Bioversity International is shaking up the food system says Food Tank
Bioversity International was mentioned by the Food Tank: The Food Think Tank as one of the 40 organizations that are shaking up the food system. "Our hope is that the more people know about the work that these groups are doing, the more people can be inspired to make their own change in the food system," said the co-founders of the blog.
Semantics for Biodiversity – International Workshop
The 1st international workshop on Web Semantics for Biodiversity, held on 27 May in Montpellier, France, will define key challenges identified by the bioinformatics community, discuss solutions and identify opportunities emerging from interactions across plant science and informatics disciplines.
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Experts call for action to address the loss of knowledge about plants
Concerned by the alarming loss of plant species, on 1-2 May international experts met in St Louis, USA, calling for a concerted worldwide effort to address the loss of essential knowledge about plants and their uses, especially at the level of local communities.
Celebrate the genetic diversity of trees on the International Day of Forests
The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed 21 March the International Day of Forests. The Day will celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests. Forest scientists at Bioversity International study how to conserve and manage the genetic diversity of trees — the diversity that is the foundation and backbone of any forest.
Introduction
Bioversity International is home to 3200 unique original field report documents. This collection is an invaluable history of plants that may have been lost from their fields and natural habitats, painstakingly recording information about more than 200,000 landrace and crop wild relative samples collected all over the world for almost forty years.
Forest Genetic Resources Training Guide not only for geneticists
Conservation and management of forest genetic resources deserves our attention. Diversity within tree species is the raw material for trait improvement and adaptation to changing environments. Bioversity International Honorary Research Fellow, David Boshier, explains what is different about this training guide compared to other forestry training materials.
Custodian farmers hold key to agricultural biodiversity conservation
On February 11 and 12, Bioversity International and partners will hold a workshop: Custodian farmers of agricultural biodiversity: Policy support for their roles in use and conservation. This workshop will bring together global experts on agricultural biodiversity conservation as well as custodian farmers from South and South East Asia.
The history of Bioversity International collecting missions
From 1974 onwards, Bioversity International supported a series of expeditions worldwide. The objective was to systematically collect and conserve traditional varieties and landraces cultivated by farmers and their wild relatives which were being lost from fields and natural habitats.
Collecting Missions
Bioversity International is home to 3200 unique original field report documents now available in an online database.
How studying peach palm in tropical Latin America can help us understand the potential of diversity.
A new open access research paper looks at peach palm in tropical Latin America and its implications for biodiversity conservation, natural resource management and human nutrition, with contributions from scientists at CIAT, CIRAD and Bioversity International.
Conservation and Availability
Bioversity International's Conservation and Availability Programme undertakes research and supports capacity building related to conserving agricultural biodiversity and ensuring its availability for use in research, breeding and on farm.
Global Timber Tracking Network website launched
The Global Timber Tracking Network (GTTN) brings together the science, scientists, policy makers and stakeholders to promote the integrated use of DNA and stable isotope technologies to ensure legal timber trade and curb illegal and unsustainable logging. GTTN recently launched their website.
Coconut conservationist seeks Pacific Islands for palm preservation
National Public Radio (NPR) interviewed Stephan Weise of Bioversity International and Ronald Bourdeix of CIRAD on their vision for how to preserve a thousand or more genetic varieties of coconut trees.
Forests and agriculture to work together to tackle climate change
In the run up to UN climate summit, CIFOR have issued a media advisory asking Can the world’s forests and farms work together to tackle pressing food security challenges and climate change?
Developing multi-resource forest management plans for the Congo Basin forests
In partnership with CIFOR, Bioversity International's Forest Genetic Resources Programme is leading a project in the Congo Basin to develop sustainable forest management plans to benefit rural communities and the logging concessionaires while avoiding over-exploitation of valuable tree species. Photo by Ollivier Girard for CIFOR.
Winner of the Abdou Salam Ouedraogo Fellowship 2012
We are delighted to announce that the winner of the 12-month Abdou Salam Ouédraogo (ASO) 2012 Fellowship for Research on Conservation and Use of Forest Genetic Resources is Ms Addisalem Ayele Bekele from Ethiopia.
