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Traditional food systems offer a key link between the social and economic resilience of smallholder farmers and pastoralists and the sustainable food and nutrition security of global populations. This paper addresses issues related to socio-cultural diversity and the continuing complex engagement of traditional and modern communities with the plants and animals that sustain them. In light of some of the unhealthful consequences of the 'nutrition transition' to globalized modern diets, the authors define and propose a process for a more successful food system transition that balances agro-biodiversity and processed commodities to support diet diversity, health and social equity alongside sustainable economic growth. We review empirical research in support of practice and policy changes in agriculture, economic development and health domains as well as cross-sectoral and community-based innovation. High-value food crops within domestic and global value chains can be an entry point for smallholders' participation as contributors and beneficiaries of development, while sustainable small farms, as purveyors of environmental and public health services, diversify global options for long-term adaptation in the face of environmental uncertainty. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry.

Monitoring and evaluation are central to ensuring that innovative, multi-scale, and interdisciplinary approaches to sustainability are effective. The development of relevant indicators for local sustainable management outcomes, and the ability to link these to broader national and international policy targets, are key challenges for resource managers, policymakers, and scientists. Sets of indicators that capture both ecological and social-cultural factors, and the feedbacks between them, can underpin cross-scale linkages that help bridge local and global scale initiatives to increase resilience of both humans and ecosystems. Here we argue that biocultural approaches, in combination with methods for synthesizing across evidence from multiple sources, are critical to developing metrics that facilitate linkages across scales and dimensions. Biocultural approaches explicitly start with and build on local cultural perspectives — encompassing values, knowledges, and needs — and recognize feedbacks between ecosystems and human well-being. Adoption of these approaches can encourage exchange between local and global actors, and facilitate identification of crucial problems and solutions that are missing from many regional and international framings of sustainability. Resource managers, scientists, and policymakers need to be thoughtful about not only what kinds of indicators are measured, but also how indicators are designed, implemented, measured, and ultimately combined to evaluate resource use and well-being. We conclude by providing suggestions for translating between local and global indicator efforts.

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...

The N.I. Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry (VIR) holds and maintains collections of various crop plants among the largest and oldest worldwide. Among them, small berry trees have gained attention because of their potential for human health. Small berries, usually containing various valuable compounds such as vitamins or antioxidants in significant quantities, could be used for easily improving the human diet. Subsets of VIR collections of raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) and blue honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea L.) were investigated for genetic diversity. Ninety-five raspberry accessions were genotyped with eight nuclear simple-sequence repeat (microsatellite) markers. Results indicated a fair level of genetic diversity, but also a structure of three main groups in the collection. Blue honeysuckle accessions were genotyped with five intersimple-sequence repeat markers, yielding more than 1100 polymorphic fragments across the 194 accessions. Statistical analysis of these data showed that the subspecies level was key in explaining blue honeysuckle diversity. This study shows that the collections constitute important resources that could be used for either direct consumption goals or breeding of new cultivars. Results may also be used to establish recommendations for efficient conservation of these genetic resources.

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 fruits of three berry species cultivated in Russia, Rubus idaeus, Ribes L. species (R. nigrum and R. nigrum × R. 12 dikuscha) and the less common Lonicera caerulea, were investigated for their minerals and phytochemical compounds. Under the 13 same environmental conditions, differences in contents of nutrients and bioactive compounds among species were found. Lonicera 14 caerulea contained the highest level of K, Ribes L. presented the highest content of Ca, while R. idaeus displayed the highest 15 content of Mg and different micro-elements (Fe, Mn, Zn and Mo). Lonicera caerulea and Ribes L. displayed the highest content 16 of sugars, but the profile of individual sugars differed among each species, with a probable influence on the fruit’s organoleptic 17 quality. The most striking result was the polyphenolic contents of L. caerulea which was significantly higher than that of Ribes 18 L. and R. idaeus, two species already known to contain large amounts of these antioxidant compounds. This difference was 19 much higher when the subclass of anthocyanins is considered. These results revealed L. caerulea as a promising species from a 20 nutritional perspective.

