The UNEP/GEF project, 'In situ conservation of crop wild relatives through enhanced information management and field application’ focus on CWR species, threat situations, conservation measures, etc. It aims to satisfy global needs to improve global food security through effective conservation and use of CWR.
This module presents an overview of the situation of CWR in the partner countries: Armenia, Bolivia, Madagascar, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan.
Armenia is is a significant centre of biodiversity, particularly as it only occupies 6.7% of the Caucus region and more than 125 species are endemic. Armenia possesses many CWR species of domestic crops, including wheat, rye and barley. Wild apple and pear species, as well as fruit and nuts also grow in the country’s forests. During the course of the CWR Project, 2518 species (out of 3600 or 70%) of vascular plants reported for Armenia’s flora were identified as CWR.
Protected areas
In 1958, a network of protected areas was established to protect ecosystems and rare and threatened species. Today, the network includes five state reserves, 22 state reservations and one national park. Of particular interest to CWR conservation is the Erebuni State Reserve, which was established in 1981 to specifically protect the CWR of grain crops.
Bolivia is home to roughly 20,000 species of plants and more than 2600 species of vertebrates; it is a country rich in biological diversity and lies within one of the world’s centres of crop domestication for potato, sweet potato, maize, peanut, cassava, cotton, tobacco, cocoa and peppers.
Protected areas
The National Protected Area System (NPAS) was established in 1997 with the objective to ‘maintain representative samples of biogeographic provinces’. The NPAS contains more than 66 protected areas of national, departmental, municipal or private interest and accounts for more than 15%of the national territory.
Madagascar is characterized by the richness of its flora (12,000 species of vascular plants) and an immense diversity of ecosystems. 85% of the flora of Madagascar is endemic. Mores than 150 CWR covering 30 genera are present in Madagascar. They are distributed throughout the country, but the majority are found in forest ecosystems. Some CWR are related to food plants, including rice and sorghum.
Protected areas
Prior to 2003, the network of protected areas in Madagascar covered two million hectares, managed entirely by Madagascar National Parks. In 2003, the government pledged to triple the area of coverage to six million hectares (10% of the country’s surface area). This total area is now part of the System of Protected Areas of Madagascar (SAPM).
Sri Lanka is an important centre of agrobiodiversity central to the livelihoods of small-scale farmers, rural communities and indigenous peoples. Approximately 75% of the country’s labour force depends on the diversity of agricultural ecosystems. In 2003, an inventory of food CWR species was compiled. The list includes 410 species of food CWR from Sri Lanka, covering 47 families and 122 genera.
Protected Areas
Sri Lanka includes 501 protected areas which cover nearly 26.5% of the total land area of the country. These protected areas are under the authority of either the Department of Wildlife Conservation or the Forest Department. The most notable protected areas include: Hurulu and Sinharaja Biosphere Reserves, Knuckles and Kanneliya-Dediyagala-Nakiyadeniya (KDN) Forest Reserves.
Uzbekistan contains some of the closest wild relatives of cultivated onion, as well as many wild fruit and nut species. The country’s flora contains roughly 4800 species and 70 species belonging to 48 genera of CWR are present, include nutritional, technical and ornamental plants. All five prioritized wild relatives identified during the UNEP/GEF CWR Project grow in the mountain belt.
Protected Areas
The system of protected areas in Uzbekistan consists of nine state reserves (Zapovedniks), two national parks, nine special state reserves (Zakazniks) and one captive breeding centre for rare animals. The total protected area in Uzbekistan is 4.6% of the country’s territory.