A Nine Point Charter for Harnessing Dynamic Conservation of Agricultural Biodiversity and Mitigating the Adverse Impact of Climate Change

An International Forum was organized by M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) in collaboration with United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); Protection of Plant Variety and Farmers’ Rights Authority of the Government of India and XV Genetic Congress Trust at Chennai from 7-9 August 2008 to discuss and develop a strategy for conserving and mobilizing agricultural biodiversity for mitigating and managing adverse changes in temperature, precipitation, and sea level rise leading to more severe droughts, floods and coastal sea water intrusion. Forty five participants from seven countries participated in the Forum, representing UN agencies, international organizations, national government institutions, non-government organizations, academics and civil society organizations. After considering different aspects of dynamic conservation, improvement and sustainable and equitable use of agricultural biodiversity ranging from global to local issues – such as the challenge of mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change and the enormous socio-economic problem of how to attain food and rural livelihood security, the participants developed the following Nine Point Charter for mobilizing national and international community to enhance the resilience of small farmers and agricultural systems to the impacts of climate change through the stewardship and conservation of agricultural heritage systems and their biodiversity and genetic resources.

Nine Point Charter

1.      Conservation and Adaptive Management of “Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS)”:  GIAHS initiative aims to identify and ensure recognition of unique traditional agricultural systems and their agricultural biodiversity, knowledge systems, food and livelihood security and culture throughout the world. In many of these systems and sites, the prosperity of nature and the poverty of people unfortunately co-exist. Hence dynamic conservation of globally important agricultural heritage systems is an innovative strategy to empower smallholder farmers, traditional family farming communities and indigenous peoples. The initiative should be upscaled and include more systems and sites to cover more traditional family farming communities adapting to climate change and at the same time creating an economic stake in conservation of agricultural biodiversity so that nature and people prosper together.

2.      Platform for Agrobiodiversity Research (PAR). Bioversity International together with other stakeholders, and with the support of the Conference of Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity and of FAO, has developed a Platform for Agrobiodiversity Research. This is a timely initiative, since seemingly impossible tasks can be accomplished only by mobilizing the power of partnership among researchers, farmers, communities and indigenous peoples to provide a strong context for future efforts and for creating an agrobiodiversity knowledge base responding effectively and quickly to the great challenge of climate change. This will help to increase support for the conservation and sustainable use of agrobiodiversity to improve the welfare of vulnerable communities and their environments. PAR should involve concurrent attention to in-situ conservation, ex-situ preservation and community conservation through in-situ on-farm conservation and ex-situ sacred groves and should address the importance of maintaining both directly useful and associated agrobiodiversity. Steps should be initiated to revitalize the in-situ on-farm conservation traditions of tribal and rural communities through appropriate recognition and reward systems i.e. the Genome Saviour Awards instituted by the National Plant Variety Protection Authority of India.

3.      Community Conservation Approaches involving concurrent attention to conservation, cultivation, consumption and sustainable marketing of agricultural produce can make an important contribution to achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals relating to the reduction of hunger and poverty and environmental sustainability. Community conservation approaches provides small holder farmers and indigenous communities with the tools to manage, monitor and benefit from their own natural and available resources, while shaping flexible programs with greater likelihood of achieving long-term success, self-reliance and community well-being. The MSSRF pattern of promoting local level gene-seed-grain and water banks needs replication in all agro-biodiversity rich sites, since they can help to achieve at the village level food, water and ecological security at the same time.

4.      Biovalleys: Biovalleys provides a pathway for converting biodiversity into remunerative jobs and income in an environmentally sustainable manner. Major watersheds in biodiversity rich areas can be developed into biovalleys by linking biodiversity, biotechnology and business in a mutually reinforcing manner. Biovalley shall promote application of biotechnology in the form of the manufactured biological products essential for sustainable agriculture. Some examples of biological products include: bio-fertilizers, bio-pesticides, vermiculture, bioremediation agents and post-harvest processing. The concept of “Biovalley for Biotechnology (non-GMO)” is similar to the idea of the Silicon Valley for Information Technology. Biovalley enterprises (mostly micro-enterprises supported by micro-credit) are based on the principle of “Good Ecology is Good Business”. Biovalley helps to strengthen both conservation and new livelihood opportunities.

5.      Identifying and Protecting Fragile Ecosystems: Concerted efforts are required to identify agro-biodiversity rich areas through resource mapping and understanding changes in agricultural landscapes as a result of anthropogenic and climate factors. The role of agroforestry in reducing vulnerability and supporting maintenance of agrobiodiversity should be recognized. Thus in vulnerable areas such as coastal areas, mangrove and non-mangrove bioshields should be promoted in order to minimize the loss of life and livelihoods due to tsunami and coastal storms. Non-mangrove bioshields could include casuarina species and bamboo. Bamboo affords great opportunities for saving forest trees and for meeting a wide range of domestic and industrial needs. Germplasm resources of bamboo, casuarinas, atriplex, etc., should be conserved. Agro-forestry systems will help to achieve simultaneously the long-term goal of conservation and short term goal of income and work security. Similarly, crops with potential contribution to economic and livelihood security (e.g. food crops, fruit trees, vegetable etc.) require special attention for germplasm conservation and utilization.

