In situ

July 15, 2008July 15, 2008

Conserving palms

Two palm stories were in the news yesterday. First, from Brazil, how a local community is changing its ways in an effort to exploit the juÃ§ara palm (Euterpe edulis) more sustainably. Then, from India, news of a biotechnological trick to determine the sex of palmyrah palms without having to wait for them to grow up.

I’ve been having to do rather more thinking about palm conservation than is altogether comfortable at work lately — coconut is such a beast, really. That, and these stories, and the need for some displacement activity got me googling. Kew and the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden seem to be at the forefront of palm conservation. There have been some successes in the field, but I’m beginning to think that at least for coconut the best bet may be Roland Bourdeix’s islet idea.

June 26, 2008June 26, 2008

European Commission directive on landraces

And here’s the text of the Directive announced in an earlier post. As it starts being interpreted and implemented (or not) in different ways in different member countries, it will be interesting to monitor what actually happens to genetic diversity. I hope someone’s gathering the baseline data for this natural experiment, or “randomized evaluation” as I believe economists call them. The floor is open for discussion!

LATER: Perhaps the Farm Seed Opportunities project will set that baseline?

June 17, 2008February 27, 2009

Nibbles: No-dig, Joe, Gritty Veg, Insect food, Forests, Finger millet, Bees

No-dig, (almost) no-water surplus veggies in Lala land. Via.
Smell the coffee and wake up.
Yet more urban agriculture reviving neighbourhood culture.
Giant grasshopper is good for you.
And speaking of Google Earth (see below): you can use it to track disappearing forests as well as disappearing gourds.
“Our mother who grinds ragi at home is far more superior to our father who rules this country.” Finger millet makes a comeback in India.
Aussie report urges honey bee protection. Good on ya, mate.

June 16, 2008June 16, 2008

Nibbles: Bananas, Cassava, Coconuts, Potato, Training, Wild poultry, EU regulations, Saving seeds

No rice? Eat bananas!
“Whatever the cultivation and consumption of cassava mean to us as Jamaicans, it cannot be just a source of comic relief.”
Climate change good for coconuts. Well that’s a relief.
Spud slide show.
Gubernator helps Chile with its genetic resources. Sarah Connor unavailable for comment.
Galliformes conservation in SE Asia. No, nothing to do with the French.
“…the white part of the leek must represent at least one-third of the total length or half the sheathed part.” Yeah, that makes sense.
“You really see that it’s the poor and persecuted who have been the seed savers.”

June 9, 2008May 28, 2009

Protected area papers online

The whole of GAIA’s March issue on biodiversity conservation in protected areas is freely accessible online! Will take a while to go through that little lot. But while you’re at it, why not also check out a recent paper on how urbanization will affect protected areas.