide for facilitators — people who work in the field with farmers and their organizations on issues of seed conservation and sustainable use. The publication Community seed banks: origins, evolution, and prospects edited by Ronnie Vernooy, Pitambar Shrestha, and Bhuwon Sthapit (Vernooy et al. 2015), which offers a global overview of diverse community seed banks around the world, provided the foundation for the content of this handbook. Parts of that publication have been updated and integrated into the handbook. Due to strong demand for printed copies, this updated version, with minor modifications and updated URLs, was prepared for reprint in 2020. We look forward to hearing how it is used, and we count on your feedback to continue improving its content and structure. Contact [email protected] for a printed copy. This handbook has three companion booklets for farmers (Vernooy et al. 2020; How to develop and manage your own community seed bank: Farmers’ handbook (updated versions); see: http://hdl.handle.net/10568/92000; http://hdl.handle.net/10568/92001; and http://hdl.handle.net/10568/92002

Tharu community's perception on climate changes and their adaptive initiations to withstand its impacts in Western Terai of Nepal

This paper brings out perceptions and observations of Tharu communities (Rana and Chaudhary), inhabitants of Shakarpur VDC of Kanchanpur and Gadariya VDCs of Kailali on climate change and its impacts on their livelihood strategies over the years. In addition, the paper explores some initiatives taken by the local communities to minimize its effects and impacts. Focus Group Discussions (FGD) were organized to collect and analyze vulnerability contexts on climate change and its impact on various sectors like, agriculture, forest, livestock, biodiversity, infrastructure, human casualties and water sources. Similarly, information on available service providers and their contribution was garnered through secondary sources. Local communities are facing these changes over the time and adapting strategies as per their own traditional knowledge, skills and information. Most of these strategies are biodiversity friendly, economically viable and socially acceptable. However, these innovative steps should be shared for larger scale dissemination after validating with scientific review and justifications

Safeguarding local crop knowledge: the use of community biodiversity registers

This brief presents suggestions for the design and use of a community biodiversity register as a practical tool for communities to: (i) establish an inventory to allow monitoring of crop diversity and to document its associated farmer (traditional) knowledge, (ii) generate a collective sense of community empowerment and ownership of genetic resources as a way to decentralize their management and conservation, and (iii) provide a record of the knowledge and uses of local biodiversity that can prevent biopiracy and enable the equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. Examples from Nepal and South Africa are given

Bancos comunitarios de semillas: origenes, evolucion y perspectivas

Los bancos comunitarios de semillas aparecieron por primera vez hacia finales de la decada de 1980 y fueron establecidos con el apoyo de organizaciones no gubernamentales internacionales y nacionales. Este libro es el primero en proporcionar una revision global de su desarrollo e incluye un amplio rango de estudios de caso