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International audience; n AbstrAct: Measuring progress toward sustainability goals is a multifaceted task. International , regional, and national organizations and agencies seek to promote resilience and capacity for adaptation at local levels. However, their measurement systems may be poorly aligned with local contexts, cultures, and needs. Understanding how to build effective, culturally grounded measurement systems is a fundamental step toward supporting adaptive management and resilience in the face of environmental, social, and economic change. To identify patterns and inform future efforts, we review seven case studies and one framework regarding the development of culturally grounded indicator sets. Additionally, we explore ways to bridge locally relevant indicators and those of use at national and international levels. The process of identifying and setting criteria for appropriate indicators of resilience in social-ecological systems needs further documentation , discussion, and refinement, particularly regarding capturing feedbacks between biological and social-cultural elements of systems. n Indigenous and other place-based, local communities increasingly face an assortment of externally codified development and sustainability goals, regional commitments, and national policies and actions that are designed, in part, to foster adaptation and resilience at the local level. Resilience refers to the capacity of a system to absorb shocks and disturbances and to catalyze renewal, adaptation, transformation, and innovation (Béneét al. 2013). Identifying and setting criteria for the underlying factors that confer resilience to a community are the first steps toward effectively aligning external sustainability-seeking processes, often associated with resourcing mechanisms, with locally relevant and locally embraced approaches to sustaining environmental health and community well-being in the face of environmental, social, and economic change (Fazey et al. 2011; Folke et al. 2003).

Traditional agricultural communities manage biodiversity at various scales, creating dynamic landscape mosaics of fields, gardens, orchards, pastures and ecosystem patches. Agricultural biodiversity and associated traditional knowledge are essential to the climate change resilience of these landscapes, but their roles are largely overlooked by researchers and policy makers. A review of 172 case studies and project reports from around the world shows that agricultural biodiversity contributes to resilience through a number of, often combined, strategies: the protection and restoration of ecosystems, the sustainable use of soil and water resources, agro-forestry, diversification of farming systems, various adjustments in cultivation practices and the use of stress-tolerant crops and crop improvement. Using social–ecological systems theory as a conceptual framework, these practices are examined to identify indicators of resilience in agricultural landscapes. The indicators are a first step in the development...

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present an approach aimed at facilitating nature conservation that builds on the ecological and social synergies that exist in traditionally managed landscapes in and around protected areas and integrates conservation and social goals to achieve a reduction in the levels of marginalization of indigenous and local communities while preventing ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on literature research and insights from political and historical ecology and systems theory, a framework was developed to aid the understanding of human‐environment interactions taking place in traditionally managed ecosystems and landscapes and to monitor the role that these interactions play in the maintenance of such systems.FindingsVirtually all ecosystems and landscapes must be seen as coupled social‐ecological systems whose ability to respond to stresses and change derives from ecological and social characteristics, as well as from the link between these natural and human components. A variety of mechanisms by which indigenous and rural communities help anchor biodiversity and contribute to social‐ecological resilience were identified.Originality/valueThis paper challenges the rationale behind exclusionary approaches to nature conservation. Indicators are developed to facilitate a shift towards the widespread adoption of “human‐centered” conservation practices, in which nature conservation benefits from the inclusion and empowerment of human communities instead of their exclusion and marginalization.

