Biodiversity: Agrobiodiversity
Time: 30 October 2002, 13:30-14:30 Location: C-2 Chair: Mike Horner, IBEX Presenters/ Participants: Dr. Thomas Schauer, German Society for Rare Agricultural Plants Reporter: John Copland (ICVolunteers) Languages: English Key words:
Dr. Thomas Schauer of the German Society for Rare Agricultural Plants, presented his project for the Preservation of Agro-biodiversity in the Republic of Moldova to an audience of four: Mr. Mike Horner (Moderator), Mr. Peter Sissons (journalist), Dr Theodore Modis (Growth Dynamics), and the Reporter. His remarks were in two parts: The Internet and Diversity, and the Case of Moldova.
Using specific examples, Dr Schauer showed how the increasing use of IT, and specifically the Internet was reducing diversity in many areas. Of the 6500 known languages in the world, two are disappearing each week, and on the Internet, 43% of the communications are in English, for an English-speaking
population in the world of 6%. Cultural diversity is also being reduced to the lowest common denominator and IT is responsible for significant increases in energy use and electronic waste. IT is also leading to increased resource consumption and thus directly to a reduction of biological diversity.
This reduction led him to a description of Moldova and his project which wants to support the preservation of agricultural biodiversity in the Republic. Much of this diversity has been lost already but part of it continues to survive in private kitchen gardens. Local rare species and varieties will be collected in the area of the town of Costesti and will be cultivated in two gardens. In a preservation garden the genetic potential will be secured, and in a school garden the varieties will be planted for educational purposes, awareness building and distribution.
Moldova was chosen for this project as it has a low GNP of only 0, a decayed infrastructure and severe poverty. However it is this poverty and lack of consuming power that has led to the maintenance of kitchen gardens, which are likely to disappear if and when the economy improves - thus the need for specially supervised gardens.
Although the funding required (EU 90 000) is small, potential sponsors have not been found, though the German Society for Technical Cooperation has shown interest. Mr Sissons suggested that in addition to organizations such as the Kew Garden Trust in the UK, the ideal sponsors would seem to be found among seed companies and garden centers.
Conclusions
It was concluded that the project should be ?tuned up¹ to market the idea to commercial sponsors, placed on a website, and perhaps circulated to prospective donors by a more international group, such as the Bellagio Forum.