6.      Multi-lateral System and Farmers’ Right provisions of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA). The Multilateral System of germplasm exchange is an important provision of the Treaty to access plant genetic resources and benefit sharing, which will help local farmers “purchase time” in the breeding of new varieties of crops of importance to nation’s food and health security and will contribute significantly to improved conservation and use of agrobiodiversity. . The Multilateral System currently applies to 64 most important crops. It is heartening that over 100,000 germplasm transfers took place within the first 9 months of the operation of the Treaty. Similarly, all Nations should implement the Farmers’ Rights provisions of the Treaty. The Government of India is to be congratulated on enacting an Integrated Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act (2001). This example needs to be emulated by other countries. 

7.      Energy Security: The photosynthetic pathway of energy security will require the conservation and breeding of energy rich crops. Biomass, biofuels, bio-oils and other crop based fuels can help in developing decentralized rural energy security systems and at the same time, under appropriate conditions, may, increase the income of farmers. Genes for Energy Security should become an important national and international research and development programme. Land use planning at the national level should ensure an appropriate balance between food and fuel security.

8.      Save the dieing wisdom and vanishing crops and protect the intellectual property rights of primary conservers - Genetic and legal literacy: There is need for legal, genetic and nutrition literacy programmes which will empower tribal and local communities with knowledge on issues like Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), Farmers’ Rights, climate change and the importance of enlarging the food basket by conserving “orphan crops” and revitalizing their earlier culinary traditions. Participatory breeding and knowledge management systems should be promoted so that there is an appropriate blend of traditional wisdom and frontier science. Island ecosystems will need special attention to protect them from the impact of sea level rise. As an education tool, Genome and DNA Clubs could be organized in schools of agro-biodiversity rich areas and make schools and students participate in the creation of both in-situ and ex-situ gene banks.

9.      Empower farmers and local communities and affirm their right to food and well-being in an era of climate change: Farm and fisher families will be severely affected by adverse changes in precipitation, temperature and sea level. It is anticipated that climate change would also particularly adversely affect the livestock population. There could also be new pest and disease epidemics, which will affect the health security of plants, farm animals and human beings. Improved use of agrobiodiversity can contribute significantly to support the development and implementation of farmer-based adaptation strategies. Climate change adaptation and mitigation measures should take full account of the importance of agrobiodiversity in the livelihood strategies of small-scale farmers throughout the world. 

The Way Forward

The participants of the Forum are of the view that every country should develop A Three-Pronged Strategy and people-centered focus for managing and mitigating the adverse consequences of climate change.

• Defend the Gains: We must strengthen on-going efforts to preserve genes for posterity through GIAHS programme, Biosphere Reserves , National Parks, Protected Areas, Botanical and Zoological Gardens and Gene Banks (including the Svalbard Gene Vault). The loss of every gene/species limits our options for the future. The existing Agricultural Heritage Sites must be safeguarded by creating an economic stake in their conservation. There has to be an integrated programme of education, social mobilization and regulation for defending the gains already made in saving genes for saving lives and livelihoods. Every village and community should be assisted to establish Water bank, Gene Bank, Seed Bank, grain bank and Knowledge Bank to ensure preparedness for overcoming future threats to sustainable livelihoods, particularly for the poor. 
• Extend the Gains: We should extend the benefits of genetic resources conservation to arid, semi-arid, mountain and coastal areas as well as to small islands. Extending the gains should also cover below ground and less-understood biodiversity, especially bacteria, fungi, algae, lichens, etc., Microbial biodiversity will be extremely important for bio-remediation and bio-monitoring. 
• Make New Gains: Wild genetic resources of plants and livestock including underutilized crops with resilience and adaptability to emerging climate change need to be conserved and used as potential resource for crop/ breed improvement. This has to come from the safe and responsible use of recombinant DNA technology leading to the creation of novel genetic combinations, which can confer tolerance to drought, flood, salinity, heat, pest and decease outbreaks etc. The work in progress at MSSRF using genes for mangrove species is an example. Public good research institutions should serve as pre-breeding centres and work with farming communities in a participatory breeding mode so that genetic diversity and genetic efficiency can be combined. This is essential for sustainable agriculture.

Conclusion

The above 9 Point Charter provides a road map for fostering stewardship in the conservation, sustainable use and equitable sharing of the benefits of agricultural biodiversity in an era of climate change. This is the pathway towards ushering in an era of biohappiness, characterized by the sustainable use of bioresources for strengthening and safeguarding harmony between humanity and environment.