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Managing Biodiversity in Agricultural Ecosystems Montreal, Canada - November 8-10, 2001
United Nations University Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity International Plant Genetic Resources Institute
With support of:
Introduction Conservation of biodiversity takes place largely in landscapes that are managed for farming and pastoralism. Biodiversity provides not only food and income but also raw materials for clothing, shelter, medicines, breeding new varieties, and performs other services such as maintenance of soil fertility and biota, and soil and water conservation, all of which are essential to human survival. Rural people use and manage biodiversity in obtaining their livelihoods. Through generations of innovation and experiment, they have nurtured diversity of plants and animals, either wild or domesticated, and accumulated rich knowledge of the managed biodiversity. The process of learning, experiment and innovation continues throughout the developing world.Much has been written on loss of managed biodiversity under threat from commercial and intensified production, but only limited work has been done on how farmers manage their resources so as to sustain and enhance them. To develop practices and systems for sustaining this managed biodiversity, the Project on People, Land Management and Environmental Change (PLEC) has been developed since 1993 by the United Nations University. With UNEP/GEF support, PLEC involves a collaborative effort between scientists and small farmers from across the developing world. In the same period, IPGRI has developed a global project on "Strengthening the Scientific Basis of in situ Conservation of Agricultural Biodiversity", involving a similar range of collaboration. Other partners, like ETC, CBDC, ICARDA, FAO, IUCN, UNDP et al have also developed initiatives tapping farmers' knowledge and skills for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in agro-ecosystems, including the management of crop and livestock genetic diversity, and of "associated biodiversity" such as pests, diseases and natural enemies; pollinators and soil biota. Management of agricultural biodiversity is important at various temporal and spatial scales. There is need to bring together experience and ideas on the management of agricultural biodiversity in agricultural ecosystems, and to make an impact on international and national biodiversity programmes and policy.
Objectives of the Symposium
Symposium Themes
Participation in the Symposium Most papers will be invited, but there will be limited opportunity for submitted papers. The symposium will be open to all interested individuals and institutions willing to share their knowledge and experiences relating to the above themes. There will be poster sessions for case studies / abstracts, from which a few of the best will be selected for live presentations. For preparation of case studies, please refer to the CBD Programme of Work and the CBD Outline for Case Studies as attached (http://www.biodiv.org/areas/agro/default.asp). Date and Location of the Symposium The Symposium will be held on 8-10 November 2001, Montreal, Canada, prior to the Seventh Meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA-7), Montreal, Canada, (12 - 16 November 2001). Day 2, 9 November: Crop and Livestock Associated Diversities and Management, including pollinators, pest, disease, organisms, natural enemies, biodiversity, and soils, competitors/weeds, and climatic and other variations over time. Day 3, 10 November: Ecosystem and Landscape Diversity and Diversity Management
Language The working language of the meeting will be English. Symposium Planning and Organization Overall planning and organization of the Symposium will be guided by a Symposium Steering Committee comprising individuals from each of the sponsoring organizations and a limited number of other experts in relevant fields. Detailed planning of the content of the symposium will be the responsibility of a small programme committee. A local organizing committee in Montreal will be responsible for local logistics. The Symposium Steering Committee and the programme committee will work mainly by electronic communication, with telephone conferences organized if necessary. Symposium Secretary will be provided by:
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