Final Corrected Banko Janakari 19-1.pmd


Banko Janakari, Vol. 19, No. 1

41

Agrobiodiversity Conservation to deal with Climate Change

S. Nepal

Short note

Climate change is real and the effects of  climate
change vary with different spatial scales. At a

broader global scale, climate change may have
negligible impact whereas at the local and regional
scales, the impact may be severe and substantial. For
instance, at the local/regional levels of  an agricultural
ecosystem, climate change may impact agricultural
sustainability in two interrelated ways. First, it may
reduce the long-term ability of  the agroecosystem
to provide enough food and fiber for the world’s
population and second, it may induce alteration in
agro-climatic conditions and spatially shift
agroecosystems, thus   endangering natural habitats
and their floral and faunal diversities. Climate change
is, therefore, a serious concern for agricultural
ecosystems and there is a need for an agrobiodiversity
conservation approach to combat with these
problems.

Agrobiodiversity comprises of  all the components
of  biological diversity pertinent to food and
agriculture present in agro-ecosystems, including
microbes, insect pollinators, and the hedgerows that
support soil stability and provide a home for wildlife.
It also provides opportunities to develop and
implement adaptation strategies to the biotic and
abiotic stresses resulting from climate change, while
mitigating the emissions of  green house gases. So,
agrobiodiversity can be the basis for reducing
emissions of  green house gases, sequestering carbon,
suppressing pests and diseases, using water and
nutrients efficiently and maintaining the productivity
of  agriculture as a whole. Thus in the long run,
agrobiodiversity can be the basis for enhancing food
security, livelihood, and the conservation of   resource
base to mitigate climate change.

Agrobiodiversity based conservation approaches to
address the climate change include: i) genetic
enhancement of  crops for a more changing and
heterogeneous environment, ii) use of  integrated pest
management (IPM) with the best combination of
cultural, biological and technological measures of

pest control,  iii) change in cropping patterns by
promoting agroforestry, agroenergy and new crop
species, and iv)organic and traditional farming
systems with less dependence on energy-intensive
fertilizers, chemicals, and concentrated feeds.

Recently, a new concept of  Agrobiodiversity
Conservation Credit (ACC) has been proposed to
address climate change. Climate change might
consider exploring credits for carbon sequestration
in soils through conservation tillage as well as
agroforestry and other climate friendly practices (no
use of  fertilizers/pesticides) in agricultural
landscapes.  Compared to orthodox methods of
agriculture, these approaches offer higher
productivity per unit area, easy management for
agricultural systems and less harm to human health
and environment.

All these approaches have the potentials to address
climate change. However, the most challenging job
to implement these approaches is to convince people
to accept these approaches. People’s participation at
various levels of  planning and policy making may be
effective for addressing these people. A key to address
climate change may be increasing participation of
the general public, private sectors, policy makers and
research institutions to integrate agrobiodiversity
research in various national and international agenda
and plans to revitalize conservation efforts in
agrobiodiversity.

In conclusion, climate change is real and inevitable;
its effects cannot be completely controlled but large
reductions of  adverse impacts are possible when
adaptation and mitigation measures are fully
implemented. Agrobiodiversity conservation
supported by integrated systems of  environmental,
social and political sciences is one of the best
approaches to climate change and to influence
multiple ecosystem services such as agricultural
productivity, water quality, energy conservation and
human health.


	Button1: 
	Text2: Graduate Research Assistant, University of North Dakota, E-mail: sandhya.nepal@nodak.und.edu