As you drive out of Amman, the capital of Jordan, the scarcity of water becomes evident. The Northern Arabian Desert is ever-expansive, covering more than 75% of the country. However, life still is ubiquitous in the arid areas, starting with the Bedouins inhabitants who use a specific term to name this region, Badia.

In the heart of the Badia

Badia is home to numerous Bedouin tribes whose history lays the foundation of the Western civilization. In many villages, the remnants of castles and canals bear witness to the glorious cultures who flourished in this region since 10 000 years ago. Bedouins were historically nomadic, but the majority of the population is now permanently settled in villages.

Diversity of arid habitats leads to thriving biodiversity

At the cross road between Europe, Asia and Africa, the Badia hosts a great variety of habitats ranging from sand dunes, black lava desert and Hamada. The specificity and interactions of these ecosystems allows for the highest diversity of amphibians, reptiles, mammalian fauna and carnivores among Jordan to thrive.

Killing for land, killing for water, killing because of superstition

Both the region and its wildlife are severely affected by human activities and conflicts, particularly the introduction of machine guns and military vehicles, followed by the mass immigration of refugees from Palestine. In the most water-deprived area of the world, the water crisis is harming ecosystems. For instance, Syria built a dam at the border, banking out all of the water of the Wadi Rajel (Wadi means River in Arabic) from Jordan.
Unfortunately, the imbalance is also a result of hunting the area’s top predators due to superstition and misunderstanding.
Wolves and hyenas are the most affected carnivores because they are killed instantly when they are encountered in many parts of the country. An example of a superstitious story recounts that if a hyena urinates on a Bedouin person, this bad luck will lure them to the hyena’s cave where they will be eaten.

An educational care center

The Badia Center for Ecological Education was incepted by the Anageed Al Khair cooperative. It is an association of 170 Bedouins out of which 68 are women in 2000. This institution is a wildlife rescue center as well as an educational establishment for diverse faunal elements in relation to the ecosystems of the eastern desert. Its role is to identify all threats on habitats and species. The Center’s core mission is to raise public awareness concerning the biodiversity richness of the Eastern desert and to reduce the pressure on wildlife due to human ignorance. Furthermore, the Center plans to integrate an eco-lodge facility in the near future. For future visitors, the heart of the Bedouins and the beauty of the wildlife will thoroughly enlighten you.

Her Royal Highness Princess Basma Bint Ali is about to open the first national Royal Botanical Garden of Jordan.

In the 4th most water-deprived country in the world, the role of modern botanical gardens is key to conserve biodiversity and reduce poverty.

Indeed, the road seems long to have a kingdom of flowers flourish in the Middle East.

In the south of Morocco, the Atlas Mountains rocks burst under the heat, unveiling endless landscapes of ochre layers. Suddenly, a palm tree forest uncovers a human habitat, the oasis of Foum Zguid. Foum Zguid is typical of the southern oases. In fact, these water towers have provided farmers with sustainable living for more than 2000 years through cultivation of: dates, pomegranates, oranges, corn and many other crops. However, today oases are dying due to: human actions, droughts, and diseases.

Green islands are under threat

The water crisis is at the heart of oases problems, especially when agriculture makes 90% of the economic activities. The construction of dams, hot picks and irrational use of resources have weakened water resources. Moreover, the demographic growth rate increases the pressure on crop fields. Successive legacy have brought 1 hectare to 95% of field exploitations. The future of South Moroccan oases is under critical threat.

The promises of agroecology

New solutions were designed by the Program for Sustainable Development of Southern Territories, conducted by the Agency of the South in partnership with the UNDP. One of these solutions pertains to the principles of agroecology. This science fosters organic seeds profitability, while restoring the ecology of the oasis ecosystem. In Foum Zguid, the project was technically supported by a nonprofit CARI that promotes local farming.

