Bioversity International has launched a project aiming to ensure food security in the Nepal Himalayas while improving the sustainable use of traditional crop genetic resources and improving the resilience of agricultural ecosystems in the face of climate change.
August 2014: Bioversity International has launched a project aimed to ensure food security in the Nepal Himalayas while supporting the sustainable use of traditional crop genetic resources and improving the resilience of agricultural ecosystems in the face of climate change.
Titled ‘Integrating Traditional Crop Genetic Diversity into Technology: Using a Biodiversity Portfolio Approach to Buffer against Unpredictable Environmental Change in the Nepal Himalayas,’ the project aims to improve ecosystem resilience, ecosystem services, and access and benefit-sharing capacity in mountain communities.
The project focuses on eight crop varieties that can adapt to the environmental conditions of mountain environments and have traits that are critical to coping with the impacts of climate change, such as drought tolerance and stress-resistance. The specific outcomes pursued by the project are to increase the use of a diverse mix of traditional crop varieties, improve access to locally-adapted materials, and establish benefit-sharing mechanisms that enable communities to continue using and diversifying these varieties.
The project is supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Bioversity International is part of the CGIAR Consortium. [Bioversity International Press Release][Project Brochure] [Flyer on Himalayan Crop Varieties]