Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity

In Ethiopia, cultivated plants, domestic and wild animals, forest and rangeland plants, and microbial genetic resources are conserved in-situ in various parts of the country. This has partly been achieved through 24 community seed banks [ ] 103 Community seed banks increase local participation in conservation of farmers’ varieties In Ethiopia, cultivated plants, domestic and wild animals, forest and range land plants, and microbial genetic resources are conserved in-situ at 24 community seed banks (CSBs) in various parts of the country. The seed banks are owned and run by 6,620 local farmers, of which almost 70 per cent are females. This has enabled conservation of 61 varieties of 34 field and horticultural crop species, chiefly enset (Ensete ventricosum), bread wheat (Tiriticum aestivum), durumwheat (Tiriticum durum), tef (Eragrostis tef), barely (Hordeum vulgare), sorghum (Sor- ghum bicolor), chickpea (Cicer arieti- num) and coffee (Coffea arabica). The CSBs facilitated the restoration of 49 farmers’ varieties of 21 species that were lost from the locality. Cur- rently, four additional CSBs are under construction so as to implement the conservation undertaking in extend- ed territories. In an effort to conserve forest and rangeland plant genetic resourc- es, inventories and socioeconomic assessments were carried out mainly to identify potential sites for con- servation. As a result, 19 forest areas were designated as in-situ sites where 1,276 woody plant species have been conserved. Nine locally vanished indigenous tree species were restored at these sites. The Ethiopian on-farm conserva- tion initiative aims at establishing a link between in-situ and ex-situ con- servation, which are seen as comple- mentary in a way that maximizes the retention and continued evolution of the genetic qualities of farmers’ varieties. It also aims to avoid the loss of variation during rejuvenation and maintenance in formal gene banks. This means that the in-situ conserva- tion undertakings must be part of the existing cropping system since this is a way to maintain the complex inter- action of genetically diverse farmers’ varieties with their associated natural environment. Community storage of seeds has been practiced in Ethiopia for millennia to ensure availability in times of shortage. With the current approach, farmers store portions of their harvest in the CSBs and the seeds are available for retrieval when required. So far, the Ethiopian Biodi- versity Institute has established and is working with 24 CSBs, which have 3,717 male and 2,902 female members and conserve 3–12 farmers’ varieties. The CSBs serve as a springboard for increased local participation in the process of conservation of farmers’ varieties. They are also used as a means of organizing local support for conservation, training farmers in conservation activities, building low cost storage facilities, and linking extension agents, CSBs staff, and farmers. Tigray, Ethiopia Ethiopia W ith the objective of halting biodiversity loss and ensuring sustainable utilization, several activities have been undertaken in Ethiopia, including in-situ conservation of plants, animals and microbial genetic resources via community conservation schemes, aquatic ecosystems, protected area systems and biosphere reserves. This approach is complemented by ex-situ mechanisms using cold rooms, field gene banks and botanical gardens. Rod Waddington on flickr