Crops for the Future wishes all its stakeholders a Happy and Prosperous 2010.

ICRAF/PROTA seeks to recruit a candidate for the position of Chief Executive Officer for the Network Office Africa, reporting directly to the PROTA Board Chair and closely collaborating with the PROTA Network Office in Europe. He/she shall implement the policies of the Board in close consultation with the CEO of the Network Office Europe, and shall be responsible to the PROTA Board for the operation and management of PROTA in Africa and for ensuring that its programmes in Africa are properly developed and carried out in accordance with PROTA’s mission and objectives. The activities of the Network Office Africa will substantially increase over time, as an increasing number of tasks and activities will be gradually transferred from the Network Office Europe to the Network Office Africa before the end of 2012.

We invite you to learn more about us at:

http://www.worldagroforestrycentre.org

http://www.prota.org

The CGIAR Systemwide Program on Collective Action and Property Rights (CAPRi) is accepting abstracts on the topic of “Collective Action, Property Rights, and Conflict in Natural Resources Management” for presentation at an international research workshop to be held in Siem Reap, Cambodia, from June 28 to July 1, 2010.

The vast majority of victims in contemporary violent conflicts are civilians who depend directly on natural resources for their livelihoods. The post‐Cold War era is marked by such “subsistence wars,” mostly intra-state or cross-border conflicts occurring in the world’s poorer regions. Environmental destruction, wasteful resource use, and growing livelihood insecurity in these regions lead to greater competition over access to and ownership of natural resources, which acts as a driving or contributing factor to the conflict. A number of recent studies of this trend have attempted to identify the links between competition over natural resources and violent conflict.

Clearly, the progression from resource competition to violence is not inevitable. While much existing research has focused on how poverty, food insecurity, and scarcity of natural resources lead to violent conflict, the ways in which collective action to address these challenges may help to reduce the threat of conflict has received less attention. Numerous cases from Africa, Asia, and Latin America offer examples of conflict resolution or mitigation through efforts to organize for sustainable resource management, ranging from local to regional scales, and encompassing civil society, private, and state actors. These experiences, however, have not been assessed in comparative perspective. The workshop will address these links systematically, drawing on empirical cases from forests, water, land, fisheries, and other multiple resource systems.

The international workshop will focus on the positive ways in which collective action to resolve problems of allocation and access to renewable natural resources can help manage or prevent social conflict more generally.

Papers submitted should address either or both of the following themes:

1. Collective action, property rights, and conflict management. What are the defining characteristics of natural resource management institutions that contribute to resilience in the face of intense competition among resource uses and user groups? What is the role of collective action in creating and sustaining these institutions? In what ways do clarity, equity, or flexibility in property rights influence the likelihood of competition being resolved peacefully rather than violently?

2. Rebuilding after violent conflict: The role of natural resources management institutions in community building. What is particular about the challenge of rebuilding institutions (including property rights systems) for natural resources management in the wake of violent conflict? What strategies have proven most successful and why? In what ways does the work of investing in collective action to resolve problems of resource allocation and access reinforce more general efforts at societal reintegration?

Answers to these questions can help improve the design of policies and strategies for development interventions in conflict-affected environments, and identify ways to encourage improvements in natural resources management that reinforce cooperation and avert deepening cycles of conflict. The purpose of this workshop is to consolidate and synthesize experience on best practices for policy and institutional change, to communicate these lessons internationally, and to initiate a network of researchers and practitioners with an ongoing commitment to share experience and build capacity in this domain.

Abstract submission

Abstracts of proposed papers must be received by January 15, 2010. The abstract (150 to 400 words) should specify the focus of analysis, the empirical evidence to be presented, methodological approach, key conclusions, and implications for development policy, strategy, or institutional change processes.

Abstracts will be selected based on the following criteria:

-Research focus. Clearly addresses one or both of the themes outlined above, persuasively stated.
-Lessons. Promising lessons for development policy, strategy, or institutional change.
-Empirical evidence. Strong basis of experience or data to underpin the analysis.
-Methodological innovation. Results from qualitative, quantitative methods and trans-disciplinary research approaches are encouraged, with preference for innovative methods that can be replicated or adapted and developed to cover different conditions.
-Diversity of regions and resource systems. The workshop organizers are seeking cases from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and encourage both case study and multi-country comparative analyses.
-Clarity. The abstract should effectively present the main elements of the paper as concise, coherent statement.

Abstracts must be received no later than January 15, 2010. Full papers (6000 to 8000 words) must be submitted by April 15, 2010. Please send abstracts to Eric Haglund at email hidden; JavaScript is required.   Please also contact Eric with any questions or to request further information regarding the workshop.

Workshop arrangements

The workshop will be held in Siem Reap, Cambodia, from June 28 to July 1, 2010, and will include field visits to nearby sites where local partners have engaged in efforts at community-based management and other institutional and legal reforms addressing conflicts over forests, fisheries, land, and water resources. Participants will have the option of a pre-workshop side trip to the historic Angkor Wat temple complex.

