Global & European Strategies for Plant Conservation
ESPC Target 13
The decline of plant resources, and associated indigenous and local knowledge,
innovations and practices that support sustainable livelihoods,
local food security and health care halted
TARGET 13. CONSERVING LOCAL AND INDIGENOUS PLANT KNOWLEDGE & RESOURCES
Information: Developing and testing methods for improving all aspects plant conservation should be a priority for research organisations, NGOs, state agencies, and individuals. All successful methods should be disseminated as widely as possible to be replicated in other countries and regions.
Targets: (for details of lead partners download pdf of ESPC)
GSPC target 3
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The decline of plant resources, and associated indigenous and local knowledge, innovations and practices that support sustainable livelihoods, local food security and health care halted. |
ESPC 13.1 |
Projects in place in 4 European sub-regions demonstrating sustainable methods of conserving plant resources (crop wild relatives, land races, medicinal plants etc) whilst supporting European livelihoods (see also target 9 & associated activities). |
ESPC 13.2 |
Develop a handbook/series of case studies, in local languages, to provide training in methods and demonstrate the value of ethnobotanical projects to individuals, communities, researchers and children, in order to halt the loss of plant resources and local knowledge in Europe. |
Actions to mitigate the effects of climate change: parts of the proposed projects or case studies could focus on plant species with specific environmental requirements that would be able to adapt to the predicted changes caused by climate change or on communities based in regions already experiencing the effects of climate change as a basis for understanding how human/plant relations might change due to the effects of climate change. |
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European Projects/Databases/Organisations:
Organisation
Project/Database/Aims
Online DB
CBD
(Article 8(j))
The Convention on Biological Diversity has a homepage specifically devoted to the implementation of article 8(j) – Traditional Knowledge, Innovations & Practices
ECPGR
European Cooperative Programme on Plant Genetic Resources – includes an In Situ/On Farm Network which works to conserve local plant resources and local knowledge about them
Royal Botanic Garden Kew
Economic Botany Bibliography www.kew.org/kbd/aboutpage.do
yes
Royal Botanic Garden Kew
Sustainable Uses of Plants Group (formerly the Centre for Economic Botany) – resources include bibliographic databases, economic botany collections, Economic Botany Data Collection Standards.
RUBIA
EU funded research project into the ethnobotany of the Circum-Mediterranean region – focussing on traditional technologies, tools and uses of wild and neglected plants for food, medicine, textiles, dying and handicrafts.
Society for Economic Botany
(European chapter)
The Society for Economic Botany is a forum for researchers in ethnobotany and other forms of economic botany – it holds an annual conference and publishes the journal Economic Botany.
Link to case-studies/tool kits: (.pdf)
- RUBIA
- Kew Wild Plants and Livelihoods Project
- Flora Celtica
- People and Plants International
International Projects:
- People and Plants International – international ethnoecology knowledge network – has programmes around the world including local training in Ethnoecology. (http://peopleandplants.org/)
- The Global Non-Timber Forests Products (NTPF) Network (http://ntfp.inbar.int/wiki/index.php/Main_Page)
- The International Centre for Underutilised Crops (http://www.icuc-iwmi.org/)
- The Society for Economic Botany (http://www.econbot.org/)
- See also projects/organisations under targets 9, 11 and 12