Agricultural Management
Agricultural Management
Agricultural Management
Conservation
15 August 2001
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I. Impact of agricultural production systems in the region on the conservation
and use of biodiversity
These shifts in types and intensity of production systems all lead to reduced
biodiversity, both wild and domestic, and to reduced use of biodiversity, with long-
term repercussions.
Modern farming practices that rely heavily on pesticides and chemical fertilisers
impact the conservation and use of biodiversity. In many parts of the region, such
practices have displaced traditional rice paddies where fish, frogs, and other species
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once supplemented local diets. Few of these species can survive with inputs of
pesticides and chemical fertilisers. There is finally an increasing awareness of the
issue of pesticides and other toxic chemicals in India as well as their effect on
dwindling wildlife, especially birds. Awareness is also growing in Vietnam and the
Philippines. The modern thrust toward elimination of wild plant borders around crop
fields is also reducing diversity that once provided a variety of direct and indirect
services to agriculture, including self-regulating pest control and genes from wild
relatives of crop plants.
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1882, 48 distinct varieties of rice, and thousands of nondescript varieties, were
reported from the Himalaya, displaced now by a handful of high-yielding varieties
(HYVs)(Maikhuri et al. 1997). The area under diverse traditional food crops has
declined substantially too, replaced by monocultures of exotic cash crops. In the
country as a whole only a handful of HYVs are now grown over 70% of rice paddy
land and 90% of wheat land (India 1990).
Fruit bats provide one example of wild species loss with direct impact on
agriculture. The demise of fruit bats (flying foxes) (Megachiroptera) through over
hunting in South Pacific islands has reduced the pollination and yields of some
traditional fruits. It is likely that a similar scenario exists in parts of Southeast Asia.
Many plants there rely solely on fruit bats for pollination. Overall, more than 92
genera of flowering plants in 50 families have been recorded as being visited by fruit
bats. Yet the populations of these pollinators have plummeted, and three species have
gone extinct.
Between 1950 and 1990, clearing of old-growth forests in the Philippines for
timber and agriculture (83% loss) and conversion of grasslands to agriculture (65%
loss) were responsible for much conversion from high to low landscape biodiversity.
Forest cover in the Philippines has decreased from 62% to 20% of land area between
1920 and 1991. Between 1948 and 1987 forest loss coincided with doubling in
agricultural area and urban expansion. In total about 9.7 million hectares (33% of
land area) have been converted to agriculture. About 24% of this land resulted in low
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agrobiodiversity areas generally devoted to monocropping systems such as irrigated
rice, pineapple, sugarcane, and banana. An additional 34% became medium
agrobiodiversity areas that are currently planted in coconuts with various types of
understoreys. Lastly, 42% (4.2 million hectares) resulted in high agrobiodiversity
areas supporting corn, rain-fed rice, cultivated/managed pasture lands, and other farm
areas devoted to traditional systems that produce multiple crops in small spaces.
About 63% of 19 million hectares of forest is extensively used for agricultural crops,
and 4.3 million hectares are under agroforestry (Philippines 1997).
Similarly in Vietnam, forest cover fell from 46% in 1943 to less than 24%
forty years later. Some 1.3 to 1.7 million cubic meters of timber are felled every year.
In 1994, deforestation rates were around 150,000 to 200,000 hectares per year and
reforestation about 100,000 to 150,000 hectares per year. Unfortunately, most of the
land that is being deforested is natural woodland, while reforestation is largely by
industrial plantations of pines, rubber and eucalyptus that add little to ecosystem
restoration.
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III. Approaches to the conservation and management of the following
components of agrobiodiversity, in national agricultural plans and in national
biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs)
III.1. Pollinators
Pollinators are not mentioned directly in the NBSAP or national agricultural
plan of any of the focal countries in the region. The Philippines National Biodiversity
Assessment and Action Plan (NBAAP) project I.C.2 seeks to value and account for
direct and indirect goods and services from biodiversity and bioresources (Table 2),
which at least brings the conservation and management of pollinators within the scope
of the action plan.
Inherent, but not explicit, in the National Agricultural Plan of India is the
promotion of biodiversity that may result in reduced pest and disease outbreaks, but
only in a limited sense. This lies in Section 4.1.75 of the Agricultural Plan, which
emphasises increasing the area under multiple- and inter-cropping to increase yield
per unit area of pulses. Such polycultural methods have several benefits, including
mitigation of crop pests and diseases.
