IMPORTANT TO PERSERVE LOCAL KNOWLEDGE OF FARMING
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One of the major challenges facing us today is to identify,
preserve, maintain, and utilise both genetic resources and
local knowledge for farming. The constraints to meet this
challenge are not only technical but also of policy nature.
This is one conclusion from a workshop on "Biodiversity and
Sustainable Agriculture", arranged by The Swedish Scientific
Council on Biological Diversity at Ekenaes reseach farm on
organic agriculture in Sweden 13-17 August.
The aim of the workshop was to give an input to the
Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological
Advise (SBSTTA) of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity,
which will meet in Montreal the first week in September.
SBSTTA gives advise to the Conference of the Parties to the
Convention.
Scientists from many parts of the world contributed with
their knowledge to the conclusions and recommendations of the
workshop. Some of these are:
- Cultural and biological diversity, including genetic
resources, are a crucial prerequisite for sustainable
agriculture. Knowledge about agroecosystems, and local
knowledge and capacity to manage and use diversity in
agroecosystems, are complimentary aspects of conservation,
and essential for the maintenance of long term productive
capacity.
- There is no problem with food production for the world s
growing populations in the short and medium-term perspective,
but some of our highly productive arable lands may be used in
an unsustainable manner. Examples from Russia show that
production in intensively farmed areas have decreased
drastically during recent years.
- Farmers and scientists can and should learn and discover
ways to understand and manage farms as agroecosystems. Formal
and non-formal education must be the basis for minimising the
use of pesticides, and optimising the use of mineral
fertilizers and other agricultural interventions in farming.
Experience shows that if information on alternatives to
pesticides etc are as easily available to farmers, different
practices develop.
- Current and potential knowledge about local agroecosystems
needs not only be documented for use on a larger scale, but
conserved or maintained as a living management process in
communities.
- In the light of this new thinking about biodiversity and
sustainable agriculture, existing national, local, and
international policies should be revised frequently.
For information please contact:
Linda Hedlund, principal adminstrative officer,
tel +46 8 698 13 68 e-mail: Linda.Hedlund@environ.se
Press service:
Anna Bonta-Anger, tel +46 8 698 1084,
e-mail: Anna.Bonta-Anger@environ.se
Katrin Hallman, tel: +46 8 698 15 44,
e-mail: Katrin
Hallman@environ.se
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Arne Sjoeqvist
INFOTERRA/Sweden
Swedish Environmental Protection Agency
S-106 48 STOCKHOLM
ars@environ.se Tel:+46 8 6981273 Fax: +46 8 6981400
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