Agrobiodiversity and the food crisis

UNEP has just published The environmental food crisis – The environment’s role in averting future food crises. 1 I found out about it because its illustrations are separately available on the GRID-Arendal website and I subscribe to its feed. Which is weird, because I’d have thought UNEP would make more of this. Maybe I just missed the announcement of the launch.

Any agricultural biodiversity in it, I hear you ask. Actually, perhaps surprisingly, yes. There’s a box on “Using crop genetic diversity to combat pests and diseases in agriculture” on page 57. There’s a box on “Enhancing sustainability through the use of crop wild relatives” on page 74. And, though admittedly it doesn’t address agrobiodiversity specifically, there’s a section on increasing research investment in agriculture on page 81. I’ll take that.

Nibbles: Bees, Honey, Fertilizers, Desertification, Nutrition, Decor, Mobile phones

Socializing with plants at Kew

Kew is hosting a festival of ethnobotany, highlighting research into plant-people relationships. Featured topics will likely include medicinal plants in Britain, Spain, China and southern Africa; wild foods in Britain and Africa; natural fibres and basketmaking, home gardens in Britain, spice plants in India, and many more. The emphasis is on hands-on, table-top displays with plenty of opportunity to talk to the exhibitors.

It’s on 7 March, and it sounds like fun. If you go, let us know about it. And send us photos.

Mapping the environment

A UNEP press release about the launch of the “Kenya: Atlas of Our Changing Environment” led me to the website of the global project to which the Kenya publication contributes. It does include agriculture and aquaculture: check out the drop-down menu in the top right-hand corner. You click on the icon on the map and get more information on specific sites, such as Balanta rice farming in Guinea-Bissau, for example. You can download imagery and leave comments about each site.