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III.4.1. National ex-situ measures
India and the Philippines have a large capacity for ex-situ conservation of
genetic resources in their networks of gene banks. In India, a considerable amount of
the genetic material which has been grown or bred by farmers may no longer be
available in the field, but has been collected and stored in gene banks and breeding
stations. The National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) and the Indian
Council of Agricultural Research have several hundred thousand accessions in their
network of gene banks (Kothari 1999). In 1996 the Philippines had programmes and
projects on ex-situ conservation that focused on small endemic but endangered
species of staple crops and other plants in agricultural ecosystems. Technologies
employed include seed storage, tissue culture, and living collections of plants. The
National Plant Germplasm and Resources Laboratory (NPGRL) had 32,446
accessions of 396 species in 1994, and is the world or regional germplasm repository
of several important vegetable varieties. The Philippines Rice Research Institute
(PHILRICE) maintains species of native and exotic wild rice from the International
Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Germplasm Center and from collections throughout
the country. The Bureau of Plant Industry and the National Tobacco Authority have
capacities for conserving crop germplasm. Some important non-timber forest species
are conserved in the Rattan Gene Bank, the Bambusetum,and the Palmetum. The
Institute of Plant Breeding at the University of the Philippines at Los Baños has
developed and conserves many varieties of high-yielding, mostly exotic, fruits,
vegetable, grains, and ornamentals. The Philippines Republic Act 7308 (1992), called
the seed Industry Development Act, promotes and accelerates the development of the
seed industry and mandates the conservation, preservation and development of plant
genetic resources of the nation. It vests upon the University of the Philippines, Los
Baños, the leadership in plant biotechnology activities related to plant improvement,
genetic resources conservation and in-vitro mass production of planting materials.
The export of indigenous crop and animal species has been controlled to maintain the
comparative advantage of the Philippines in these species (e.g. Administrative Order
14, series of 1987 on ramie).
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aims to establish and improve in-situ conservation centres of wild relatives of
domesticated species (Table 2). This project is important not only for protection of
useful genotypes but often also for wild diversity within agroecosystems (see below).
India’s National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR), the central agency
dealing with livestock diversity, has recently initiated some schemes to encourage
farmers and pastoralists to continue or revive their use of indigenous breeds. The
NBPGR is also exploring possible schemes to encourage on-farm conservation of
crop diversity in India (Kothari 1999). A “gene sanctuary” has been established in
the Garo Hills of India for wild relatives of citrus, and others were planned for
banana, sugarcane, rice, and mango (Hoyt 1992).
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farmer management. The project aims to integrate conservation and participatory
breeding activities. Various governmental organizations are participating
(www.ipgri.cgiar.org/themes/in situ project).
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Little mention is made in national plans of conserving agrobiodiversity at the
landscape level. This is partly due to the restricted definition of agrobiodiversity in
use by planners.
In 1995, the Vietnam BAP (Vietnam 1995) recognised the role of people and
communities in managing natural resources; however, the role of indigenous
traditional systems is only vaguely implied.
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constitute a part of the worth of these resources. Project I.C.1 recognises the
usefulness of indigenous knowledge systems and practices on biodiversity
conservation and sustainable development. Policy exists in the form of an enabling
law (Republic Act 8371 of 1997) known as the “Indigenous Peoples Right Act”.
This act is meant to implement the constitutional mandate (1987) to recognise and
promote the rights of indigenous cultural communities, including the rights to protect
their traditional territories or ancestral domains, and with this their traditional
resource management practices that have hitherto contributed to the protection of
biodiversity-rich areas. It does not guarantee biodiversity conservation, however, and
may be weakened in the face of intensifying exposure of indigenous peoples to the
forces and agents of environmentally unsustainable economic growth. The people are
in effect left to improve their own resource management and strengthen their
organisational capability to deal with threats to their land and biodiversity.
The Philippines Republic Act 7308, or the Seed Industry Development Act of
1992, is policy meant to promote and accelerate the development of the seed industry,
particularly to conserve, preserve, and develop the plant genetic resources of the
nation. It should encourage and hasten the organisation of all sectors engaged in the
industry, integrate all their activities, and provide assistance to them. Furthermore, it
is aimed to promote the seed industry as a preferred area of investment. It should
provide the private sector with encouragement to engage in seed research and
development, and in mass production and distribution of good quality seeds. Lastly,
the policy is meant to provide the local seed industry with protection against unfair
competition from imported seeds. Section 15 prohibits export of rare species,
varieties, lines, and strains of plants from the country except for scientific and
international exchange purposes.
