Growing Diversity

One of the most significant positive changes that has occurred in the field of biodiversity is a global awakening to the importance of the local custodianship of biodiversity. Farmers and indigenous peoples finally began to feature in international treaties, policy documents and programme plans. The ‘Growing Diversity Project' was launched to strengthen and exchange experiences in this field – and to take stock where we are with the local management of biodiversity. After many years of planning and two busy years of activities, Growing Diversity has come to its official end with an international workshop held in Brazil in May. This article discusses its goals and outcome, and looks at the challenges ahead.

The farmer fingered the lonely potted plant in the hotel lobby. With a frown on his forehead, he tore a leaf off, one of only six, crushed it in his hand and sniffed. This was a small but powerful example of the inquisitive nature of farmers – an example that shows why we have such rich diversity of farmed species and varieties around the world. This farmer was attending the Growing Diversity International Workshop in Brazil in May 2002 The workshop was the culmination of more than two years hard work from 37 countries involving more than 100 organisations and several thousand people, most of whom were farmers from the South. Of the 100 participants that attended, many were farmers who had never left their villages, communities or countries and most had travelled long distances to attend.

The Growing Diversity Project was officially launched in January 2000 by four organisations: GRAIN, Crocevia, Bread for the World and SSCN. Its main objective of helping to empower and strengthen the groups involved in the local management of biodiversity in Africa, Asia and Latin America. But its roots go back further than that. During the 1980s and 1990s, calls for support for approaches that build on local biodiversity management started to trickle up into international agreements. The donor community – and even some of the Green Revolution institutions – started earmarking funds for on-farm biodiversity management strategies. Local and international NGOs also increasingly incorporated – or at least formalised – biodiversity management into their day-to-day activities.

But at the same time, other forces were steadily undermining the capacity of local communities to effectively manage their resources. These included various international agreements, trade pressures, increasing concentration within the agricultural supply industries, and the rapidly accelerating and destructive privatisation of biodiversity. The Growing Diversity project was conceived to add momentum – and teeth – to the growing movement to support community control of biodiversity in ever more challenging times.

Originally 30 cases (or experiences as they were called) were planned to be part of the project. But due to overwhelming interest from farmers and organisations, this number soon doubled, and by the time of the workshop more than 80 cases had become incoporated. These cases cover a diverse range of issues, environments and agricultural systems - from rice in rainy Thailand to the date palms and fig trees of North Africa's deserts, and from Andean potatoes grown at 4000 metres to small-scale shark fishing on the coasts of West Africa. Growing Diversity has absorbed not only a remarkable diversity of farmed and wild plants and animals, but also a diversity of experiences. Yet throughout the project, it became apparent that certain issues were shared by many of the participating farmers and organisations. Common problems and solutions have surfaced to reveal a diverse world with many similarities.

One common experience that all the participants shared was the reality that agricultural biodiversity is disappearing everywhere and that local control over that diversity is being undermined . Not only has three-quarters of the genetic diversity of agricultural crops been lost in the past century, but people's knowledge about the properties of plants and animals are being lost with them. Much has been written about the loss and destruction of agricultural biodiversity, and understanding about the value of these resources – locally and globally – is increasing and broadening all the time. But prescriptions for reversing the gene drain and restoring diversity are more limited. Growing Diversity provided this important function. Conceived and written by the farmers and their organisations, presented on the Growing Diversity website and exchanged between each other and the rest of the world, these experiences provide some impetus to help local groups and programme planners turn rhetoric into reality. The practical ideas, insights into common problems, and the developing synergy between organisations involved that has come out of Growing Diversity will all help to turn the current, more theoretical strategies to protect, conserve and use agricultural biodiversity into practical options for local communities.
Local control of biodiversity

One of the most important issues for the participants of the Growing Diversity Project was enabling people to control how and what they plant, grow, breed and harvest. The destruction and loss of biodiversity is closely linked to the loss of control by communities of their resources. Many factors have contributed to the loss of control farmers and communities have faced over the past few decades. The promotion of commercial seeds, such as so called “high yielding varieties (HYVs)” and more recently genetically modified crops, has put the control firmly in the hands of the larger companies and institutions that develop the seeds. Using these seeds often demands the use of external inputs such as pesticides and fertilisers, again taking control out of farmers' hands. Credit for farmers is often conditional on the use of external inputs.

Agricultural research has also been biased towards the use of external technology – very little research involves the farmers and communities themselves. Such top-down research often ignores local cultures, traditions, diets and environments and results in seeds and practices that fail to live up to their promises. It also ignores and belittles the extensive knowledge that farmers have, and turns them into production workers rather than researchers and decision makers. Many families and communities feel a growing need, but decreasing capacity, to regain or retain this control over their farms and the genetic resources that they depend on. How are they going about it?