The increased awareness of the health protecting properties of non-nutrient bio-active compounds found in fruits and vegetables, has directed immense attention to vegetables as vital components of daily diets. For sub-Saharan African (SSA) populations, this attention on vegetables as vital dietary component s is significant, as leafy vegetables have long been known to be indispensable ingredients in traditional sauces that accompany carbohydrate staples. African indigenous and traditional leafy vegetables thus have a pivotal role in the success of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global initiative on fruits and vegetables consumption in the sub-continent. The joint WHO/FAO 2004 report on a Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, recommended a minimum daily intake of 400g of fruits and vegetables. Also, at their 2004 joint Kobe workshop, the WHO and FAO developed a framework that proposes ways to promote increased production, availability and access, and adequate consumption of fruits and vegetables. This framework is expected to guide the development of cost-efficient and effective interventions for the promotion of adequate consumption of fruits and vegetables at the national and sub-national level. This paper explores ways to integrate African indigenous leafy vegetables into the global fruit and vegetable programme initiative, and identifies some existing barriers to their effective mobilization. African Leafy Vegetables are increasingly recognized as possible contributors of both micronutrients and bio-active compounds to the diets of populations in Africa. Available data on the more commonly consumed varieties point to antioxidants containing leafy vegetables that can also provide significant amounts of beta carotene, iron, calcium and zinc to daily diets. How can the successful Nairobi leafy vegetable experience, be mainstreamed across the sub- continent to ensure their mobilization and integration in WHO’s fruit and vegetable initiative? The Kobe framework recommends that fruit and vegetable promotion interventions should consider the process from production to consumption. Very little is known about the production and consumption of African Leafy Vegetables. An expert report on patterns of vegetable consumption in the sub- continent lists common vegetables as onions , carrots, tomatoes and cabbage. Clearly, information on production, processing, distribution and marketing, preparation and consumption of vegetable species relevant to SSA, are vital and constitute the prop on which intervention programmes can be developed. Through its long collaboration with national governments, Bioversity International is well placed to catalyze the process of data generation and dissemination by countries in the sub-continent.

The cultural, ecological, and commercial forces that influence Vietnamese home gardens are explored in this 3-year International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) study. Home gardens located in four different ecosystems within Vietnam were surveyed to determine species composition, area, structure, commercialization, household socio-economic status, and gender division in decision-making. Four key species were chosen for in depth ethnobotanical and genetic diversity studies; preliminary results from participatory appraisal workshops are reported including farmer varietal preferences, descriptors, and a seasonal calendar. Cultural importance of home gardens and their species in Vietnam is also discussed. The study concludes that richness and stability of home gardens make them important sites for in situ conservation within ecozones, and great scope exists for the utilization of this information to improve nutritional and income-generating development projects.

Background There are few publications on the use and diversity of wild leafy vegetables (WLVs) in Morocco. In order to address this gap, we conducted ethnobotanical field work in Taounate, Azilal and El House regions. Methods Ethnobotanical collections, free listing, qualitative interviews and a 7 day food frequency questionnaire. Results More than 30 species in 23 genera of WLV were identified. Of these 4 had not previously recorded as WLVs used in Morocco in the literature. WLVs were used by 84% of households surveyed in Taounate (N = 61, in March 2005), and were used up to 4 times a week. Qualitative data revealed both positive and negative perceptions of WLVs and detailed knowledge about preparation among women. The greatest diversity of WLV knowledge and use was in the Rif Mountains (Taounate). There was significant variation in nomenclature and salience of WLVs, not only between regions, but also between villages in the same region. Within the same region (or even village) different local names were used for a given species or genus, and different species were identified by the same local name (including species from different botanical families). Data showed greater overlap in knowledge among villages using the same market. Conclusion We believe the results suggest that markets are important sites for WLV knowledge transmission.

Simplification of human diets associated with increased accessibility of inexpensive agricultural commodities and erosion of agrobiodiversity leads to nutrient deficiencies and excess energy consumption. Non-communicable diseases are growing causes of death and disability worldwide. Successful food systems in transition effectively draw on locally-available foods, food variety and traditional food cultures. In practice this process involves empirical research, public policy, promotion and applied action in support of multi-sectoral, community-based strategies linking rural producers and urban consumers, subsistence and market economies, and traditional and modern food systems. Implementation of the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute's Global Nutrition Strategy in Sub-Saharan Africa offers a useful case study. Relevant policy platforms, in which biodiversity conservation and nutrition are and should be linked, include the Millennium Development Goals, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, Convention on Biological Diversity, Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, Food-Based Dietary Guidelines, Right to Adequate Food and UN Human Rights Commission's Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The largely unexplored health benefits of cultivated and wild plants include micronutrient intake and functions related to energy density, glycaemic control, oxidative stress and immuno-stimulation. Research on the properties of neglected and underutilized species and local varieties deserves higher priority. In tests of the hypothesis that biodiversity is essential for dietary diversity and health, quantitative indicators of dietary and biological diversity can be combined with nutrition and health outcomes at the population level. That traditional systems once lost are hard to recreate underlines the imperative for timely documentation, compilation and dissemination of eroding knowledge of biodiversity and the use of food culture for promoting positive behaviours.