GROWING DIVERSITY PROJECT
"INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON THE
LOCAL MANAGEMENT OF AGRICULTURAL BIODIVERSITY”
9-19 May 2002, Rio Branco - Acre, BRAZIL
1st Announcement
The Growing Diversity Project (GD) was launched in January 2000 by Genetic Resources Action International, Centro Internazionale Crocevia, The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, and Bread for the World. These four NGOs have long supported on-farm approaches to agricultural biodiversity management, through policy research, advocacy work or direct project support. The GD Project’s main objectives are: to provide a forum for discussion and sharing of experiences; to contribute to the empowerment and strengthening of the groups involved; to increase awareness on the central importance of biodiversity in rural livelihood systems; to promote the local management of biodiversity within the wider context of rural development and policies. This is a unique initiative involving local organisations working on biodiversity management in its broadest sense, which includes those involved in agriculture, forests, aquatic resources and indeed all life that sustains people.
The project was organised in three phases: (i) identification of interested groups and organisations, (ii) documentation of experiences, (iii) regional and international workshops. The response to the initial consultation phase was very positive. Originally, the project was expected to document around 10 case studies in each region. However, due to the high level of interest shown by participants, a total of 65 case studies have been now been documented in 37 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Between September and November 2001, regional workshops were held in Colombia, Zimbabwe, Benin, Thailand and Algeria, to assess and evaluate the case studies.
The "International Workshop on the Local Management of Agricultural Biodiversity" is the highlight of the Growing Diversity Project. Many of the participants attending this meeting include farmers, fishermen and women, indigenous peoples and pastoralists from Asia, Africa and Latin America. The participants will be encouraged to share their experiences and take part in preparing strategic plans to strengthen the role of local communities in biodiversity conservation and management.
This Workshop will be organised in partnership with GTA-Acre – Amazon Working Group, a network of grassroots organisations working in the Brazilian Amazon Region. The programme will be comprised of two parts: (i) a first session from 9-17 May 2002, for the GD participants only; (ii) a second session from 18-19 May 2002 that will be made accessible to Brazilian participants. The venue of the first session will be held in a Hotel 100 km from Rio Branco (State capital of Acre). Here, there will be exhibits for sharing experiences, plenary sessions, working groups and a two day field visit to local communities. The second session will be held in Rio Branco itself. In this two-day session, more than 100 Brazilian participants invited by GTA-Acre, will join the international GD participants. This session will be organised by local Brazilian partners, and the international participants will be requested to share their experiences and opinions on key issues. This will also be an opportunity to present the conclusions of the first session to a broader audience and to the press.
For the first session, we expect around 65 participants: 15 from Asia, 15 from Africa, 25 from Latin America (including 10 Brazilians, members of the local organising committee), and 10 from Europe and North America. Decisions on who will be invited had been based on a set of criteria defined at the Regional and Sub-regional Workshops.
Since the start of the GD project, it was decided that local people should play a lead role in the International Workshop. It was therefore important that language differences should not stop participants from taking an active part in the workshop. Although translation facilities will be provided in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese (language spoken in Brazil), many local participants are not expected to understand these international languages. As a result, each region will include participants from NGOs that are able to translate any of these international languages to local dialects or languages. To create a good environment for the sharing of these experiences, presentations will be done within stands rather than in plenary. Therefore, all participants are requested to present their case studies in a creative way, using as many visuals as possible.
This is the first announcement and a more detailed programme will be soon circulated. A web page presenting the abstracts of all documented experiences will be launched by the end of March 2002. It will be hosted at www.grain.org/gd/ and will also provide updated information on the International Workshop. For now, the Regional Coordinators will contact participants from the regions to help organise practical issues, such as visas for entry into Brazil and other travel arrangements.
Growing Diversity Project
February 2002
Overal
Coordinator
Angela
Cordeiro
CP 10185 - Florianópolis – SC
88062-970 BRAZIL
Phone: (55-48) 232 1448
Fax: (55-48) 232 9027
E-mail: acordei@uol.com.br
Asia – Regional
Coordinator:
Oscar
Zamorra
Agronomy
Department UP at los Baños
College,
Laguna 4031
PHILLIPINES
Phone: (63-49) 536 2466
Fax:
(63-49) 536 2468
E-mail: obz@mozcom.com
Latin America – Regional Coordinator:
German Velez
C/o: Programa Semillas - Fundación Swissaid
A.A. 241662 Bogotá - COLOMBIA
Phone: (57-1) 334 44 73 - Fax: (57-1) 336 39 86
E-mail : semil@attglobal.net
North Africa –
Regional Coordinator:
Robert Ali Brac de la Perriere
47, place du Millénaire
34000 Montpellier - FRANCE
Phone / Fax : (33 – 4) 67 65
45 12
E-mail : dombrac@mnet.fr
West Africa –
Regional Coordinator :
Jeanne Zoundjihekpon
06
BP 2083 –
Cotonou BENIN
Phone / Fax : (229) 33 79 15
E-mail: jeanne@grain.org
South Africa – Regional Coordinator
Mutizwa Mukute
PELUM Association Regional Desk
P.O.Box MP 1059 - Mt Pleasant Harare, Zimbabwe
Phone:
(263-4) 744117 / 744237 / 744509
Fax: (263-4) 744470
E-mail: pelum@ecoweb.co.zw