Approaching & Engaging the Community: Community Biodiversity Registers

1. Farmer-Led Documentation FAO 28 Sept 2007 Approaching & Engagingthe Community: Community Biodiversity Registers • Bhuwon Sthapit and Pablo Eyzaguirre • b.sthapit@cgiar.org • p.eyzaguirre@cgiar.org

2. Conserving diversity: Raising awareness • Increasing public awareness includes returning information and project results to the communities who participated • Sharing information helps ensure resource conservation, local economic development and distribution of the benefits from biodiversity top those who pay the direct costs for its maintenance. • Techniques for sharing information: • Public meetings and workshops • Exchange visits • Use of radio, film and paper media • Diversity fairs • Traditional food fairs • Use of poetry, songs, essays and drama • Courses, exhibits, games in schools • Local museums

3. Conserving diversity: Raising awareness Rural Diversity Drama • sharing of ideas between local artists & team • field visit for picking up local story base • drama in rural setting • Impact-reaching a wide range of people across age, gender, wealth and ethnic groups

4. Conserving diversity: Raising awareness Rural Poetry Journey • Orientation on project concept and goals • Overnight field visit by a team of poets • Creation of poems about value of biodiversity • Recite in situ for local people • Impact: popular and good documentation

5. Conserving diversity: Raising awareness • Diversity fair • ..community based competitive event to display local crop diversity • locating diversity and recognizing custodians • enhance exchange of materials and knowledge • rapid assessment of varietal diversity • sensitize community • enhance farmer participation • collection of germplasm Impact: awareness; increased diversity

6. Conserving diversity: Raising awareness • Diversity blocks • non-replicated blocks (by ecological domain) under farmer’s management • characterization and evaluation of farmers’ varieties and preferred traits • assessment of consistency of farmers’ descriptors in naming and describing cultivars • selection for parent • seed multiplication for diversity kits • community sensitization

7. Conserving diversity: Raising awareness • Diversity kits • a set of small quantity of seeds for informal research and development • encourage farmers to search, select and maintain preferred local genetic resources • deployment diversity for managing pests and disease stresses • strengthening seed networks for improved gene flow • enhance farmer participation

8. National Genebank Household seed store Community-based genetic resource management: linking farmers to genebank and utilization Formal Breeding Options Community bio-diversity register • VA • PPB Diversity fair/ block* Farmer’s seed supply system Community-based PGR management (Source: Sthapit and Jarvis, 1999)

9. A register (farmer information database) maintained by community based organizations for keeping inventory of biodiversity and associated knowledge holders and monitoring local crop diversity for the community benefits and needs. Community Biodiversity Register

10. Community Biodiversity Register Difference in approach?: • recognition that community controls information, materials and decision making process • strengthen local capacity for conservation and utilization decisions • decentralization of farmer information database at community level • local commitment and a sense of ownership • address the needs of rural livelihoods and income • code of conduct for access to and benefit sharing

11. Community Biodiversity Register Objectives: • documentation • monitoring • marketing • exchange • fight biopiracy • ownership

12. Minimum data set required at house-hold level • What do we have? • Why do we need to conserve them? • How do we utilise them? • What are the values of the materials? • Who has traditional knowledge and how is it transmitted? • What are genetic resources that can be shared within and outside the community? • What are the most valued TK and resources that should be kept as community-specific trade secret or prior informed consent?

13. Steps for implementing farmer information database, CBR Analysis and sharing of information and link with R&D Recording of CBR for understanding diversity Agreement on roles and responsibilities and code of conduct for sharing information and benefits Steps/ Process Setting objectives of CBR with community Training for CBR documentation Diversity fair for locating diversity and custodians Sharing ideas with community and grassroots institutions

14. On-farm conservation common Using CBR information for plant conservation Using four-cell analysis Large area Many households Large area Few households Small area Many households Small area Few households Ex situ conservation rare Germplasm enhancement Participatory plant breeding Value addition Market links Awareness

15. Community genebanks – Link conservation to production at community level Distribute seeds on a loan basis Income generation Address farmers’ needs for access to crop genetic diversity Ensure sustainable supply of planting materials Facilitate market access Conserving diversity: Local initiatives

16. Strengthening capacity of local institution as community resource centre Support CBM programme: • Community seed bank e.g. ADCS, Nepal • Support network of nurseries e.g. home garden in Ilam • Support the annual work plan of CBOs, women groups and NGOs etc…

17. Nepal: Community biodiversity register: Transferring knowledge from one generation to the next Thank you.