Join us for today’s webcast featuring farmers, experts, and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack discussing the role of sustainable agriculture in biodiversity preservation.
To take part in the online discussion and have your tweets appear in the auditorium, use hashtag #BWT2010. To learn more about the other two events of the Biodiversity World Tour visit www.biodiversityworldtour.com/events
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How is biodiversity conservaiton measured? Do producers use biodiversity metrics? If so which ones?
Me: Warwick Manfrinato, agronomist in Brazil since 1985, today an agriculture and forestry consultants, linked with the Agriculture School at the University of Sao Paulo. Have worked in farming operations in Canada (BC) and California and Colorado.
The first questioner from the audience has pointed to something very important to us here in Brazil. And seeking to help out our Brazilian representative:
I think with the Brazilian perspective is that the regulatory system is strong, as Camila has mentioned, but it is also true that economic sustainability has played a stronger factor.
In perspective, it seems that historically the sustainability of agriculture system has placed its biggest concern in the economic view, ie, focus in profit. Over the last 2 decades, environmental issues has created another STRONG factor on the table. I think it will, given time, find a new balance, to answer the first questioner.
For instance, in the subsidy side of things, in Brazil, there is no subsidy so we struggle against national subsidies in other countries and there are those that defend the concept that farmers here are “forced” to seek natural fertility of new soils from deforestation expansions, as the normal way of industrializing existing agriculture areas, which creates an environmental unsustainable process. So the globalization process needs to be considered in the perspective of sustainable discussions.
[...] Here’s our panel at the Biodiversity World Tour town hall mtg. with Sec. of Ag Vilsack (right). It has been a very interesting discussion with lots of questions about organic vs. traditional agriculture and sustainability. I believe you’ll be able to watch a recording of the session on the BWT website. [...]
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