Cacao: yesterday, today and tomorrow
Climate models, DNA analysis, geographic information systems and genebanks come together to illuminate the past and safeguard the future of the tree that gives us chocolate. Photo: IITA
Bringing the genebank back to the field: researcher argues for on-farm conservation
The seeds and saplings from expensive, hard-to-maintain field genebanks are used to prevent the loss of tree species, and to select and breed superior fruit cultivars – but only a few of which have found their way back to farms. Hugo Lamers, Bioversity International researcher, asks "how is this helping farmers?" in this CIFOR Blog post. Photo: IITA
Kyrgyz conservationists save trees by helping farmers
Today The Washington Times highlights the importance of fruit tree conservation in Kyrgyzstan and the work of Fauna & Flora and Bioversity International. Photo: Bioversity/F. van Oudenhoven
Access to genetic resources and genebanks - where are we in the process?
Thanks to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture the scene has been set for unprecedented levels of global co-operation for the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources. In practice, however, the situation is largely static. Bioversity Genetic Resources Policy Specialist Ronnie Vernooy reports.
Bioversity scientists featured in re-launched PARKS Magazine
The first issue of the re-launched PARKS: The International Journal of Protected Areas and Conservation is now available on the IUCN website. Bioversity International's Teresa Borelli, Danny Hunter and others co-wrote a report on Protected areas and the challenge of conserving crop wild relatives, featured in the issue.
Waking up: the experience of the Jogimara community seed bank
“For a long time we were asleep, but today we are active in the conservation of plant genetic resources,” said Hariram Khatiwada, the president of the Jogimara community seed bank, that can be found along the main road halfway between Kathmandu and Pokhara in Nepal.
Waking up: the experience of the Jogimara community seed bank
“For a long time we were asleep, but today we are active in the conservation of plant genetic resources,” said Hariram Khatiwada, the president of the Jogimara community seed bank, that can be found along the main road halfway between Kathmandu and Pokhara in Nepal.
Can cultivated species get their own Red List?
Stefano Padulosi, a Bioversity senior scientist, (pictured here with Prof. MS Swaminathan at the IUCN World Conservation Congress this week in Korea), looks at the need to develop Red Lists for cultivated species, not just for wild biodiversity. Check out the CCAFS blog for more.
IUCN World Conservation Congress: 6-15 September, Jeju, Korea
Bioversity International is participating in sessions at the IUCN World Conservation Congress. Highlights include HRH Prince Charles delivering an introductory video to open the session 'From Competition to Collaboration between Agriculture and Conservation: moving toward convergence between agro-ecology and conservation biology'.
Roots of our People - Now available in Russian
Корни наших народов presents some of the farmers who are contributing to the conservation of fruit tree diversity in Kyrgyzstan and the Tajik Pamirs. This booklet is a tribute to their energy and curiosity, to the stories they tell and the work they do to preserve a uniquely important part of their heritage.
Banana genome sequence significant step for scientists, producers and consumers
It’s been ten years of waiting, but the news that the banana genome has been sequenced has been worth it. The sequencing of one of the founding genomes of cultivated bananas, the wild species Musa acuminata, and its assembling into a high-quality reference sequence, carried out by CIRAD and Genoscope, has just been published in the journal Nature.
Identifying tree populations for conservation action through geospatial analyses
In December, over 60 forestry specialists from 12 Asian countries shared experiences and information on conservation of several valuable and threatened forest tree species at the Multinational and Transboundary Conservation of Valuable and Endangered Forest Tree Species Conference in China - report and presentation now available.
Why understanding forest genetic resources is vital for future options
Laura Snook Programme Leader, Forest Genetic Resources Conservation and Use, talks about the need to harness the huge genetic diversity of different tree species to face challenges such as climate change and find sustainable ways to use and conserve it for our future. This video is the latest from our Rio+20 campaign blog.
Knowledge of forest genetic diversity to help restore forested landscapes
Bioversity is coordinating a study on the use of native tree species to restore forests around the world, as a contribution to a review by the FAO to be published in April 2013. Read our Rio+20 blog post by Riina Jalonen to learn more.
It’s all in the name - conserving bananas in the Pacific region
Collecting banana diversity is more than just a matter of knowing which accessions (samples) to conserve. Ongoing work in French Polynesia is showing that diversity is not just found in genetic traits, but also the different names given to varieties.
