The world’s biological diversity is eroding. This concerns in particular the entire agri-cultural diversity of genes, species and their agrarian ecosystems, the resource base for food. With species becoming extinct, mankind is jeopardised. With climate change becoming reality, genetic resources are getting a new value as they are of vital impor-tance for adaptation. This calls for a revision of present conservation approaches. Emphasis has to be placed on in-situ conservation in order to allow a maximum of species conserved and to enable species adaptation to environmental change

Kotschi, Johannes

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Organic Eprints

9. Wissenschaftstagung Ökologischer Landbau. Beitrag archiviert unter http://orgprints.org/view/projects/wissenschaftstagung-2007.html Adaptation to climate change and the role of agrobiodiversity J. Kotschi1 Keywords:  biodiversity,  crop  farming,  climate  change,  genetic  engineering,  agri-cultural policy Abstract: The world’s biological diversity is eroding. This concerns in particular the entire agri-cultural diversity of genes, species and their agrarian ecosystems, the resource base for food. With species becoming extinct, mankind is jeopardised. With climate change becoming reality, genetic resources are getting a new value as they are of vital impor-tance for adaptation. This calls for a revision of present conservation approaches. Emphasis has to be placed on in-situ conservation in order to allow a maximum of species conserved and to enable species adaptation to environmental change. Climate change - a menace to food security The implications of climate change for agriculture have opened a new window in the discussion of agrobiodiversity. Five climate change-related factors can be identified: the rise of temperature, changes in precipitation patterns, the rise of sea levels, in-creased incidence of extreme weather events and the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, of which carbon dioxide is the most prominent. The rise in temperature - commonly known as global warming - is probably the most obvious phenomenon of climate change. Since 1861 the global mean annual tempera-ture has increased by 0.6° C as atmospheric carbon d ioxide concentrations have risen by 32%. Emission scenarios suggest that we will have 550 ppm within the next 40 -100 years, almost double the pre-industrial concentrations. This rise will be accompa-nied  by  a  further  increase  in  temperature.  Depending  on  the  geographical  region, scientific estimates propose an additional mean annual temperature rise of 1 - 5.8° C. It is expected that the increases will be highest in tropical and subtropical regions. There, the increasing temperature will reduce farming system’s diversity, lower agri-cultural yields and change land use patterns. Indirect temperature effects may not be less important. The evaporation of soils is increased, decomposition of organic matter accelerated, the incidence of pests and diseases aggravated.  Changes in precipitation patterns pose another problem of increasing importance. In the last century, subtropical regions were confronted most likely with around 3% less precipitation and more frequent droughts. Contrary to this, the northern hemisphere likely experienced 5 -10% higher rainfall. At the same time, increasing seasonal and regional rainfall irregularity has been observed and scientific research suggests that this trend will become more pronounced.  Among  the  various  greenhouse  gases  it  is  not  only  carbon  dioxide  that  matters. Chlorofluorocarbons, for instance, have severely reduced the atmosphere’s protective ozone layer.  High levels of UV radiation may nurture pests and diseases and reduce crop yields. For example, fungus infection rates in wheat increased by 9-20% when experimental UV radiation was increased by 8-16% above "normal".                                                    1AGRECOL - Association for AgriCulture and Ecology, Johannes Acker Str. 6, 35041 Marburg, Deutschland, kotschi@agrecol.de   9. Wissenschaftstagung Ökologischer Landbau. Beitrag archiviert unter http://orgprints.org/view/projects/wissenschaftstagung-2007.html Adaptation of agriculture is needed Dramatic implications are expected for global agriculture and food supply, but with enormous regional differences. Ironically, the poorest are most at risk. It is predicted that by 2080 the 40 poorest countries, located predominantly in tropical Africa and Latin America, may lose 10-20% of their basic grain growing capacity due to drought. It is also argued that many rain-fed crops in the tropical belt of Africa and Latin Amer-ica are already near their maximum temperature tolerance, and their yield may fall sharply with a further rise. By contrast and for temperate regions, yield increases are expected  due  to  higher  temperatures,  increased  carbon  dioxide  levels  and  partly higher rainfall; a country like China could experience a rise in production by 25%.   