1. Approaching & Engaging the Community: Community Biodiversity Registers
Farmer-Led Documentation FAO 28 Sept 2007
Approaching & Engaging the Community: Community Biodiversity Registers
Bhuwon Sthapit and Pablo Eyzaguirre

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
Since project also has empowerment goal, participatory approaches such as diversity fair was organized to locate diversity, custodians, seed samples an knowledge. This event has been done by local community and the project supporting prize money and technical support.
This also allows researcher to assess diversity very quickly.
This approach has been scaled up from Nepal to Vietnam and many in situ projects
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
This approach is very similar to IRD distribution but not the PVS.

8. Community-based PGR management
Community-based genetic resource management: linking farmers to genebank and utilization
National
Genebank
Formal Breeding
Community bio-diversity register
Options VA
PPB
Diversity fair/ block*
strengthening local capacity
facilitating exchange of information and materials
managing farmer information database and using for accessing genetic resources, enhancing consumer demand, improving the material and contributing to national genebank
understanding the factors that influence farmer decision making to maintain diversity sensitizing local community and institutions
Household
seed store
Farmer’s seed
supply system
Community-based PGR management
(Source: Sthapit and Jarvis, 1999)

9. Community Biodiversity Register
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.

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/ Process 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
I am going to share some of the initial findings of PPB process used in the on-farm conservation of agro-biodiversity. PPB is seen in the broader context of In situ conservation through use.
Considering ecological complexity and socio-cultural criteria the ecosystems for in situ conservation was located.
Diversity fair is used to locate diversity and custodians with public awareness and community participation objectives. Diversity fair is considered as of the means to understand local crop diversity.
CBR is for monitoring diversity and developing strategic options of adding benefits-market, non-market methods.
PPB can be an entry point for on-farm conservation through adding values of endemic landrace with endorsement of farming community.
Training for CBR documentation
Diversity fair for locating diversity and custodians
Sharing ideas with community and grassroots institutions

14. Using CBR information for plant conservation
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
Germplasm enhancement
Participatory plant breeding
Value addition
Market links
Awareness
Ex situ conservation
rare

15. Conserving diversity: Local initiatives
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

16. Strengthening capacity of local institution as community resource centre
Local institution to continue the work
Improve access of local genetic resources
Maintain community biodiversity register
Impart conservation education –schools to local people
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.