A common approach in the Growing Diversity cases is the establishment of community seed centres where seeds can be freely exchanged between farmers and communities. For example in Bangladesh, the NGO UBINIG has set up around 20 seed centres to encourage the free exchange of seeds. After joining UBINIG, farming communities abandon the use of hybrids and HYVs and established their own system which is entirely controlled by them.

The loss of knowledge about how to grow, conserve and reproduce the seeds that have successfully fed successive generations was of great concern to many GD participants. The migration of young people to the cities in search of better opportunities was a universal concern. With the loss of this knowledge, the seeds are also lost. At the international workshop many strategies were presented on how to prevent the brain drain as well as the gene drain. These included education about the benefits of traditional varieties and the pitfalls of external technology such as genetically modified crops, in particular for younger generations; demonstration farms showing how abundant biodiversity can be beneficial to the community; workshops and seminars; and increased communication and networking. Given the weighty social and economic problems many communities face, such as chronic poverty, conflicts and wars, national debt and poor health, education efforts are challenging. But it was nevertheless agreed that education needs to remain a high priority.

Women – architects and animators

Women are central to Growing Diversity. In most countries and cultures, women are the invisible architects of diversity. They have been the ones largely responsible for selecting, collecting, regenerating and exchanging seed. Modern techniques and practices developed outside these farming communities often ignore the essential role that women play in the farming system. Until relatively recently, the critical role of women was almost invisible to programme planners and extension workers, who directed their activities towards men.

For example, in 1987, the Women of Popenguine for the Protection of Nature (RFPPN) decided to get involved in the restoration of the Popenguine nature reserve in Senegal. This reserve was created in 1986 to rehabilitate an area heavily damaged by the excessive cutting of trees for firewood, overgrazing and drought. “Without women this project would have not worked – women are the centre of its success” said Woulimata Thiaw, president of RFPPN. The results have been impressive. More than 195 species of bird and many other animals including the bush-tailed porcupine, jackal, Patas monkey, mongoose and the African civet have returned to the area, and more than 10 hectares of mangroves have been replanted. The area now conserved has extended well beyond the borders of the reserve into surrounding agricultural areas, involving more and more local villages in the scheme. Today, the cooperative now has a membership of 1,500 women, involves around 35,000 women and covers an area of 100 km2. Not only biodiversity, but also the people benefited. One of the strategies to restore biodiversity was through the establishment of tree nurseries for firewood, fruit trees and ornamental plants. The use of stones and fences helped to reduce soil erosion and restore fertility. An agreement was signed between the Senegalese government and the local communities, as a result of which , for the first time in the history of Senegal, tourism in the protected area now derectly benfits the local communities.

Another project in which women have played a determining role has been that of the nut crackers in Brazil. This study illustrates how not only are women good for biodiversity, but biodiversity-based projects can also be good for women. The cracking of the Babaçu palm nuts (similar to coconuts) used to be considered a worthless job: “We used to hide with shame about our jobs, but now we are proud of work” said one Babaçu cracker. Through cooperation in 31 communities and villages, the Babaçu crackers have now diversified their products, using all parts of the palm, such as the production of moisturising oils. The conclusion of the participating communities is unanimous: “over the years the project has thought us that it is possible to construct more just economic and social relations, where men and women throught the use of their natural wealth, combined with environmental preservation, can build a better life.

Tradition, culture and spirituality

Tradition plays an important role in the understanding of how biodiversity can be conserved and developed. Cultural and spiritual rules and restrictions, such as the establishment of sacred places which cannot be harvested or destroyed, or days of rest to give the environment a chance to recover, have historically kept biodiversity in balance. In Africa, sacred forests have had an important place in many societies

The Taï area in the south-west of the Côte d'Ivoire is covered with the vestiges of the original humid evergreen tropical forest of West Africa with a number of endemic species. It is situated in an area which was entirely green at the beginning of the last century but has now been reduced to isolated remnants of forest because of the intense pressure which the region is under. These pressures are mainly related to population increases, poverty and social changes. Most of the remnant forest areas have survived because they are considered sacred. The sacred forest of Zaïpobly is one such zone: a dense humid forest from which no plant can be taken without prior permission. As a result, biological resources that are found there are well protected. This forest has many functions including protection of the village, a reserve for medicinal plants, and a place for holding meetings that are of high importance socio-culturally. The Kwi provides the mechanism for the traditional community management of the sacred forest of Zaïpobly. This society is very hierarchical and its authority ensures the protection of natural resources.
Despite the rapid disintegration of traditional social structures, the Kwi has managed to maintain control of the sacred forest. It relies on policing and punishing offenders, laying down strict rules and implementing drastic sanctions. Nevertheless, demographic pressure, lack of fertile land, and progressive changes in attitude are making their work more challenging than ever.

