Tag: Agrobiodiversity
Adoption of Agroforestry Practices- Policy Initiatives and Innovations in India
Agrobiodiversity and nutrition in traditional cropping systems – Homegardens of the indigenous Bakiga and Banyakole in southwestern Uganda
Opportunity for conserving and utilizing agro-biodiversity through agroforestry in Southern Africa
Traditional approaches to biodiversity conservation focused on protection of natural habitats in parks and reserves while neglecting the potential to conserve agrobiodiversity in farming systems that could provide other direct and indirect benefits necessary for livelihoods and ecosystem functioning. Quantitative assessments of tree biodiversity have mostly focused on traditional production systems such as shifting cultivation in the miombo ecozone, home gardens and the parkland systems; and to a lesser extent the below ground biodiversity with respect to micro flora and fauna as a function of soil fertility improvement. Agroforestry systems, in contrast to intensive monocultures, may provide high quality habitats for biodiversity conservation. In the case of trees on the landscape, the use of non-timber forest products as a livelihood strategy, particularly for food, nutrition, medicine and’safety net’ during lean periods, has been one of the drivers of biodiversity conservation. In southern Africa, research that has addressed biodiversity albeit indirectly include indigenous fruit tree domestication and the screening of multi-purpose tree germplasm for improved agroforestry systems and/or technologies. This paper highlights the state of knowledge on the contribution of agroforestry to agrobiodiversity in southern Africa. It draws on the huge body of data on the genetic diversity of agroforestry trees used to meet diverse livelihood needs including those used for soil fertility replenishment, provision of animal fodder, fruits, medicinal products and, fuelwood and timber.
Biodiversity and agrobiodiversity in Sri Lanka: village tank systems
The main feature of the ancient irrigation systems of Sri Lanka were intricate networks of small to gigantic reservoirs (wewa or tanks) connected through a series of feeder canals that brought water for year-long rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivation in the dry zone. Irrigation systems with large number of interconnected reservoirs have evolved since the third century bc. These ancient irrigation systems still function as a crucial element in supplying water for agriculture in the dry zone of Sri Lanka, and they constitute one of the richest sources of wetland biodiversity in the country. An intriguing feature of the tank systems is their sheer density: About 30,000 tanks have been built in a land area of about 40,000 km2 of the dry zone (Mendis 2003). The density and the long-term existence (more than 1,000 years in many cases) make these tanks an important component in the environment and ecosystems of the region.
Agrobiodiversity and Land Restoration for Food Security and Nutrition of Smallholder Farmers in Eastern Africa (The Agrobiodiversity and Land Restoration Project)
This pamphlet outlines simple ways of caring for seedlings while caring for an established young food trees to ensure higher survival rates.
Food biodiversity for healthy, diverse diets
One of the world’s greatest challenges is to secure universal access to sufficient, healthy and affordable food that is produced sustainably. Current nutrition trends do not reveal a situation in which populations are well nourished, and the sustainability of how we produce, distribute and consume food is also a subject of concern. Serious levels of both undernutrition and overweight/obesity are reported for 57 out of 129 countries (1). Two billion people are overweight or obese, while two billion people lack essential vitamins and minerals needed for adequate nutrition. Malnutrition in children, which is in part linked to insufficient diets, is the underlying cause of half of all deaths among under-fives (2). Often malnutrition extremes, such as stunting in children and overweight adults, occur concurrently. Countries experiencing multiple forms of malnutrition, including under-five stunting, anaemia in women of reproductive age and adult overweight, are considered the new normal (3). At the same time there is an alarmingly fast-paced increase in non-communicable diet-related diseases (e.g. diabetes, hypertension) (4). One of the principal causes of these multiple burdens of malnutrition is poor diet. Diet-related factors are now the number one risk factor of morbidity and mortality globally
Agro-biodiversity and land restoration for food security and nutrition of smallholder farmers in Eastern Africa project
The overall goal of the project is to contribute to landscape restoration by harnessing ecologically suitable food tree and crop portfolios in ways that enhance livelihood and landscape resilience while addressing food insecurity and improving nutrition.
Variability of on-farm food plant diversity and its contribution to food security of smallholder farming households in Western Kenya
Traditional mixed agroforestry farms are regarded as sustainable agroecological systems contributing to agrobiodiversity conservation and household food and nutrition security in sub-Saharan Africa. However, in Kenya little is known on the level of agrobiodiversity of these mixed farms and its contribution to food and nutrition security. A case study was conducted to assess food plant and livestock diversity and to identify the biophysical and socioeconomic factors influencing food plant diversity in 30 smallholder farms in Western Kenya. The survey identified six livestock species and 59 food plant species. Higher food plant species richness was found on farms managed by wealthier households and older household heads. However, households with high on-farm food plant richness and diversity were not more food secure than households managing species-poor farms. The nonsignificant relationship between food security and agrobiodiversity during the time of this case study may have resulted from the fact that the surveyed 30 families sourced significant proportions of their food from markets and did not fully depend on their farms for food, particularly for spices and condiments, fruits, and animal source foods. Therefore, we suggest a diversification of farms through livestock and fruit tree farming for improving dietary diversity and incomes of the surveyed households.
African regional expert workshop on sustainable use of biological diversity, UN Offices in Nairobi, 12-15 December 2006
The main objective of the workshop was to develop recommendations on the application of the Addis Ababa Principles and Guidelines for the Sustainable Use of Biodiversity to agricultural biodiversity. Secondary objectives were to inform African parties of key terms related to ecosystem management: (1) Ecosystem services assessment and adaptive management; and (2) Financial costs and benefits associated with the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. The material developed at this workshop will be incorporated into the outputs of the other regional workshops and prepared for the SBSTTA meeting in early 2008 and later submitted to the COP.