CAPRI funds are available to cover travel costs for CGIAR researchers or collaborators selected to present papers at the workshop. Limited funds may also be available to fund the travel of selected non-CGIAR presenters. Funding questions will be resolved on an individual basis.

The workshop is co-sponsored by the Institute for Environmental Security, The Hague, and is made possible through program funding to CAPRi from the governments of Norway, Italy, and the World Bank.

www.capri.cgiar.org

Orchids are the most beautiful and preferred plants by florist and passionate home gardeners. The beautiful flowers have seduced the artists and poets for generations. Interestingly the word orchid is derived from the Greek word ‘orchis’ which means ‘testicles’ probably referring to the bulbous roots. The family of orchids is one of the largest and most diverse in the flowering plant kingdom. Botanist estimate that the orchid family comprise of 25,000-30,000 species with wide range of size, colour and shape. These beautiful plants grow on different substrates. Some derive their nutrition by growing on trees (epiphytes), several other grow on rocks (lithophytes) and a large number grow in soil. Different folklores are associated with orchids. In certain parts of north east India, orchids are a symbol of love and fertility. During certain festivals garlands are made of beautiful flowers of certain orchids and used in religious ceremonies.

The Himalayan region is a hotspot for a variety of orchids. Bhutan is no exception. The rich traditional knowledge of Bhutan which has been perpetuated for centuries by the indigenous and local communities is a living testimony of understanding and using the rich biodiversity of the region. A variety of wild plants are used as food, fibre and medicine for generations. The use of the biodiversity in food has sustained the indigenous people who live in remote mountains, wherein reaching such places would take a couple of days of walk through the thick virgin forest.

The local population in Bhutan knew the importance of orchids in the ecosystem and have developed mechanisms for their sustainable harvest. Due to the beautiful flowers they attract lot of insects, birds and bats. More than eighty percent of the pollination of orchids is by insects. Farmers even now cultivate orchids like Cymbidium sp. in crop fields on bunds and around farm houses. They not only serve as food but also provide lot of environmental services like, facilitating pollination, prevention of soil erosion, pest management in crop husbandry by the birds and predatory insects.

Orchids are used as food in different parts of the world and vanilla is a classic example which has been used as a spice and flavouring agent for centuries. The edible parts are leaves, tubers and bulbs. In Bhutan amongst the many available orchids Cymbidium sp. is a delicacy. In local language it is called as ‘olachotho’ and is available in the local market during the months of August to October. The inflorescence or the flowers are the edible part. The psuedobulbs are also eaten like potatoes with salt but are not available in the market as it is not very popular. But in the villages people do consume the bulbs.

Orchid cuisine in Bhutan

The most common method of cooking Cymbidium sp or ‘olachotho’ in Bhutan is with cheese. The flowers (unopened or opened) are separated from the inflorescence and washed with water. The cleaned flowers are bolied in water for 10 minutes till it gets slightly soft. The local cheese is added in required quantities along with salt and chillies and simmered for 5 minutes. The dish is ready and goes very well with local brown rice. Cheese in an important ingredient in the Bhutanese cuisine and they add cheese very liberally! It has a slight bitter taste which is relished by the local population.

As a connoisseur of food, I have tried cooking this orchid in a different way to ward off the bitterness and it tastes good. The method is quite simple. Separate the flowers from the inflorescence clean them and keep in a bowl. In a pan heat 2 table spoons of edible oil, add half teaspoon of mustard seeds and allow them to splutter. Chopped onions, chillies garlic and tomatoes are added (to taste) to the oil and cooked till the onions and garlic turn golden brown. To this mixture half teaspoon of turmeric powder is added and mixed well. The orchid flowers are now put into the spicy mixture and cooked for 10-15 minutes. Add salt in required quantities according to the taste. It has to be served hot and goes well with rice or bread. The bitterness disappears in this method and tastes yummy.

There are lot of folklores about the medicinal properties of orchids. Some believe that it has aphrodisiac properties while others believe that it can be used as an oral contraceptive. There is a need for more scientific research to establish these facts and rediscover the traditional wisdom for the welfare of the humanity.

A.Thimmaiah

Dr. A. Thimmaiah works with SNV Netherlands Development Organization as Specialist in Organic Agriculture and advises, National Organic Program (NoP) of Ministry of Agriculture, Royal Government of Bhutan.

email: email hidden; JavaScript is required or
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Website: www.snvworld.org

The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and SinerGI (network for Strengthening International Research on Geographical Indications) are pleased to announce the above publication.

The aim of this guide is to provide local stakeholders with a conceptual framework, concrete illustrationsand methodologies for the promotion and preservation of quality products linked to geographical origin and implementation of GIs.

Download the English version of the guide from the www.foodquality-origin.org

French and Spanish versions soon available….