As a consequence, not only mitigation of climate change is required but also adapta-tion to changes that have become irreversible. This concerns agriculture in particular and agrobiodiversity is of key importance in this. Adaptation describes a plant’s, ani-mal’s or ecosystem’s capacity to adjust to changes such as heat, drought, or salinity – an adjustment enabling them to overcome constraints, take advantage of new oppor-tunities and cope with the consequences of changing environments. The adaptation capacity of agricultural ecosystems relies fundamentally on genetic diversity. Plants with no economic value so far - may it be a drought resistant millet variety or a heat tolerant race of goats - may become important, and serve as genetic material for new breeds  that  can  tolerate  better  environmental  stress.  The  continuous  loss  of  such species is a serious matter of concern.  Adaptation to drought: neglected millets save the poor from starvation  “Sankappa  is  a  small  farmer  owning  three  hectares  of  dry  land  in  Vittalpura village of Bellary district in Northern Karnataka, India. This village is situated in the semi-arid Deccan Plateau and receives annual rainfall of 500 mm in two to three months a year, which allows one crop during July to October. Sankappa like his forefathers and other farmers of the village is growing foxtail millet. (…) The amount of rainfall during the last four years continuously dropped during the last four years in this part of the country. It was below 300 mm in 2003. ‘All other crops failed due to extreme drought, and my family and livestock were saved from starvation by the harvest from foxtail millet,’ says Sankappa. The (…) varie-ties grown and conserved by the villagers have excellent drought resistance.”   “Eight minor millet crops grown in different regions of Africa, Asia and Eurasia are  finger  millet  (Eleusine  coracana),  proso  millet  (Panicum  miliaceum),  little millet (Panicum sumatrense), barnyard millet (Echinochloa crusgalli and E. co-lona), kodo millet (Paspalum scrobiculatum), teff (Eragrostis tef) and fonio (Digi-taria iburua). Little millet and kodo millet were domesticated in India.”   “The long history of minor millet cultivation and its spread to different regions of the  world  that  are  notable  for  extremely  harsh  farming  conditions  generated considerable genetic variability in these crops. (…) Global neglect of the minor millets and increasing emphasis on few elite food crop species are precariously narrowing the food security basket. The most disadvantaged by this food produc-tion policy are the poorest of the poor (…) The shrinking number of food crops in the regional and global food basket is restricting the opportunity of farmers in difficult regions to use their land resources, environment and traditional knowl-edge.”   Cited from: BALA RAVI (2004): LEISA India, Vol.6, Issue 1. 34-36.   9. Wissenschaftstagung Ökologischer Landbau. Beitrag archiviert unter http://orgprints.org/view/projects/wissenschaftstagung-2007.html Agrobiodiversity – how much shall be conserved? As  conservation  is  costly,  the  question  arises:  how  much  agrobiodiversity  do  we need? Scientists propose mathematic models by which priorities shall be set and the optimal degree of conservation shall be calculated. But, can we base public conserva-tion strategies on mathematical modelling, or must we conserve all we have because the future needs for human survival are unknown?  It is often argued that conserving all – irrespective of any valuation – is unrealistic. But as a basic principle it can be formulated that a maximum of genetic resources has to be  conserved  at  the lowest  possible  public  cost. If  this  holds true,  a conservation concept is required that goes far beyond the predominant approach of ex-situ conser-vation. Storage of seeds in refrigerated banks or botanical gardens is essential. But this method exceeds the capacity of public funding, is of limited scope and of limited security. Such a more comprehensive approach relies primarily on in-situ concepts, managed by farmers and farming communities doing conservation and breeding on their farms and in their villages. Farmers have done so over thousands of years, have been ig-nored or neglected by the formal seed sector during the past 40 years and, since recently, are slowly being rehabilitated. On-farm conservation is not necessarily less costly, but the costs are mainly borne by farmers whereas the benefits are private and public. Latest concepts of in-situ conservation follow the idea that conservation and use of genetic resources are closely linked. True to the slogan “use it or lose it”, plant species or animal breeds should be used whenever possible, should contribute to securing rural livelihoods and to rural culture. As long as farmers themselves find it in their own best interest to grow genetically diverse crops, both farmers and society as a whole will benefit at no extra cost to anyone. As a consequence, economic or social benefits have to be found for seemingly use-less crops or farming systems and value has to be discovered in them. Some exam-ples of adding economic value are: wild plants may be used for medicinal purposes, wheat  landraces  grown  under  organic  agriculture  may  get  a  higher  price,  farming communities as a whole may profit from agro tourism if they maintain their diversity, etc. However, it will not be possible to find a market for everything that should be protected. Therefore, a remainder will have to be protected without “using” it - a ser-vice that has to be paid for by the public.  