Book Series: Issues in Agricultural Biodiversity

About the Series

The series of books is published by Earthscan in association with the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT. The aim of the series is to review the current state of knowledge in topical issues associated with agricultural biodiversity, to identify gaps in our knowledge base, to synthesize lessons learned and to propose future research and development actions. The overall objective is to increase the sustainable use of biodiversity in improving people’s well-being and food and nutrition security. The series’ scope is all aspects of agricultural biodiversity, ranging from conservation biology of genetic resources through social sciences to policy and legal aspects. It also covers the fields of research, education, communication and coordination, information management and knowledge sharing.

The Series Editors are Danny Hunter and Michael Halewood. They welcome proposals for new titles in the series. Please contact them if you would like to discuss a submission.

This is an open access series. To download publication, select the title and click the download button. 

Measuring farm environmental sustainability in the Sierra del Rosario Biosphere Reserve

This chapter presents an integrated methodology that combines a household survey with direct observations and measurements to understand the role and impact of farming activities within the Sierra del Rosario Biosphere Reserve and assess their sustainability and the relationship with the protected area. The methodology, based on an existing protocol (Biodiversity Friend), was adapted to Cuban…

Biodiversity, food and nutrition: A new agenda for sustainable food systems

This book examines the challenges and impacts of poor diets and nutrition from current food systems and the potential contribution of biodiversity and ecosystem services in addressing these problems. It also presents a multi-country, cross-sectoral analysis of initiatives that have promoted local food biodiversity in four countries: Brazil, Kenya, Turkey and Sri Lanka.

Farmers and plant breeding: current approaches and perspectives

This book presents the history of, and current approaches to, farmer-breeder collaboration in plant breeding, situating this work in the context of sustainable food systems, as well as national and international policy and law regimes. It brings together experienced practitioners and researchers involved in collaborative breeding programmes across the world.

Tropical fruit tree diversity: good practices for in situ and on-farm conservation

Farmers have developed a range of agricultural practices to sustainably use and maintain a wide diversity of crop species in many parts of the world. This book documents good practices innovated by farmers and collects key reviews on good practices from global experts, not only from the case study countries but also from Brazil, China and other parts of Asia and Latin America.

Farmers' crop varieties and farmers' rights: challenges in taxonomy and law

Farmers play an important role in the development and conservation of crop genetic diversity, and the contribution of that diversity to agro-ecosystem resilience and food security. This book examines policies that aim to increase the share of benefits that farmers receive when others use the crop varieties that they have developed and managed, i.e., ‘farmers varieties’.

Community seed banks: origins, evolution and prospects

Community seed banks first appeared towards the end of the 1980s, established with the support of international and national nongovernmental organizations. This book reviews their history, evolution, experiences, successes and failures (and reasons why), challenges and prospects; using case studies from across the world as examples.

Diversifying food and diets: Using agricultural biodiversity to improve nutrition and health

One of the world’s greatest challenges is to secure adequate food that is healthy, safe and of high quality for all, and to do so in an environmentally sustainable way. This book explores the role of agricultural biodiversity as a safeguard against hunger, a source of improved dietary diversity and quality, and to strengthen local food systems and environmental sustainability.

Crop genetic resources as a global commons: challenges in international law and governance

This book addresses how the collective pooling and management of shared plant genetic resources for food and agriculture can be supported through laws regulating access to genetic resources and the sharing of benefits arising from their use. It also analyzes tensions that are threatening to undermine the potential of such laws, and identifies opportunities to address those tensions.

Plant genetic resources and food security: Stakeholder perspectives on the international treaty on plant genetic resources for food and agriculture

The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture provides a route map for the use of such resources for sustainable agriculture and food security. This book shows that despite conflicting interests among players in the global food chain, they managed to come to an agreement for the sake of improving global food security and efforts towards hunger alleviation.

Crop wild relatives: A manual of in situ conservation

Crop wild relatives (CWR) – plant species that are related to crops – provide a vital pool of genetic variation that can be used in breeding new & better adapted varieties of crops. Illustrated by case-studies from four geographical regions, this detailed and comprehensive manual provides relevant information and guidance for the scaling-up of actions targeting CWR conservation around the world.