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Zimbabwe: Conserve Biodiversity for Food Security - Nhema
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 Published by the government of Zimbabwe |
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The Herald (Harare)
23 May 2008
Posted to the web 23 May 2008
Harare
ZIMBABWE should conserve landscape varieties of its major food crops and also integrate biodiversity conservation in the agricultural sector to realise the benefits of dietary diversity and promote food security, the Minister of Environment and Tourism, Cde Francis Nhema, has said.
Speaking at the commemoration of the International Day of Biological Diversity yesterday, Cde Nhema said the nation also needed to guard against biopiracy that is resulting in huge biological losses.
"The role of biodiversity in poverty alleviation cannot be over-emphasised. However, many actions to promote economic development and reduce hunger and poverty could contribute to the loss of biodiversity particularly in Africa where the majority of people continue to depend directly on the natural resource base for their daily livelihoods.
"It is of paramount importance that we integrate biodiversity conservation in our agricultural landscapes for better dietary diversity.
"Although agriculture is a major driver of biological diversity loss, it also contributes to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity," he said.
Cde Nhema said farmers and agricultural producers were custodians of agricultural biodiversity hence should possess the knowledge needed to manage and sustain it.
He said the loss of bio-diversity was being compounded by climate change, which is threatening the extinction of many ecosystems and economic loss for the region.
Biological Diversity Day, which is commemorated on May 22 annually, seeks to recognise the importance of all living organisms that make up the environment and how best they can be preserved for future generations.
This year, the day was commemorated under the theme "Biodiversity and Agriculture" in view of global efforts to promote food security.
Cde Nhema said there was also need to closely monitor crop diversity, which is a subset of total biodiversity that includes plants that people rely on for food, clothes and shelter.
"Crop diversity is essential for food security as it ensures better yields, resistance to pests and disease and adaptation to climatic variations," he said.
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Cde Nhema said food security was under threat from the introduction and spread of invasive alien species and terminator gene technology.
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