The purpose of this study is to identify key home garden species in order to address basic research questions aimed at understanding farmers' home gardens management practices. The study was conducted in two contrasting Hill and Tarai sites in Nepal with households (HHs) ranging from 355 to 634. Unlike larger production systems, home gardens harbour many species in small areas often with a few crop varieties and species that are not well represented in larger fields. Given the number of species and their small population sizes, species and genetic diversity are best studied by identifying representative key species characterizing the complex productive niches within farms. Although species diversity within community is large (172–342), 24 key species were identified for the study. There is no fixed size of a home garden. The log of home garden size and species richness was positively correlated (r = 0.42,P 0.001). Species richness was significantly higher in vegetable followed by fodder, fruits and spices. This paper also explores the diversity in home gardens to identify the composition and characteristics of the key species and how they are managed, used and conserved. Most of the farmers save the seeds of these home garden species for their own use, but many also exchange and buy and sell seed in local weekly market. Farmers' practices for selecting seed vary according to the reproductive biology of the key home garden species. Home gardens provide the HH with fresh and diverse supply of nutritious food, which improves their self-sufficiency, while conserving diversity on-farm. Despite this, they are neglected in research and development by policy makers and researchers.

Genetic resources for food and agriculture are the biological basis of world food and nutrition security; and they directly or indirectly support the livelihoods of over 2.5 billion people. Genetic diversity gives a species or a population the ability to adapt to changing environments. For resource-poor farmers, adaptive animal breeds, crop varieties and cultivars adapted to particular micro-niches, stresses or uses are the main resources available to maintain or increase production and provide a secure livelihood. The economic value of genetic diversity for productivity and yield traits is discussed in the literature. However, it is difficult to value many other aspects of agricultural biodiversity as these have both direct and indirect values in terms of qualitative traits such as food, nutrition and environmental uses that include adaptation to low input conditions, co-adaptive complexes, yield stability and the consequent reduction of risk, specific niche adaptation, and in meeting socio-cultural need...

Summary This paper contributes to the study of institutional relationships mediating the exchange and distribution of plant genetic resources (PGR) among farmers. Local systems of seed exchange often consider PGR a public good, the rights to which no one should be excluded from. Community-level institutions and local customs that facilitate the exchange of PGR are built around reducing transaction costs for information and of planting material. This paper draws from collective-action theory and empirical evidence from Uzbekistan to propose a conceptual approach for understanding farmer seed exchange systems. The case study shows how informal and formal institutions and local custom structure the exchange of PGR to be collectively beneficial to farmers.

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.

Biofortification, the focus of the HarvestPlus program of the Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research (CGIAR), represents a potentially powerful tool to increase dietary intake of essential nutrients in staple foods. This paper evaluates the compatibility of biofortification with the preferred option of dietary diversification and its potential impacts on the agricultural biodiversity essential for long term sustainability. In poor countries, biofortification requires increasing public investment in agricultural research and infrastructure for success. Rather than cereal commodities, biofortification for developing countries should focus on vegetatively propagated species or in improving quality of coarse cereals, as well as fodders. Community participatory approaches that identify local food resources with nutritional, agronomic and economic advantages to small-scale farmers could complement and set targets for biofortification as one of many approaches to alleviate nutritional deficiencies. Furthermore using agricultural biodiversity to reinforce dietary diversity can help situate biofortification within the larger context of sustainable food-based approaches. In this light, this paper evaluates specific biofortification interventions from environmental, sociocultural, political, economic, ethical, and biomedical perspectives.

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.