The importance of biodiversity beyond its economic value is manifested very clearly amongst communities in the Peruvian Andes. Here, the historical home of the potato, biodiversity itself is revered and the spiritual value of the potato tubers is often much more important than their economic value. The seeds here are considered family members (see “Nurturing Seeds in the Peruvian Andes,” Seedling, June 1998). For over 10,000 years in the Huaylas Canyon, Peru, farmers have meticulously conserved and improved their rich diversity of crops. The region supports 109 varieties of potatoes and many other cold-resistant tubers (49 varieties of oca, 12 varieties of mashua and 19 varieties of olluco), 26 varieties of maize, 6 varieties of quinoa, 5 varieties of achis and more than 30 varieties of beans.

In Cambodia, destruction of forest has led to the loss of timber, fuel, food, and medicines and has caused soil erosion in the lowlands where rice is cultivated. In their efforts to reclaim local biodiversity and return to more sustainable farming systems, people have turned to monks and their pagodas (Buddhist places of worship). Pagodas generally have a pond, which provides fish for the paddy fields, and forests, which are an important source of seeds, medicinal plants and animals. Buddhist monks are now playing an important role in raising awareness of the importance of diverse production systems through workshops, study tours, and providing leaflets and books promoting reforestation.

Keep on growing

The Growing Diversity project has been an enormous success. Robert Ali Brac de la Perrière, North African regional coordinator of the project, echoed the thoughts of many when he said that: “In North Africa, two years ago we had no links, no connections. Now people are starting to make plans to cooperate with each other. There is more interconnection between North and West Africa – and even the traditional distance between Francophone and Anglophone Africa has somehow been bridged.” It is now important to keep Growing Diversity alive. Many informal networks have been established, many links between farmers have been made and many farmers have been empowered by what they have seen. Regional action plans were drawn up, and individual commitments made Although the Growing Diversity project officially came to a close at the end of May, the spirit of Growing Diversity and the work will continue. .
Regional meetings will be held in North and West Africa to disseminate the results of the international workshop. Follow up meetings will be held in several countries to discuss genetically modified organisms and intellectual property rights. Asian participants came up with a ten-point strategic plan, which included the establishment of seed exchanges, community seed banks and seed fairs. Networking was identified as a particular priority by Latin American participants. Education was a clear priority for all regions, with a particular emphasis on encouraging young people and children to be more involved in their local cultures and traditions. At the global level, participants are committed to campaigning against the introduction of genetically modified organisms and to continue the fight against patents on life
The new documentation and evidence that Growing Diversity has accumulated will making an important contribution to the growing body of evidence legitimising the claims for greater support for local initiatives to conserve and manage biodiversity. But perhaps the most exciting outcome of the Growing Diversity process is the synergy that it has helped to build between communities and organisations working to promote the local management of biodiversity. It has built foundations on which the growing movement can establish some firm pillars from which to continue to grow and strengthen.

Growing Diversity's original objectives

• Provide a platform for discussion and sharing experiences among groups involved in the local management of biodiversity in order to learn from such experiences, identify bottlenecks and to articulate new strategies and approaches
• Through this process, to help empower the groups involved and strengthen local control
• Raise awareness about the central importance of biodiversity in rural livelihood systems and promote the incorporation of local biodiversity management systems in programmes and policies

The Growing Diversity International workshop

The international workshop on the local control of agricultural biodiversity held in Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil in May 2002 brought the final project cases and experiences together. There were four main languages in use, in addition to the many local languages of the farmers themselves. Therefore translators were on hand to translate simultaneously into English, French, Spanish and Portuguese, into which those using other languages were translated. An impressive organisation was needed with commitment from all involved to ensure that the workshop was successful. The Workshop was organised in partnership with Pesacre, as part of GTA-Acre - Amazonian Working Group, a network of many grassroots organisations working in the Brazilian Amazon Region.

All those attending found the sharing of experiences invaluable. As one participant said, “It feels like a family has come together, unlike other workshops and conferences.” Another added “These exchanges between farmers from different environments and countries are very important – there is so much we can learn from each other.”

GMOs and Growing Diversity don't mix

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are a threat to Growing Diversity, for local people to control their biological resources, for women, for established traditions and cultures, and for agricultural biodiversity as a whole. All participants agreed that there was only one message and one voice on the question of GMOs which was included in their declaration at the end of the international workshop.
“We demand from our governments to ensure a GMO free environment in our countries and in our farming systems and to support our efforts to raise awareness amongst farmers and consumers about the real and potential impact of GMOs to the environment and to human health.”
As was said by one participant at the international workshop, “A farmer in Mexico may decide to build up a wide selection of traditional maize varieties with all the benefits that come with this for a small farmer and their community. But if a neighbouring farmer plants a crop of genetically modified maize plants, then that entire collection of traditional maize varieties would be under threat from contamination. The use of genetically modified crops imposes a threat for all small holder farmers everywhere.”