Earth Day Research Reading

This set of recent publications highlight some of our recent research on the conservation and use of agricultural biodiversity to achieve better nutrition, improve smallholder farmers' livelihoods and enhance agricultural sustainability. Read more about Earth Day 2012  [1]

Jane Carter Ingram, Fabrice DeClerck and Cristina Rumbaitis del Rio - editors

Bioversity International scientist Fabrice DeClerck  [2] has co-edited a new two-volume book series on the significant role of ecology and its connections to global issues.

 'Integrating Ecology and Poverty Reduction: The Ecological Dimensions and the Application of Ecology in Development Solutions,' recently published by Springer, is co-edited by DeClerck, Jane Carter Ingram of the Wildlife Conservation Society and Cristina Rumbatis del Rio of the Rockefeller Foundation.

In the first volume, 'Ecological Dimensions,' the editors address the ecological aspects of major development challenges – such as hunger, nutrition and health – and the contributions of ecological science to solving these problems.

For the second volume, 'Application of Ecology in Development Solutions', the editors look at the role of ecology in creating long-term sustainable solutions to some of those problems and the social and economic factors – such as gender, education and economics – that mediate the implementation of these solutions.

More information about the book and an interview with Fabrice DeClerck available here  [3].

S. Padulosi, N. Bergamini and T. Lawrence, editors

This publication is the result of the International Conference held in Frankfurt, Germany 14-16 June 2011 organized as part of an International UN Project funded by IFAD “Reinforcing the resilience of poor rural communities in the face of food insecurity, poverty and climate change through on-farm conservation of local agrobiodiversity  [4]”. 

27 scientists from 11 countries participated and contributed to this publication with their long-term experience and expertise in agricultural research for the conservation and use of agrobiodiversity and the adaptation to climate change in support of the rural poor around the world.

The lessons learnt through this exercise will be tested by the countries involved in the IFAD project (India, Nepal and Bolivia) and the results will be used for the development of enabling policies in support of in situ/on farm conservation of traditional crops and varieties around the world.
Read more  [5]

Kilifi Utamaduni Conservation Group

No region in Kenya boasts of a greater variety of vegetables than the coastal area. Over 100 species are used by the nine linguistically-related groups living here, the Mijikenda.

Just as rich is the knowledge associated with these vegetables as seen in the variety of mixtures that may be formed in a single preparation and the delicate art of balancing the qualities of each.

This book, available in Swahili, makes available information on this rich vegetable culture. It provides local names of the vegetables in the different dialects, scientific names, ecological and production information, method of preparation and mixtures involved.

12 plates with over 100 photographs as well as over 60 illustrations are provided for easy identification of the species.

Read more  [6]

'Managing Biodiversity in Agricultural Ecosystems' is now available in Spanish. The original English version has been on the bookshelves of conservationists, environmentalists, botanists, zoologists, geneticists and environmentalists since 2007.

Edited by Devra Jarvis, a senior scientist at Bioversity International, Christine Padoch (New York Botanical Garden and CIFOR) and David Cooper (Convention on Biological Diversity), the book includes the most recent research and developments in the maintenance of local diversity at the genetic, species, and ecosystem levels.

'Managing Biodiversity in Agricultural Ecosystems' is also available in Korean, Russian, Arabic and Chinese. By the end of 2012 the French translation will be available as well.

For further details and to order a copy in English, visit Columbia University Press website  [7].