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These high value crops are defined as non-traditional crops that include, among
others, coffee, cacao, various fruits, potato, ubi (a purple yam), various vegetables,
spices and condiments, and cut flower and ornamental plants. The “traditional” crops
include rice, maize, coconut, and sugar, although these are not necessarily indigenous.
The India Biodiversity Bill proposes to protect the intellectual property rights
of its people. It holds that the Central Government shall endeavour to respect and
protect the knowledge of local people relating to biological diversity, as
recommended by the National Biodiversity Authority. It shall do so through such
measures that may include registration of such knowledge at the local, state or
national levels, and other measures for protection, including the sui generis system
(India 2000).
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The proposed legislation primarily addresses the issue of access to genetic
resources and associated knowledge by foreign individuals, institutions or companies,
and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of these resources and
knowledge to the country and the people. Some exemptions are proposed to allow
Indian citizens within the country to carry out research on genetic resources.
Traditional healers may also be beneficiaries of proposed exemptions from
requirements by citizens, corporations, and associations or organisations to give prior
intimation to the State Biodiversity Board about obtaining biological resources for
commercial utilisation (India 2000).
With regard to equitable sharing of benefits, the India Biodiversity Bill (India
2000) stipulates that the Biodiversity Authority consult with local bodies before
imposing terms and conditions for securing equitable sharing of benefits. Monetary
benefits would be deposited into a National Biodiversity Fund except in cases where
biological resources and knowledge are accessed from a specific individual or group
of individuals, in which case monetary benefits will be made directly to the providers.
Conflict exists over the interpretation of proposed policy to protect the rights of
farmers and their plant varieties. The M. S. Swaminathan Foundation in India
(MSSRF) reported that it has been working with the Government of India (Ministry
of Agriculture and Cooperation and Ministry of Environment and Forests) in the
development of the following two pieces of legislation:
• Plant Variety Protection and Farmers’ Rights Act
• Biodiversity Act
It claims that the draft Acts prepared by MSSRF protect the interests of both farmer-
cultivators and farmer-conservers, and that the draft Biodiversity Act provides for
peoples’ participation in biodiversity conservation and sustainable and equitable use
through Panchayat level Biodiversity Councils and State Biodiversity Boards. A
Voluntary Code of Conduct was developed to ensure that symbiotic bio-partnerships,
and not bio-piracy, govern the relationships between the primary conservers and
holders of knowledge and the commercial companies, who use their knowledge and
material.
Kothari (1999), however, stresses that the draft Bill leans heavily towards the
formal sector breeders, and that farmers' rights are restricted to the ability to save, use,
exchange, share, or sell (except sale for the purpose of reproduction under commercial
marketing arrangements), varieties that are given IPR protection. While providing
breeders the possibility of receiving IPRs (and thereby exclusive marketing rights for a
specified period), the Bill does not provide corresponding protection to the varieties and
knowledge already developed by farmers over millennia. It gives no incentives to
farmers to continue innovating. The national authority that is to be set up under the Bill
apparently does not contain representative farmers or NGOs.
The Bill, however, does contain some advantages to traditional farmers (Kothari
1999). It contains critical clauses that allow the government to exclude plant varieties
from the purview of IPRs if necessary, in public interest, or to compulsorily shift
licence for protected varieties to certain breeders if it is felt that the IPR holder is acting
against public interest. Also, farmers will be able to appeal to the relevant authority if
they feel that their variety has been used by an IPR holder, and receive appropriate
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compensation if their appeal is upheld. However, Kothari (1999) has little confidence
that the government will act in the interests of small farmers and local communities,
and will rarely use these clauses. More explicitly farmer- and biodiversity-oriented
legislation is necessary, as are mandatory clauses to conduct environmental impact
assessments to ensure that new varieties do not displace traditional biodiversity.
After a new National Forest Policy was passed in India in1988 that identified
the need to motivate forest communities to develop and protect their forests, several
states allocated partial public forest management authority to forest communities.