Taro, Colocasia esculenta (Araceae), is a widely distributed and important food crop in the humid tropics and subtropics. Relatively neglected by science, much knowledge of genetic diversity in taro is with farmers. Taro genetic resources managed by five ethnic communities and Han farming villages in diverse ecosystems were sampled and characterized in Yunnan Province, southwest China. This study documented a new type of flowering taro selected by farmers which is widely and intensively cultivated for its edible flower. Samples representing 20 traditional cultivars were grouped into five major morphotypes according to ethnobotanical, agro-morphological, and preliminary genetic characterization. Folk taxonomy and uses tended to confirm the five morphotypes recognized by peoples of Yunnan for their distinctive properties and uses. These major taro morphotypes are key units for assessing how patterns of use maintain genetic diversity and to monitor potential genetic erosion. The morphotype groups also suggest possible evolutionary relationships in cultivated taros.

The Program on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS), a new initiative within the ICSU global change programs, aims to integrate research on the stewardship of social-ecological systems, the services they generate, and the relationships among natural capital, human wellbeing, livelihoods, inequality and poverty. The vision of PECS is a world where human actions have transformed to achieve sustainable stewardship of social-ecological systems. The goal of PECS is to generate the scientific and policy-relevant knowledge of social-ecological dynamics needed to enable such a shift, including mitigation of poverty. PECS is a coordinating body for diverse independently funded research projects, not a funder of research. PECS research employs a range of transdisciplinary approaches and methods, with comparative, place-based research that is international in scope at the core. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

Over the last two decades, the importance of conserving genetic resources has received increasing attention. In this context the role of home gardens as repositories of biological diversity has been acknowledged but still a comprehensive, interdisciplinary investigation of their agro-biodiversity is lacking. Home gardens, whether found in rural or urban areas, are characterized by a structural complexity and multifunctionality which enables the provision of different benefits to ecosystems and people. Studies carried out in various countries demonstrate that high levels of inter- and intra-specific plant genetic diversity, especially in terms of traditional crop varieties and landraces, are preserved in home gardens. Families engage in food production for subsistence or small-scale marketing and the variety of crops and wild plants provides nutritional benefits. At the same time, home gardens are important social and cultural spaces where knowledge related to agricultural practices is transmitted and through which households may improve their income and livelihoods. The present article summarizes available literature on the biological and cultural significance of agro-biodiversity in home gardens. It discusses future constraints and opportunities in home garden research, in the prospect of defining and promoting their role in conservation of agricultural biodiversity and cultural heritage.

BackgroundIn spite of the strides made globally in reducing hunger, the problems of micronutrient deficiencies and coexisting obesity and related cardiovascular and degenerative diseases constitute a formidable challenge for the future. Attempts to reverse this trend with single-nutrient intervention strategies have met with limited success, resulting in renewed calls for food-based approaches. The deployment of agricultural biodiversity is an approach that entails greater use of local biodiversity to ensure dietary diversity.ObjectiveTo outline a new strategy proposed by the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) that employs agricultural biodiversity as the primary resource for food security and health.MethodsThe authors carried out a meta-analysis to review and assemble existing information on the nutritional and healthful properties of traditional foods based on a diverse set of case studies and food composition and nutritional analysis studies. The methods highlight particular examples of foods where analysis of nutrient and non-nutrient composition reveals important traits to address the growing problems of malnutrition associated with the rise of chronic diseases. Finally, the authors analyze social, economic, and cultural changes that undermine the healthful components of traditional diets.ResultsBased on this multidisciplinary and comparative approach, the authors suggest a holistic food-based approach that combines research to assess and document nutritional and healthful properties of traditional foods, investigating options in which nutritionally valuable traditional foods can contribute to better livelihoods, and ways that awareness and promotional campaigns can identify healthful components of traditional diets that fit the needs of urban and market-oriented consumers.ConclusionsThere is an urgent need for agricultural research centers, national agricultural research systems, universities, and community-based organizations to work together under a shared policy framework with the aim of developing a strong evidence base linking biodiversity, nutrition, and health. Although these initiatives are still ongoing, the gains realized in small-scale and local pilot efforts have encouraged IPGRI to work with local partners toward the implementation of scale-up efforts in various regions.

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.