CDS is organising a half day workshop on Agrobiodiversity in Kerala on Wednesday, the 21st of August starting at 2.30 PM. It will be at the Joan Robinson Hall. The workshop will discuss the draft report on ‘Institutional support for the management of agrobiodiversity in Kerala’ . The report, sponsored by UN FAO India, has been authored by Sunil Mani, S M Mohan Kumar, V. Santhakumar and T.Abhilash.
Abstract of the report
Kerala is one of the most biodiverse states in the Indian union. The state has put in place an elaborate network of policies and institutions to maintain and indeed grow agrobiodiversity in the state. The present paper undertakes a detailed review of these by evaluating the policies and laws that impact on agrobiodiversity either positively or negatively. It further considers the role of public research institutes that generate the requisite knowledge for maintaining biodiversity and the cases of a number of local self-governments which have been successful in promoting agrobiodiversity. The public research institutes and nongovernmental organizations have played an important role in not just generating newer plant verities and but also play a very important role in conserving existing verities. Based on the analysis, the study identifies a number of researchable issues that may be taken up in future, which will essentially contribute to the management of agrobiodiversity in the state. The ensuing analysis while showing that the state has a number of exemplary policies, laws and practices, its success at the level of local self-governments depend crucially on whether agrobiodiversity is tied to the livelihood strategies of ordinary people. Further, it also depends on the presence of certain key mentors or charismatic leaders within the local self-government who can make a crucial difference. Merely relying on institutional forms such as Biodiversity Management Councils and Peoples Biodiversity Registers are unlikely to produce the desired results.
For further details contact: Tilak Baker at tilak@cds.ac.in