The National Joint Forest Management resolution in 1990 supported the rights and
responsibilities of forest communities (Poffenberger and McGean 1996). This has
resulted in about 30,000 village-level committees conserving and regenerating 10
million hectares of forest land (McNeely and Scherr 2001). Also, a greater role for
the panchayat (a local governing body made up of small wards) in ecosystem
management has been envisaged by the 73rd Amendment Act to the Constitution of
India by placing new matters under its jurisdiction, including land improvement, land
consolidation and soil conservation, social
forestry and minor forest produce.
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IV.6. Integration of NBSAPs with National Sectoral Plans, Programmes, and
Projects
Philippines Memorandum Order No. 289 (1995) directs the integration of the
Philippines’ strategy for biological diversity conservation in the sectoral plans,
programmes and projects of the national government agencies and the
operationalisation of the objectives of sustainable biological diversity resource
management and development as embodied in the strategy. The Philippines BAAP
(Philippines 1997), Strategy III, promotes formulation of an integrated policy and
legislative framework for the conservation, sustainable use, and equitable sharing of
benefits of biological diversity. Within it, Activity III.5 addresses formulation of
guidelines on land use planning and biodiversity conservation and integration thereof
in the plans of concerned agencies (Table 2).
(2) The National Biodiversity Authority and the State Biodiversity Boards shall
consult the Biodiversity Management Committees while taking any decision relating
to the use of biological resources and knowledge associated with such resources
occurring within the territorial jurisdiction of the Biodiversity Management
Committee.
(3) The Biodiversity Management Committees may levy charges by way of collection
fee from any person for accessing or collecting any biological resource from areas
falling within its territorial jurisdiction.
(2) To regulate, manage or control the risks associated with the use and release of
living modified organisms resulting from biotechnology likely to have adverse impact
on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and human health.
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same environmental impact concerns brought out in the India Biodiversity Bill (India
2000).
The following constraints are generally regional in nature, but some may be more
relevant in some countries than in others:
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• The incentive structure for agriculture is still mainly subsidy-based and not geared
to sustainability
• Policy trend toward maximising profit has severely threatened species and breeds
that were bred for domestic uses
• Policies are still geared toward development rather than management of
agricultural resources
• Weak implementation of management policies
• Monitoring and evaluation plans for biodiversity in the agricultural sector are
focusing on domesticated exotic species and varieties, especially livestock.
Table 1 presents the major threats and concerns for Philippines agrobiodiversity,
which can generally be used as examples for the region.
More specific to India are the following constraints that need to be addressed:
• Many clauses in the national agricultural plan of India conflict with the
Biodiversity Bill although the listed duties of the Central Government include
integration of biodiversity conservation and sustainable use into relevant sectoral
and cross sectoral plans, programmes and policies.
• There have been recent moves by the Indian government and some state
governments to relax land ceilings and other regulations that restricted the
conversion of agricultural into non-agricultural land. The result will be that
industrial level agriculture, or even non-agricultural land uses such as industry, will
find it easier to acquire land.
• The introduction of compulsory environmental impact assessment (EIA) for
agricultural projects is incomplete. While EIA is now compulsory for most
development projects like dams and industries, it is not yet geared towards looking
at the impacts on agricultural biodiversity. In addition, many agricultural
development projects are not subject to any EIA at all. Finally, the process is not
participatory (Kothari 1999).
• Freeing of trade restrictions through World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreements
will threaten the livelihood of small and marginal farmers when the markets are
open to large quantities of imports from the West. Indian markets are expected to
be flooded with cheap grains, pulses, fruits, and vegetables that will compete
heavily with locally-grown produce (S. Padmanabhan and A. Kothari, personal
communication).
Vietnam suffers especially from financial and technical problems leading to the
following constraints:
§ By-law regulations and supporting documents are needed to strengthen
enforcement of the Law on Environment Protection (Vietnam 1995).
§ The NBSAP is promoting an end to traditional shifting cultivation because
population pressure is too high to allow it to be sustainable; it aims to stabilize the
lives of people and raise their awareness so they will join the protection force
voluntarily.
§ Constraints to conservation in general include insufficient institutional
arrangements, limited community participation, and insufficient expertise in social
and economic development (Vietnam 1995).
§ Though the Vietnamese Government has given due attention to the conservation
of genetic resources, the constraint of financial and technical investments, the lack
of a contingent of highly qualified staff, and incomplete technical facilities make
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it impossible to meet requirements for a modern conservation of genetic resources
(Vietnam 1998).
