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

Tropical fruit tree species and climate change

Tropical fruits – full of rich nutrients and health properties – are adapted to hot and humid environments. Many tropical fruit species might spread beyond their current geographical limit whereas some species might exhibit irregular bearing of fruit. In this context, there are some important questions that need answers: What are the key characteristics that allow farmers to choose a new crop that they are not used to growing? Are farmers already experiencing impacts of climate change? If so, what are their adaptation strategies? Are there new opportunities for capitalizing tropical fruit tree genetic resources that benefit human kind? The study provides a state of knowledge to overcome threats to agriculture and food security, exploring new ways of helping vulnerable rural communities adjust to global changes in climate

A field guide to participatory methods for sourcing new crop diversity.

This guide provides details on the history, use, and pros and cons of four participatory diversity deployment methods (IRD, Diversity Kits, PVS, TRICOT) to help practitioners distinguish between the methods and choose ones that fit their needs

Red lists for cultivated species: why we need it and suggestions for the way forward

The world's food basket is today shrinking at an alarming rate and most concerning is the reduction in the number of species and varieties used by humankind for food and nutrition, which raises serious concerns about the sustainability of feeding the world today and in the future. Yet, whereas we deploy consistent efforts in monitoring the status of wild biodiversity, very limited is the research in monitoring diversity of plants used by farmers, assess threats of genetic erosion, understand how diversity is helping farmers in coping with climate change, etc. Documenting and monitoring agrobiodiversity on farm is fundamental for enhancing its sustainable use and prevent losses of both genetic diversity and indigenous knowledge to happen before it is too late. This poster explains why a Red List for Cultivated Species is needed and a proposed approach to creating one

Rebuilding local seed system and safeguarding conservation of agrobiodiversity in the aftermath of Nepal 2015 earthquake

A study was conducted from July 2015 to December 2017 to rebuild local seed system and safeguard conservation of agrobiodiversity in the aftermath of earthquake through rescue collection, conservation and repatriation of endangered crop landraces from 10 earthquake affected districts. The process employed several methods, approaches and processes combining rescue missions with qualitative and quantitative assessments techniques and tools. The process helped to assess status of diversity of traditional crops, identify endangered, extinct and rare crop landraces, document and characterize their unique agronomic traits and develop and validate methodology for conservation of native crops by linking on-farm and ex-situ approaches. A total of 921 accessions of 61 crops were collected from 35 VDCs of 10 severally earthquake affected districts. The process has identified 104 lost crop landraces and rescued 284 rare and endangered ones and conserved them in national Genebank. Some of the farmer demanded crop landraces are repatriated back to local communities and also conserved in community seed banks in affected districts.The process therefore helped to restore lost diversity, revive and strengthen the local seed system and safeguard biodiversity of native crops to adapt to more extreme and changing climatic conditio

Baseline Survey Report: I. Jungu, Dolakha. Integrating traditional crop genetic diversity into technology: using a biodiversity portfolio approach to buffer against unpredictable environmental change in the Nepal Himalayas

The project has set a mandate to work on eight neglected and underutilized mountain crops that are nutrient dense, climate resilient, and indigenous to the Nepal Mountains (Table 1). These crops are: amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus, A. caudatus and A. cruentus), barley and naked barley (Hordeum vulgare and H. vulgare var. nudum), common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum and F. tataricum), finger millet (Eleusine coracana), foxtail millet (Setaria italica), proso millet (Panicum miliaceum) and cold tolerant rice (Oryza sativa)