This document discusses a research project examining the relationship between land use practices, agrobiodiversity, ecosystem services, and social resilience in eight biocultural landscapes around the world. The project aims to develop an analytical framework to assess the impacts of land use decisions on agrobiodiversity and ecosystem services, and identify land use strategies that maintain agrobiodiversity. Young researchers are participating and using local knowledge to document crop diversity, map resources, and understand community perceptions of different land uses and resilience. The research is supported by the Christensen Fund and conducted in partnership with local communities.

1. PARAGROBIODIVERSITY,LANDANDPEOPLE
PARAGROBIODIVERSITY,LANDANDPEOPLE
AGROBIODIVERSITY
LAND AND PEOPLE
Agrobiodiversity perspectives in land-use decisions
Landscapes for
Agrobiodiversity
Aymara community
of Cachilaya, Lake
Titicaca,
Bolivia
The Lake Titicaca
landscape is a micro-
centre of crop diversity for potato,
quinoa, cañahua and other crops.
Custodian farmers in Cachilaya
safeguard about 100 potato varieties.
Hanku village in
the Himalayan
highlands, Jumla,
Nepal
Under-researched
crops, such as cold-
tolerant rice, finger millet, foxtail millet
and buckwheat, form the basis for
food security for the communities in
this high altitude agricultural system
in Nepal.
Lyngngam
community in
Meghalaya,
India
The Lyngngams
practice rotational
cultivation and maintain a rich
diversity of local crops. In the
photo, community members are
participating in an assessment of
ecosystem services.
Abolhassani tribal
confederacy in
Touran Biosphere
Reserve,
Iran
In this desert landscape,
the communities have developed
ingenious strategies for the adaptive
management of local resources and
livestock diversity.
Changing land-use practices can result in a re-
duction of agrobiodiversity—the crop, livestock
and aquatic diversity and the biodiversity asso-
ciated with ecosystem functions, such as polli­
nation and soil productivity, that are essential
to agricultural production. Landscapes around
the world are undergoing simplification due to
changing patterns of land use, often driven by
modern intensive farming. The consequences
of land-use changes for agrobiodiversity are
not adequately recognized, with negative con-
sequences for its capacity to support sustain-
ability, resilience and rural livelihoods.
The research
The project brings together young researchers
from diverse backgrounds and disciplines. It
helps them build capacity to use participatory
approaches to:
• Assess and describe the diversity of crops,
livestock breeds, medical plants and wild
foods
• Map local resources and ecosystem
functions
• Capture local perceptions of the resilience
and ecosystem services provided by
different land uses.
The Project
Together with partners from around the world,
thePlatformforAgrobiodiversityResearch(PAR)
is undertaking an interdisciplinary research
project in eight biocultural landscapes. The
aims of the project are to:
• Develop a framework that supports the
analysis of the consequences of land-use
decisions on agrobiodiversity, ecosystem
services and social-ecological resilience
• Build the evidence base for land-use
strategies that favour the maintenance and
use of agrobiodiversity.
The research is carried out by Sonthana
Maneerattanachaiyong, Stanley Zira, Helga
Gruberg Cazón, Lal Kumara Wakkumbure,
Maede Salimi, Ghanimat Azhdari, Epsha
Palikhey, Reuben Mendakor Shabong,
Alejandro González Álvarez, Alberto Tarraza
Rodríguez and Dunja Mijatovic; with the
support of Natalia Estrada Carmona,
Sajal Sthapit, Gennifer Meldrum and Toby
Hodgkin. We thank our colleagues and
friends for their support, and most of all the
local communities.
This project is supported by The
Christensen Fund.
Fundación Gaia Pacha
Visit to San Din Daeng by the research team, Thailand.
Karen communities
in Inthanon
National Park,
Chiang Mai,
Thailand
Indigenous Karen
farmers practice rotational cultivation.
Their land management based on
traditional knowledge promoted the
regeneration of the forest.
Udakumbura in
Kandy,
Sri Lanka
Forests interspersed
with black pepper
gardens hold hundreds of
species of wild plants, many of which
are used for food and medicine. In
the photo, community members are
engaged in participatory mapping.
Sierra del Rosario
Biosphere Reserve,
Cuba
Shade coffee and
home gardens are
part of the agriculture-
forest mosaic that hosts close to
900 species of plants, 115 birds, 35
reptiles, 16 amphibians and 11 bats.
Ndebele
community in
Tshongogwe,
Lupane,
Zimbabwe.
In the dryland savannah,
communities rely on wild resources
including forest fruits and insects. In
the photo, community members are
mapping land uses.