Another problem that pervades conservation issues is the notion that human
population growth is inevitable, and that conservation must necessarily come for the
sustainability of a burgeoning population. However, unchecked population growth in
developing countries whose economies are agriculture based, whose people are
impoverished, and whose resources are already being depleted can only exacerbate
the problem and slow development. The governments of India and Vietnam are, at
least in principle, taking up the challenge to slow population growth.
VI.1.1. Soil fauna and organic fertilisers in tea gardens of Tamil Nadu, India
Tea is a high-value plantation crop in India. In recent years, green tea production
has stopped increasing, despite increasing application of external inputs such as
fertilisers and pesticides. The long-term exploitation of soil in tea gardens has led to
important changes in various physical, chemical and biological attributes of the soil,
decreasing organic matter content, cation exchange, water-holding capacity, soil biota
(reduced up to 70%) and pH, simultaneously increasing concentrations of toxic
aluminium.
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Nairobi, personal communication).
The approach used to reach and enhance local human expertise for IPM in the
region is through Farmer Field Schools (FFS), which build on local knowledge and
expertise. About 25 farmers in FSS spend five to six hours together weekly; two hours
are spent in the field observing the ecosystem and analysing its biodiversity. They
collect arthropods in plastic bags and after the field work discuss what they have
observed, prepare poster diagrams and present findings to their fellow farmers. They
classify populations into functional groups depending on their trophic position in the
agro-ecosystem (herbivores, predators, etc.). Farmers observe populations in the field
but also test their trophic linkages by setting up “insect zoos”. These answer their
questions on “what eats what” and “how many are eaten”, etc. Such experiments
advance farmers’ knowledge and lead to further experimentation with agricultural
biodiversity, for example, the planting of different rice varieties that can make a big
difference to disease resistance or other factors. In the case of double cropped irrigated
rice in Vietnam, with annual yields over 300% of the world average, farmers’
advanced knowledge about rice field biodiversity has also led to experimentation with
different management options. One example is growing a crop of fish with rice in the
same field, using the rice field to grow fish between two rice crops, or growing fish
after rice instead of a second rice crop. Financial benefits per hectare surveyed in a
sample of FFSs in more than 1,300 villages averaged from 20 to 25% higher in IPM
fields than in regular fields. Better utilisation of resources, healthy crops of rice and fish
and increased income and food security reinforce farmers’ acceptance of IPM and their
rejection of pesticides. However, a prerequisite for these changes to take place is an
enabling policy environment, for example, removing perverse pesticide subsidies or, as
in India, putting a tax on pesticides. The increased skill and empowerment of farmers’
groups through FFSs also leads to stronger local accountability and the ability of
farmers to determine local policies that increase benefits to production, income and the
environment, including agricultural biodiversity (adapted from a case study presented
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by Peter Kenmore and Matthias Halwart, FAO).
VI.2.4. Rice IPM in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam (Pretty and Hine 2000)
Researchers with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam, and Visayas State College of
Agriculture, Philippines, have been engaged in a unique and successful initiative to
encourage the adoption of more sustainable rice production in the Mekong Delta,
Vietnam. Surveys in the early 1990s showed that insecticide use by farmers was
high, particularly to control leaf-feeding larvae that caused visible defoliation.
Farmers believed that such visible damage caused yield loss, but researchers
discovered that leaf-damage during the vegetative stages of rice rarely reduces yields.
Indeed, use of insecticides was more likely to kill beneficial insects and lead to
outbreaks of secondary pests.
Other provinces in the Mekong Delta adopted the approach, and their
campaigns have reached 92% of the 2.3 million farmers – who have now reduced
spray frequencies to one per season (a 70% reduction). Rice yields have not changed
during this period – remaining at about 4tons per hectare. Researchers concluded that
the two interventions – detailed understanding provided by FFSs, combined with
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dissemination through the media campaign -- played complementary roles in
changing both farmers’ beliefs and practices. Researchers are now exploring ways to
develop targeted advice for other phases in the rice cycle, as the total potential
audience of rice farmers in Asia is more than 200 million.
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• To develop information systems that can be used to rationalise collections and
provide information on germplasm technologies and related policies to member
countries.
• To identify research topics that can strengthen national plant genetic resources
(PGR) programmes.
• To identify appropriate in-situ and ex-situ conservation strategies for the region's
PGR.
• To identify the training needs and provide information on training opportunities to
member countries.
• To identify and solicit funding to achieve these objectives.
