Whereas the Mediterranean meals tradition is being quick eroded, so is the plant and animal genetic variety that underpins its healthfulness. Shrinking ranges of agrobiodiversity make farmers extra weak to local weather dangers, since much less variety in farming programs interprets into diminished choices to deal with change.
The Mediterranean is without doubt one of the world’s eight ‘facilities of origin’, recognized by the Russian botanist and geneticist Nikolai Vavilov within the early twentieth century: geographical areas the place at this time’s crops originated, and the place, in consequence, the genetic variety of these crops is exceptionally excessive. Particularly, wheats, barleys, forage crops, greens, fruits, spices and ethereal oil crops present extraordinarily excessive variety within the Mediterranean. These crops have developed resilience traits that allow them to deal with the Mediterranean area’s sizzling and dry summers. Lots of of types chosen by generations of farmers, particularly small and medium farmer enterprises, characterize the substances to arrange the recipes that make the Mediterranean weight loss program wholesome, tasty and culturally wealthy.
Dropping this variety undermines the very survival of the Mediterranean weight loss program and a possibility to construct a sustainable meals system within the area.
Bringing the Mediterranean weight loss program again to the desk is the very best resolution for counteracting the consequences of local weather change, malnutrition and biodiversity losses which are jeopardizing the meals and safety of the Mediterranean area. A primary step is knowing the present standing of agrobiodiversity within the area and to what extent international locations are contributing to its sustainable use and conservation by means of their insurance policies and actions.
The Agrobiodiversity Index report 2021: Assessing Mediterranean Meals Techniques analyses the state of agrobiodiversity in a set of Mediterranean international locations, taking a look at agrobiodiversity in meals consumption, manufacturing, and genetic useful resource conservation. It sheds mild on the actions and insurance policies international locations are already taking to make use of and protect their agrobiodiversity. It additionally gives concrete suggestions on what practices and insurance policies international locations might strengthen or put in place to mainstream agrobiodiversity into their meals programs.
The report focuses on ten goal international locations: Algeria, Egypt, France, Italy, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Spain, Syria, and Tunisia. These international locations had been chosen to incorporate all international locations with no less than 1% of the Mediterranean area inhabitants and the place the official language could possibly be understood by the Agrobiodiversity Index staff (to allow evaluation of dedication ranges in coverage paperwork), particularly: English, French, Spanish, Italian or Arabic. The report contributes to strengthening proof on the advantages of agrobiodiversity in Mediterranean international locations for wholesome individuals and a wholesome planet.
The report additionally fed into the second worldwide Agrobiodiversity Congress, held in 2021, to tell and information the discussions in the course of the occasion. Key messages from the report might be used to stimulate discussions at nation stage on the coverage actions wanted to higher combine agrobiodiversity into the meals system and improve adherence to the Mediterranean weight loss program.
