Papua New Guinea is a hotspot of banana diversity. An expedition to Bougainville by Bioversity International and partners resulted in +60 samples of wild & cultivated bananas added to the national collection.
Bioversity International's mission is to deliver scientific evidence, management practices and policy options to use and safeguard agricultural and tree biodiversity to sustainable food and nutrition security.
The Southeast Asia region here refers to the sub-region of Mekong River Basin plus Malay Archipelago and covers the major least developed countries in the world. The region is characterized by diverse ecosystems and landscapes: highlands and low humid tropics with climates varying from the temperate, the sub-tropical to the tropical.
The region is the centre of diversity of many important species of crops (rice, soybean, banana, coconut), animals and livestock with most of its resource-poor smallholder farmers dependent on this agricultural and forest biodiversity for food security and livelihoods.
Bioversity International is working with partners in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Philippines and Vietnam where agricultural biodiversity can contribute to improved nutrition, resilience, productivity and climate change adaptation.
Where we work
Cambodia, China, Laos, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam
Contact
For details of how to contact our offices in South-east Asia, click here
Alternatively contact our Regional Representative, South-east Asia: Zongwen Zhang
Papua New Guinea's amazing banana diversity
Local foods – a strategic asset for healthy diets
Deploying the potential of seasonal fruits and vegetables as strategic assets for healthy diets in Kenya, Guatemala, Mali, and Vietnam.
Adding nutrition to the food chain in Indonesia
How to diversify diets, improve diet quality and increase smallholder incomes in commercial food systems in five steps.
Markets for nutritious foods
We are promoting agricultural biodiversity for nutrition and health focused on the value chains of available agricultural biodiversity in production, markets and consumption with partners in China and Vietnam. The participatory action research methodology has been adopted on the assessment of agricultural biodiversity by smallholder farmers, particularly females and will be promoted on banana and underutilized crops such as buckwheat.
Climate-smart research
We are carrying out research on integrated agricultural technologies for enhanced adaptive capacity and resilient livelihoods in climate-smart villages (CSVs) of Southeast Asia aims to provide climate-smart agriculture options to enhance adaptive capacity among CSV farmers and stakeholders, and contribute to more climate-resilient livelihoods, in selected sites in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam.
News from the South-east Asia region
An Alliance for Trees: Why forest biodiversity is "too precious to lose"
From forest fires to COVID-19, this year has already presented grave challenges to human and planetary health. Now more than ever, forests have an...
![Analyses in Maluku, Indonesia, showed that locally available fish species, such as anchovies, could contribute much more to nutrition and incomes, if the appropriate interventions are put in place. Credit: Paul Asman and Jill Lenoble [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]](/fileadmin/_processed_/0/7/csm_Anchovies_Wikimedia_1600x600_25d7851333.jpg)
Adding nutrition to the food chain in Indonesia
A case study from Indonesia applies a five-step approach to incorporate nutrition considerations into food value chains and so diversify diets,...
A Course in Nepal on Plant Genetic Resources and Resilient Seed Systems for Sustainable Food Security
Francesca Grazioli, Research Support Officer for the Cacao Genetic Resources Team, Bioversity International, reports on a training on securing...
Strengthening farmers' seed systems in China
Dr. Yiching Song, Senior Researcher at the Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Dr. Ronnie Vernooy, Senior...
Using vignettes to explore gender issues related to food security and nutrition
Giulia Micheletti, Marlène Elias, and Jessica Raneri of Bioversity International describe a nutrition-sensitive version of GENNOVATE, in which a...
Understanding gender norms and innovation processes to foster gender-equitable opportunities in forest landscapes
Gender researchers present findings from Indonesia and Kyrgyzstan that shed light on how gender norms shape, and are influenced by, forest and...
Adding colour to rural diets year round with the Seasonal Food Availability Booklet
From focus group to plate: a new tool developed by Bioversity International to enhance the use of local agrobiodiversity for health and nutrition
Call for help to map conservation priorities for Asian tree species
Unsustainable extraction, changing land uses and climate threaten thousands of socio-economically valuable tree species across Asia. A new regional...
Improving diets in Vietnam with roots, tubers and bananas
Erin Zettell and Jessica Raneri, from Bioversity International, report on how consuming more roots, tubers and bananas, particularly...
Forest restoration needs to become climate-smart
As the world leaders gather in Bonn for the UN climate summit, a new study shows that forest restoration needs a mindset change to reach its potential...