• To interact with regional and international PGR-related organisations like IPGRI
and FAO on projects and activities.
• To identify the common elements to strengthen the position of Southeast Asian
countries in international fora.
• To facilitate, exchange information, and interact with regional fora.
• To promote public awareness on the value, conservation and use of PGR.
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VI.4.1. Reduction of land conversion by increasing productivity:
VI.4.1.1. Increasing yields of lowland rice reduces extensive hillside farming in the
Philippines
Population growth in the Philippine frontier province of Palawan has been
particularly high (4.6% per year), and resulted in agricultural expansion into marginal
and environmentally sensitive areas, promoting acute upland deforestation. The
area’s main staple is rice and its main cash crop is maize; farm size averages 2.6 to
5.1 hectares. To intensify and raise agricultural production, the Philippine National
Irrigation Administration constructed or upgraded a number of small-scale communal
irrigation systems in Palawan. These are in the lowlands, but most are adjacent to
inhabited upland forest areas.
Household surveys show that irrigation allowed farmers to increase cropping
intensity to 1.9 crops per year, whereas on rainfed farms it was only 1.2. They used
less family labour and less overall labour during each cropping season, but more hired
labour. By raising the opportunity for paid labour, intensification of lowland irrigated
cropping induced upland farmers to participate less in lower-paying forest-clearing
and forest product extraction (hunting, charcoal making, resin collection), and more in
lowland cropping. After the irrigation systems were installed in the lowlands, annual
forest clearing by upland households declined by 48%. After the introduction of
lowland irrigation, average wage income rose nearly three-fold among upland
households that engaged in work outside their own farms. These positive impacts
resulted in part from the fact that the upland area is physically adjacent to the lowland
irrigated area, reducing the cost of working outside their own farms. Also, there was
relatively little investment needed in labour-saving technology among lowland
farmers, which would have partly offset the employment gains (Shively and Martinez
2001).
Since its introduction in1996, thousands of farmers have adopted this low-cost
technology in the densely populated steep farmlands of northern Mindanao. The
natural vegetative strips are not only valuable for maintaining soil fertility on farms
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and protecting local watersheds, but they also provide important habitat for wild
biodiversity. A study of floral composition and community characteristics of fields
with NVS confirmed the high diversity of native plant species, while the presence of
untilled areas provided habitat for native fauna (Ramiaramanana 1993).
Economically profitable timber and fruit tree species in the NVS further expand their
habitat value for wildlife.
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The Baghmara Group constructed nature trails for elephant-back safaris and a wildlife
viewing tower where tourists can stay overnight. Within the first six months of
operation, nearly 8,000 tourists visited the Baghmara wildlife viewing area and
generated nearly US$200,000 in revenues, allowing the Baghmara Group to refurbish
three schools and a clinic. Half of annual income will go to support the National Park
and about 5% will be retained by the Baghmara Group. An area that had been largely
deforested and supported little wildlife before this conservation investment has now
become one of the most popular tourist destinations in Nepal (83,000 tourists per
year), based on elephant-back tours into the riverine grasslands to view rhinos and
other mammals, birds, and reptiles. Villagers in the area receive incomes of about
$200 per elephant, plus $3 per trip. The income has enabled them to build biogas
plants and smokeless stoves, provide training to local women’s groups, and carry out
numerous other activities that reduce human pressure on the park. The local villagers
are now convinced that rhinos are a critical tourism attraction and they claim to do
whatever they can to support conservation (McNeely 1999).
VI.6.1. Innovations in the NBSAP Process and Revival of Indigenous Crops in India
The Deccan area succeeded in bringing farmer participation to the ongoing
NBSAP process, which proved to be useful also in reviving nearly extinct crop
varieties. A biodiversity festival was organised in which about 70 villages around the
Zaheerabad region of Deccan were visited by bullock carts displaying seeds of a
variety of crops. Discussions with farmers took place in each village about
agrobiodiversity that they planned to conserve, enhance for sustainable use, and
equitably distribute. This resulted in a BSAP for agrobiodiversity conservation for
each village.
Key participants reported that the response to the festival had been enormous,
including from many big cash-cropping farmers who were sceptical of the return to
traditional seeds, but nevertheless were sufficiently impressed to promise to try them.
In many villages, elders recounted how in so many ways their lives were better off
when they had the old seeds now nearly gone.