Species adaptation – but how? Another argument that calls for a revised understanding of agrobiodiversity conserva-tion is adaptation to climate change of single crops and animals, a process of selec-tion  and  breeding. What  matters  within  this  process,  is  not  so  much  the  drought-resistant  minor  millet  landrace,  well  stored  in  isolation  and  deep-frozen  in  a  gene bank, but rather, exposure to the environment, on farmers’ fields and considering the wide agro-ecological variations of sites. Resistance of plants to environmental stress (e.g. drought tolerance) is mostly a multi-genetic characteristic best developed by in-situ exposure to it. In contrast, it is difficult to achieve such traits through genetic engineering. The social dimension is no less important. Adaptive capacity building has to address the poor and should enhance their human and social capital.  The focus on women addresses the fact that in rural societies everywhere women have always been the seed keepers, the preservers of genetic resources. 9. Wissenschaftstagung Ökologischer Landbau. Beitrag archiviert unter http://orgprints.org/view/projects/wissenschaftstagung-2007.html Such a strategy as outlined above addresses regional and local agro-ecological varia-tions. It offers site-specific solutions contrasting with those of the corporate sector that follows the law of economy of scales and aims to distribute a standardised variety or a whole cropping system technology as widely as possible.   Urgent action is required There is little awareness among the various international development initiatives of the close relationship between climate change and food security and the role agrobiodi-versity  has  to  play.  This  concerns  without  distinction  the  programmes  to  fulfil  the Millennium  Development  Goals  (MDGs),  the  National  Adaptation  Plans  for  Action (NAPAs) by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and oth-ers. Adaptation to climate change in agriculture - if discussed at all - deals mainly with improved water management (in view of more frequent drought and flooding events). Agrobiodiversity - although being a fundamental resource for adaptation - is almost forgotten.  Instead, it must become imperative to manage agrobiodiversity in a sustainable way and to use it systematically to cope with the coming environmental challenges. The following aspects deserve consideration:  ￿  Stronger coordination is needed between main global programmes such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention of Biodi-versity and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agricul-ture.  ￿  Agrobiodiversity conservation is to be made a basic component of adaptation strategies to climate change. ￿  Programmes that manage agricultural genetic resources require re-orientation in their strategies. Formal institutional systems based on gene banks (ex-situ conserva-tion)  must  be  broadened  to  an  integrated  management  system  that  includes  the farmer based (in-situ) conservation. ￿  In-situ conservation of agricultural biodiversity must be made an integral part of agricultural development and be supplemented by ex-situ conservation.  Only the public sector can take the lead in implementing such a comprehensive ap-proach, in which the private sector has an important supportive role. National and intergovernmental laws and regulations will have to provide the necessary legal frame, and civil society organisations as well as the corporate sector are more than ever in demand to fill this frame with development reality on the ground. Genetic resources must  remain  largely  a  public  domain  with  well-balanced  benefit-sharing  concepts among the various stakeholders that use and conserve agro-genetic resources. Cli-mate change-induced environmental stress may in fact go beyond the reach of adap-tation. But the in-situ approach offers a great chance to shape a future worth living.  References:  Kotschi J. (2006): Coping with Climate Change and the Role of Agrobiodiversity. Conference on International Agricultural Research for Development. Tropentag 2006 University of Bonn. October 11-13, 2006. http://www.tropentag.de/2006/abstracts/full/625.pdf.  Archived at http://orgprints.org/9440/  

Adaptation to Climate Change and the Role of Agrobiodiversity

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