First acres of certified organic henna

In the village of Smira, at the periphery of the oasis of Foum Zguid, 10 farmers of the Al Batha cooperative decided to review their methods of henna cultivation. These planters now use only organic seeds with non chemical fertilizers. They only irrigate with drip systems. To add value to their production and increase their income, the cooperative was certified organic in 2010, from one of the largest organic labelling organizations in the world; ECOCERT. This label is valid for one year. But farmers are individually and collectively responsible for meeting the certification requirements. If one fails to follow the requirements, the label is lost. With certified biological henna cultivation, farmers have set a more profitable and sustainable production system while decreasing the strain on their natural environment.

The Andean region is the world’s center for potato domestication. Since the early 2000s, scientists and Quechua communities are racing to record and preserve the genetic diversity of native potatoes; to ensure that it does not vanish as suddenly as the Inca Empire. While building the largest state-of-the-art in vitro gene bank in the world, six communities are conserving the native potatoes in a potato park. Here, the combination of traditional knowledge and modern technologies, ex-situ and on-the-ground banks, works to ensure the continuity of modern world agriculture.

In the birthplace of potatoes

Recognized as the birthplace of the potato, the Cuzco region contains the greatest diversity of potatoes in the world. Conferred by 7000 years of evolution, the varieties of potatoes cover infinite forms, sizes, flavors and colors (from untainted white to deep purple). The diversity is so high that a single farm in the potato park of Cuzco can host up to 150 varieties.

Facing new challenges while preventing History from repeating itself

The history of famines provides a bleak warning for the need to maintain genetic diversity in our staple food plants. Potato biodiversity is now under many threats; from monoculture, climate change, desertification, disease, deforestation, demographic explosion and urban expansion. Back in the 19th century, Ireland relied heavily on a few varieties of potatoes. When the blight destroyed the 1845-1846 potato crop, widespread famine followed. An estimated one million people starved to death and more than a million were forced to migrate abroad.

The world’s largest bank of potato genetic resources in the world

The International Potato Centre (IPC) maintains the world’s largest bank of potato genetic resources (germplasm) in the world.  It conserves in trust more than 7180 samples of potatoes, 6500 samples of sweet potatoes and around 1556 samples of nine species of Andean roots and tubers.  The techniques of conservation range from: in vitro conservation (in tubes) to cryoconservation (in liquid nitrogen), and black boxes (protected from light) to germoplasm (plantations) in the country side. The IPC provides genetic material (purified from viruses and bacteria) that is cost-free for developing countries and for a cost to developed countries.

Returning genetic resources to small farmers communities: the potato park example

The potato park is a “living library” of potato genetic diversity. Under a caucus, supervised by the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Center returned lost varieties of potato genetic resources to the six communities of the potato park. The park is becoming a model for conservation of sustainable use of agrobiodiversity, thanks to the work of conservationists such as; the Association for Nature and Sustainable Development (ANDES) and six indigenous communities. The goal is to reestablish all the world’s known potato varieties in the Sacred Valley of the Incas, allowing the park to function as a second centre of origin for this vital staple crop.

In regards to this collaborative example of genetic diversity conservation, it becomes apparent that the best food security protection system combines ex-situ crop conservation banks with on-the-ground conservation pools by farmers. A global strategy for crop conservation is actually being implemented since the biggest challenges are to reduce poverty and to ensure humanity will have food for the future generations.

The Kichwas of Sarayaku are the community of the Zenith. They are defenders of the Amazon basin of Ecuador. This community is a model of resistance; at first to colonization, then to deforestation and now to petroleum. Since 1930, the Sarayaku people have been victim of 4 violent intrusions in their territory. Companies entered their homeland with the collaboration of the police, the army and no previous consultation to make seismic exploration with explosives.

In the heart of a biodiversity hotspot: the Tropical Andes forest

Located in the Amazonian forest of Ecuador, inside the province of Pastaza, the community of 1200 Kichwas lives along the Bobonaza River. The jungle is part of the Tropical Andes forest that is considered a biodiversity hotspot. It is a biogeographic area with major resources of biodiversity that are under threat from humans. In this jungle of the upper Amazon, approximately 100 species of trees per acre have been documented, compared to an average of only 40 in Central America and 20 in the temperate forests of North America and Europe.