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VI.6.2. Reviving Traditional Crops and Practices in Jardhargaon, India
Recognising that modern techniques of agriculture that government extension
officers were bringing them are yielding only short-term benefits, some farmers have
revived traditional practices in the village of Jardhargaon. One farmer, for instance, is
trying out 150 varieties each of rice and beans, along with other traditional crops like
millets, and then spreading back to other farmers those varieties that are particularly
useful. He and others have formed a Beej Bachao Andolan (Save the Seeds
Movement). The Andolan has actively pursued the revival of traditional farming
methods, such as baranaja, in which about a dozen crop species grown together yield
a variety of produce that fulfil a variety of domestic requirements, while maintaining
soil fertility (A. Kothari, Kalpavriksh – Environmental Action Group, personal
communication).
DDS works with small-holder and marginal women farmers, mostly Dalits.
The women have organised themselves into sanghas, and today there are over 4,000
members in about 75 villages. A number of programmes linked to agriculture have
been initiated. The establishment of a community grain-fund programme saw the
regeneration of over 1,000 hectares of fallow land, and the start of a Public
Distribution System (PDS) that the women own and run. Collective farming was
initiated for women with very small land-holdings. A community gene-fund
programme established seed banks in over 30 villages, and revived over 60 crop
varieties that are now under cultivation. Some traditional foods, once almost
forgotten, are again common in many households. At the seed bank there is no
exchange of money; instead, the women return double the amount of seeds that they
have taken from the bank. They are also establishing an alternate market that is under
their control, where they can fix prices that are higher than in regular markets.
Through all these activities, DDS has generated the equivalent of over a million new
jobs over a decade, increased food availability by 100 to 200 kg per acre, and
enhanced per acre earnings by an average factor of 12. Chemical inputs have been
eliminated and the use of biodiversity in the fields has increased. Several of the
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women and men farmers were honoured for their outstanding work in conserving
seeds and demonstrating sustainable productivity (S. Padmanabhan and A. Kothari,
Kalpavriksh - Environmental Action Group, personal communication).
Good progress was made in achieving these goals. A large number of tribal
and rural women and men were trained in the art and science of biodiversity
conservation and in chronicling local biodiversity resources. Trained youth constitute
a Community Agro-Biodiversity Conservation corps, who will be able to assist their
respective communities in taking decisions on questions like "prior informed consent"
and "access and benefit-sharing", after the national Biodiversity Act comes into force.
In the area of sustainable use, further progress was made to link conservation
and commercialisation in a mutually supportive manner and to promote participatory
plant breeding. The work on the revitalisation of the in-situ on-farm conservation
traditions of tribal and rural families, and on sustainable and equitable use, received
generous support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
This project is in progress in the States of Tamil Nadu (Kolli Hills), Kerala (Way-
anad) and Orissa (Jeypore). A Voluntary Code of Conduct based on the principles of
CBD guides the work of all researchers working in this project.
The participatory plant breeding work initiated this year in collaboration with
the farming families of Kolli Hills, Wayanad and Jeypore has made a good beginning.
The methodological underpinning of the project was discussed at a workshop jointly
organised by MSSRF and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid
Tropics (ICRISAT) at Hyderabad. An important component of this work relates to the
improvement of njavara, a rice strain widely used in Ayurvedic medicine in Kerala.
28
In the field of molecular mapping and genetic enhancement, a binary vector
carrying the BADH gene cloned from mangrove species was constructed. Methods of
integrating the BADH gene, which confers tolerance to sea water salinity, into the
tobacco genome were standardised. The work on biomonitoring of ecosystem health
using Pseudomonas and lichen species made further progress. Micropropagation
protocols were standardised for 14 species (10 endangered and medicinal and 4
mangrove species). These protocols have been made available to the Department of
Biotechnology for commercialisation.
Agrobiodiversity includes not only agricultural species, varieties, and their relatives,
but all living elements within the agricultural landscape that provide support and
services to agriculture.
29
National agricultural plans must be revised with a grassroots – up approach. Input by
small-scale farmers, women, and indigenous peoples must be incorporated into
agricultural plans and the NBSAP.
Indigenous cropping systems should be given incentives to flourish, and riskier, less
biodiverse production systems like cash-cropping should be given reduced incentives.
Multiple cropping in space and/or time intensifies productivity and reduces risk of
pest and disease outbreaks compared with monocropping.
Open trade with foreign countries may result in hardship to small farmers.
