Development Seminar

Ivette Perfecto

"Nature’s Matrix: The Links between Agriculture, Biodiversity and Food Sovereignty"

Sidney Smith Hall, Rm 2125

March 15th, 4:00-5:30pm

Ivan Perfecto if from the School of Natural Resources and Environment

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Given that most of the tropics (where the vast majority of world biodiversity lies) is in a highly fragmented state, it is likely that populations of most organisms exist in a metapopulational state.  This implies that the balance between local extinction and regional migration is the key factor determining whether a given population will persist or not. Local extinctions are always inevitable, which means that the focus of conservation activities should be on the matrix in which the fragments are located. Promoting a high quality matrix is thus key to successful long-term conservation. In this talk I will examine the connections between agriculture and biodiversity conservation and argue that a landscape matrix composed of agroecological farming is key for both biodiversity conservation and achieving food sovereignty. I will present the ecological and socio-political arguments for the need to transition to a smaller-scale agroecological farming and will discuss how this kind of farming systems can generate enough food to feed the world. Finally, I will discuss the emergence of a global peasant movement that strives to achieve food sovereignty.