Strengthening the scientific basis for IN SITU conservation of agrobiodiversity: Findings of site selection exercise in Bara
cover bara
Year

December 1998

Description

1997 in Nepal, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between IPGRI and the Nepal Agrieultural Research Council (NARC) for their participation in the global in situ project. In 1997, the Technical Co-ordination Committee (TCC) has been formed as well as the multidisciplinary teams. Meetings were held at national and local levels and letters of agreement (LoA) were signed both with NARC and the participating NGO, Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research and Development (LI-BIRD) to conduct in situ project.

Sites have been selected in three physiographic regions of Nepal, representing high, middle and low altitudes agro-ecosystems of Nepal. They are Jumla, Kaski and Bara districts (Table1). Both bari and khet land use systems have been considered with maximal agro-ecological niches when agro-eco-sites are selected. Though the cropping systems vary between bari and khet land, they are inter-linked in terms of socio-economic interaction and nutrient recycling.The above mentioned eco-sites are elected on the basis of the richness of agro-biodiversity and status of on farm conservation, for example, absolute minimal, intermediate and maximal interventions from research and development, and also interest and availability of collaborating research stations. They were selected jointly by national partners and IPGRI scientists in 1996 field visits (Upadhyay and Sthapit, 1995). Primarily those three eco-sites were selected with the basic purpose of in-depth understanding the extent of genetic diversity of crops and within crops and level of genetic erosion influenced by accessibility and developmental interventions. The project will focus on major crops mainly rice, finger millet, indigenous vegetables, buckwheat, barley and neglected crops but the final selection of crops will be done with the farmers.