Communities can work on their own if empowered to revive and conserve their own
indigenous crops and livestock.
Communities can work to improve market potentials by combining small farms into
larger co-operatives and fixing higher prices.
On-farm training can result in increased capacity to use novel means to increase
production without risk to biodiversity, such as IPM.
Specifically for the livestock sector, the Report recommends the following strategies:
• Information and education campaign among farmers
• Setting up a buy-back/save-the-herd scheme
• Establishment of a nation-wide livestock diversity conservation network
• Inclusion of a livestock diversity conservation programme in the government’s
livestock development programme
• Capacity building on relevant technologies for livestock biodiversity conservation
• Inclusion in school curricula issues of domestic indigenous animal conservation in
addition to wildlife conservation
Development opportunities for forest biodiversity include:
30
• prospecting for economically important products
• species domestication and breeding for productivity
• biodiversity conservation and management by local/indigenous communities
• ecotourism
• biotechnology.
31
References
Cabrido, C.A., Jr. and W. E. Cabezon. 1995. Philippine biodiversity country study:
biodiversity and land use. Final report for Protected Areas and Wildlife
Bureau, Department of Environment and Natural resources, Philippines.
Eveleens, K.G., R. Chisholm, E. van der Fliert, M. Kato, P.T. Nhat, and P. Schmidt.
1996. Mid term review of Phase III Report. The FAO Intercountry Programme
for the Development and Application of Integrated Pest Control in Rice in
South and Southeast Asia. FAO, Manila and Rome.
Government of India. 2000. The biological diversity bill. Bill No. 93 of 2000.
Hoyt, E. 1992. Conserving the wild relatives of crops. IBPGR, IUCN, and WWF.
Second Edition.
Kanis
Maikhuri, R.K., R.L. Semwal, K.S. Rao, S. Nautiyal, and K.G. Saxena. 1997. Eroding
Traditional Crop Diversity Imperils the Sustainability of Agricultural Systems
in Central Himalaya. Current Science 73(9).
McNeely, J.A. 1999. Mobilizing broader support for Asia’s biodiversity: How civil
society can contribute to protected area management. Asian Development
Bank, Manila.
Mercado, A., Jr., M. Stark, and D.P. Garrity. 1997. Enhancing sloping land
management technology adoption and dissemination. Paper presented at the
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IBSRAM Sloping Land Management Workshop, Bogor, Indonesia, 15 - 21
September.
Poffenberger, M. and B. McGean (eds.). 1996. Village voices, forest choices: joint
forest management in India. Oxford University Press, Delhi.
Pretty, J. and R. Hine. 2000. Feeding the world with sustainable agriculture; a
summary of new evidence. Final report of SAFE Project, University of Essex.
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Tables
Annexes
1. prohibits transfer of Indian genetic material outside the country, without specific
approval of the Indian Government through a due process;
2. stipulates that anyone wanting to take a patent or other intellectual property right
(IPR) over such material, or over related knowledge, will have to seek permission
in advance;
3. provides for the levying of appropriate fees and royalties on such transfers and
IPRs;
4. regulates access to such material by Indian national also, to ensure that there is
some control over over-exploitation (e.g. of medicinal plants), and that there is
some sharing of benefits to all concerned parties; however, it provides some
relaxation in the case of research;
5. provides for measures to conserve and sustainably use biological resources,
including habitat and species protection, conservation in gene banks,
environmental impact assessments of all projects which could harm biodiversity,
and so on;
6. empowers local communities to have a say in the use of resources and knowledge
within their jurisdiction, and to enter into negotiations with parties who want to
use these resources and knowledge;
7. provides for the development of an appropriate legislation or administrative steps,
including registration, to protect indigenous and community knowledge;
8. empowers governments to declare Biodiversity Heritage Sites, as areas for special
measures for conservation and sustainable use of biological resources, as also
notify threatened species to control their collection and use;
9. stipulates that risks associated with biotechnology (including the use of
genetically modified organisms), will be regulated or controlled through
appropriate means;
10. provides for the designation of repositories of biological resources, at national and
other levels.
The BDA envisages the creation of Funds at local, state, and national levels, which
will be used to support conservation and benefit-sharing activities. These funds will
be generated from fees, royalties, donations, etc. The BDA proposes to set up bodies
at the national, state, and local levels, to carry out the above functions. Whether this
Act will indeed help to protect agrobiodiversity and farmer community rights, only
time will tell.
39