Agrobiodiversity in Mesoamerica: from genes to landscapes - conference report

by Margarita Baena, Communications and Capacity Development Specialist, Bioversity's Americas region

About a hundred scientists and representatives from universities, government organizations and the civil society got together in Costa Rica in mid September to share their views of the present and future of agricultural biodiversity in Mesoamerica.

The meeting point was Turrialba, at the sixth Henry A. Wallace/CATIE Inter-American scientific conference, a symposium on Agrobiodiversity in Mesoamerica: from genes to landscapes.

Participants discussed what should and could be done to ensure that agricultural biodiversity becomes a driver of progress and wellbeing in Mesoamerica, home to crops such as maize, beans, squashes and many fruit species that are vital to food and nutrition security.

The scientific presentations came from two fields: ecology, particularly forest and landscape management, and plant genetic resources. The meeting heard that studies of how diversity is being managed in Mesoamerica currently focus on a few major crops (coffee, cacao, banana, plantain) in a few countries (Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua). Research at a larger, regional scale and to bridge gaps between approaches is necessary to develop a regional view.

Efforts are being made by national and international organizations, particularly universities in Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Nicaragua, to train professionals to understand and use agricultural biodiversity. Policy makers and the private sector also need to be brought on board to help create opportunities to translate the wider use of agricultural biodiversity into business.

An immediate first step towards making a case for agricultural biodiversity in Mesoamerica is the collective production of a white paper highlighting the issues discussed during the conference and drafting a road map for institutional and political support. All the conference participants are being invited to record their contributions on-line to create a shared document which will then be edited and transformed into the briefing paper aimed at policy makers.

NOTE: The conference was convened in celebration of the International Year of Biodiversity  [2] by the Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE)  [3], Bioversity International, the Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD  [4]) and EcoAgriculture Partners.

For further information contact:
 Margarita Baena  [5]
or visit the CATIE website  [6]