An independent and equal society

The Kichwas of Sarayaku are autonomous and self sufficient. Their activities are divided by gender. Agriculture is primarily a female activity and hunting and fishing are reserved to men. Ceramics are made by women and men are to build houses and canoes. In fact, the feminine dominance is in the Chakra, an area where they cultivate plants, fruits and vegetables. In these Chakras, women’s purpose is to prevent monoculture. The masculine domain is in the forest, where they hunt. Gender socialization happens during the chicha -a beverage made of fermented yuca (manioc) and saliva- produced in the Chakra and provided against meet, the product of the forest.

The Great Wall of Flowers

The project was inspired by the Yachaks of Sarayaku (the shamans). The idea is to generate a great wall alive of tree flowers to cover the expanse of their territory’s borders (186 miles) as a symbol of peace, earth protection and of respect for the Indigenous people living there. The wall is a series 21520 square feet circles that are planted every 4 miles on forest fallows, so that people can see from above and with satellite pictures. The project started in 2006 and the circles are projected to be settled and flourished by 2020. Other neighbors’ communities are called to collectively join in the movement.

The human voice of the Amazon

The Indigenous people are constantly pushed in their lands. They know from the experience of other tribes at the North of Ecuador, that clean and state of the art technologies for oil exploitation in the Amazon always end up contaminating water and soil. If oil companies exploit their soil and resources, there will be no more virgin nature and natural ecosystem services for the next generations. About 5000 cases of indigenous sues in Latin America are being processed in the International Court for Indigenous Human rights because of mining and oil exploitation illegal activities . Sarayaku is one of them. Sarayaku is the first step that Indigenous and the Pachamama need to survive in dignity and for the future generations.

Bejuco beach contains a beautiful 3 miles expanse of dark grey sand. The beach starts at the beginning of the Bejuco River. On this estuary, a wide red mangrove protects and feeds a community of fishermen. Spread on the coastal side of the estuary, the mangrove acts as a natural barrier and prevents flooding and storms while hosting a wide diversity of species. It is a natural “super market” for the community.

The community of fishermen uses a local dialect – which is like an equivalent to the Joual dialect in Quebec- called Pachuco. With a village of 50 closely knit families, the whole community depends on marine resources. The main sources of income and food come from a species of fish called “Red snapper,” which may only be caught at night.  Artisan fishing is the only fishing practice in Bejuco and it requires small motorized boats to reach a high enough level of production in order to become commercial. This model has proven to be very successful in creating local jobs and preventing rural exodus.

Artisan fishing practices range from longline fishing (a main line with baited hooks attached at intervals) to harpooning and angling. One of the top priorities of the Bejuco community is to protect marine resources such as; seawaters, beaches, coastals, mangroves, coral Reefs and sea meadows. Fishermen are aware that cooperating with biodiversity turns into more sustainable and profitable fishery.

To prevent shrimp trawls and spearfishing with sophisticated weapons, a group of fishermen joined last year in order to create a Marine Protected Area. This MPA would become one of Nicoya Peninsula’s largest protected areas and cover 14 miles long, ranging from “Playa de Caletas” North to “Camaronal Refuge.”A MPA protects marine habitats, ensures renewable ecosystems services and allows fishermen to manage the area on a community-based system. Also, ecotourism can bring alternative sources of income. A responsible fishing certification will increase the global income.

Bejucos also want to adopt the best biodiversity management practices. Learning about the successful project of artificial reefs in Guatemala, Myriam, the chief of the community declares:”Guatemalan fishermen saw their populations of snappers and lobsters doubled in less than 3 months. We want to build 10 to 15 artificial reefs out of concrete, to ensure coastal fish reproduction. Inevitably, we have to make some research to determine the size and the best location. Boats will also have to be contracted to deposit the reefs”. Myriam is aware about the magnitude of such a project, although she remains very skeptical about financing it without external help.

After each fishing session, brown pelicans and Urunus vultures are systematically fed with ovals. Fishermen live in harmony with their environment. For instance, batteries used on net’s floating lamps at night are gathered and recycled to prevent soil and water contamination. Traditional knowledge, cultural understandings of reciprocity and mutual respect with nature are transmitted from one generation to another.