USDA launch information system for world's genebanks
The US Department of Agriculture, partnering with Bioversity International and the Global Crop Diversity Trust, launch an Internet-based information management system for the world's plant genebanks. Genebanks support global food production security goals by ensuring access to plant genetic resources (Photo: Keith Weller)
Science to tackle the illegal timber trade
It has been estimated that illegal logging is worth more than US$10 billion a year. The problem is that timber is difficult to identify, while documents are easy to falsify. A new Bioversity-led project, part of the CGIAR Research Programme on Forests, Trees and Agroforesty, aims to find scientific processes to pinpoint the species and geographic origin of timber.
A coconut embryo culture protocol for the international exchange of germplasm
The coconut palm is integral to the culture of many countries and supports more than 10 million sustainable livelihoods worldwide. Yet genetic erosion, climate-change and disease are placing bio-diverse coconut heritage under threat.
Bringing neglected and underutilized species back to the table
"It is indeed possible to turn underutilized species into an effective instrument of development and improvement of peoples’ livelihood" - Bioversity scientists look back at the successes of the first UN global effort specifically devoted to the promotion of neglected and underutilized species.
Philippine government to adopt new coconut conservation culture
The Philippine government will use a coconut embryo culture technique, that is directly linked to a research programme carried out by Bioversity International through the International Coconut Genetic Resources Network. The Philippines is the world’s largest exporter of coconut products, with an export market worth around $2 billion.
The value of conserving coffee diversity
Coffee is not only one of the most popular drinks in the world, but also the world's most valuable agricultural export commodity and the source of income for many smallholder farmers in the developing world. Yet coffee diversity is at risk and its not easy to conserve. Could cryopreservation be the answer?
Is cryopreservation a viable method for long-term conservation of coffee biodiversity?
Coffee is difficult to conserve using conventional methods and as a result is often conserved in field genebanks - which is costly and has a number of disadvantages. This impact study examines the viability of cryopreservation techniques as an alternative approach.
Atlas of Guatemalan Crop Wild Relatives
A unique web resource designed to facilitate the conservation and use of wild plant species that are related to cultivated crops in Guatemala.
Atlas of Guatemalan Crop Wild Relatives (full article)
A new interactive online resource for genetic resources conservation and use
11 Priority African Food Tree Species - New Booklet Series
A new series of booklets gathers together existing information and makes recommendations for the conservation and sustainable use of 11 threatened species.
African Food Tree Species - Leaflet series
A series of leaflets that look at 11 priority African food tree species containing recommendations for the conservation and use of their genetic resources
Fundraising for forgotten fruit trees comes to Rome
The continuing campaign to raise money to save a rare fruit tree collection comes to Rome on 14th July.
On farm conservation, neglected and underutilized species, and climate change - a new international effort
Bioversity and partners launch a new on farm agricultural biodiversity conservation project, in India, Nepal and Bolivia
The Musa International Transit Centre - Bioversity Impact Assessment
User feedback on the impact of Bioversity's International Transit Centre
Users assess the impact of Bioversity's Banana Transit Centre
How well does Bioversity's International Transit Centre (ITC) serve its users? A recent impact assessment study aimed to find out.
Musa International Transit Centre
Bioversity's International Transit Centre (ITC), hosted at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium, is home to the world’s largest collection of banana and plantain germplasm.
The Arboreal Archeology Foundation launches fundraising campaign
The race is on to raise 250,000 euro by 31 July to save a collection of rare Umbrian fruit trees.
MAPFORGEN: An online atlas for the conservation of forest genetic resources (full article)
The MAPFORGEN project will evaluate the conservation status of 100 socio-economically important woody species from different eco-regions of Latin America and the Caribbean.
MAPFORGEN: An online atlas to support the conservation of forest genetic resources
The MAPFORGEN project will evaluate the conservation status of 100 socio-economically important woody species from different eco-regions of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Celebrating Forest Biodiversity
To mark the International Day of Biological Biodiversity on 22 May, Emile Frison, Director General of Bioversity, welcomes this year's theme - forest diversity - as we prepare to bring you a week of forest stories.
Sustainable forest management on the Niassa Reserve: A Bioversity Project Report
Read about a project in the Niassa Reserve, Mozambique to find sustainable conservation strategies to protect its woodlands and help local populations.
Sustainable forest resources in the Niassa National Reserve, Mozambique: A Bioversity Project Report
A project to work with people living in the Reserve to find sustainable conservation strategies to protects its woodlands.
Stemming the spread of cacao pests and diseases
Updated guidelines for the safe movement of cacao germplasm take into account increased risk of pests and diseases.
On the trail of the African cherry tree
An African journey - Mapping the genetic diversity of Prunus africana
On the trail of the African Cherry Tree
A research project to improve livelihoods of small-scale farmers culminates on the humid slopes of Mount Cameroon.
The Global Diversity of Taro: ethnobotany and conservation
Taro Leaf Blight is devastating crops in West Africa. A new Bioversity publication on taro diversity offers potential solutions.
The sub-Saharan African Forest Genetic Resources Programme
SAFORGEN seeks to enable people and institutions in sub-Saharan Africa to both maintain and fully utilize existing forest biodiversity through the development of an effective networking platform.
Valuing the African Cherry Tree
Development of conservation and sustainable use strategies for Prunus africana to improve the livelihood of small-scale farmers in Africa.
Crop wild relatives - their conservation and importance
A multimedia presentation explains what crop wild relatives are and why it is important to conserve them.
Knowledge base for genebank managers – and others – launched
The CGIAR’s System-wide Genetic Resources Programme today unveiled a massive and growing repository of information useful to anyone with an interest in genebanks.
Bioversity Project - Conservation and management guidelines for Dipterocarp trees
This project will analyse current forest management and genetic conservation strategies and guidelines in South East Asis to identify gaps and threats to the long-term viability of populations of Dipterocarp species.
Descriptor lists and derived standards
Descriptors are the basis of major information platforms such as GENESYS and EURISCO, and also the FAO World Information and Early Warning System.
Sharing information
Gathering and sharing information about our agricultural biodiversity is vital to its conservation and use, for farmers, scientists, conservationists and breeders.
On farm conservation
On farm conservation involves the protection of threatened species in their natural habitats and takes into account social and cultural factors such as farmer's indigenous knowledge about local crops.
The conservation and management of tree species
Bioversity aims to understand the threats to tree species and especially to valuable populations of trees of species that have economic or social importance for people.
The Nagoya Protocol for the rest of us
It will take time for the true worth of the newly agreed Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing to become known. In the meantime, the head of Bioversity’s Policy & Law Unit offers some thoughts.
Future of Italian fruit tree collection in doubt
A rare collection of figs, sour cherries, pears and apples faces an uncertain future in southern Italy.
Convention on Biological Diversity, Nagoya, Japan
The 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity opened this week in Nagoya, Japan, on 18 October 2010.
Regenerating Andean Crop Collections
Bioversity scientist, Jesús María Salcedo, reports on work to keep genebank accessions viable in the Americas.
Steps towards implementing the International Treaty in Peru
A new study examines the exchange and use of plant genetic resources in Peru.
Home Gardens: Neglected hotspots of agricultural and cultural diversity
More attention should be given to conserving agro-biodiversity in home gardens and farmers' fields according to a recently published article from Bioversity scientists.
Bioversity Director General intensifies campaign to save Russian berries
As the 11 August deadline looms for the court ruling on the future of the Pavlovsk Research Centre, activity to save its vast field collection of fruits and berries has intensified.
Genebanks
Genebanks provide safe storage to ensure that varieties and landraces of crops and their wild relatives are secure but also that they are made easily available for use by farmers, plant breeders and researchers.
Neglected & Underutilized Species
Global food security has become increasingly dependent on only a handful of crops which has resulted in thousands of species with local relevance becoming neglected and underutilized.
Crop Wild Relatives
Crop Wild Relatives (CWR) can be defined as wild plant species that are more or less genetically related to crops.CWR have been used to improve yields and the nutritional quality of crops since the beginnings of agriculture.
Karnataka Farmers lead Millet Revival in Southern India
The cultivation of declining traditional millet crops in Karnataka’s dryland tracts has been given a boost with the opening of the southern state's first seedbank specialising in millet strains.
Conservation
One of Bioversity’s key research priorities is to use agricultural biodiversity to promote the conservation, exchange and sustainable use of plant resources
 | Bioversity International is a member of the CGIAR consortium |
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This work by Bioversity International is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. |
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