From: rjsalvad@iastate.edu (Ricardo J Salvador)
Subject: Biodiversidad en Me'xico (LARGO)
Summary: Simposio SOMEFI 
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1992 00:19:49 GMT

Para los interesados en la biodiversidad en Me'xico, les pongo la siguiente
rese~a que publique' en el nu'mero al corriente del Journal of Economic
Botany 46(2):228-230 [April-June, 1992].

------------------------
Avances en el Estudio de los Recursos Fitogene'ticos de 
Me'xico (Advances in Research on Plant Genetic Resources of 
Mexico).  P. R. Ortega, G. Palomino H., F. Castillo G., V. A. Gonza'lez 
H. and M. Livera M. (Eds.).  SOMEFI, Apartado Postal 21, 56230 
Chapingo, Me'xico.  1991.  449 pp.  Price unknown (paperback).
ISBN 968-6521-01-1.

We read in this book that in Mexico can be found 30,000 of the 250,000 
species of higher plants so far described.  Between 5,000 to 7,000 of 
Mexican species  are deemed to be of economic use, and of these, 1,000 to 
1,500 are edible.  According to a conservative estimate cited here, 10% of 
genera and 52% of species found in Mexico are endemic.  This makes 
Mexico, a country that ranks 14th globally in terms of territorial extension, 
the fourth country in terms of biodiversity.  It is therefore evident that an 
understanding of Mexican flora, in conjunction with effective strategies for 
use and preservation, is of first importance for our plant-dependant, 
agricultural world.  Contributors to this work argue for this and more:  1) 
the urgency of halting degradation of biological and cultural environments 
that are closely tied to the use and preservation of many important ecotypes, 
2) the significance of social issues that affect the viability of ways of
life that have created, and that maintain, important stores of the world's
genetic diversity, 3) the need for coordinated strategies and action between
national initiatives and those of international germplasm agencies.

It is satisfying to see Mexican scientists earnestly wrestling with such 
issues.  The book consists of the proceedings of the third meeting on 
Mexican biodiversity (8-9 February, 1990), organized jointly by the 
Mexican Society of Plant Genetics (SOMEFI) and the Botanical Garden of 
Mexico's national university (UNAM).  Strongly represented are top 
researchers from UNAM's Biology department, from the agricultural 
university of Chapingo, from the national agricultural research agency 
(INIFAP), and from the PostGraduate College, Mexico's premiere 
institutions for the study of ecological and agricultural sciences.  
Significantly, the book is dedicated to one of the foremost authorities on 
Mexican flora and traditional farming systems, Efraim Herna'ndez 
Xolocotzi, who was to die a year after presenting the lead paper at this 
conference.

The proceedings have been well edited for book format.  Text is in Spanish, 
with a summary provided for each chapter in Spanish and excellent English.  
The book is organized into six major sections, including papers on the 
general philosophy of biodiversity preservation, regional studies, basic 
studies, the policies of international preservation societies, and a succinct 
summary of the discussions of the symposium.  However, the pith of the 
book is the third section, consisting of depth reviews of current germplasm 
status for several major species of useful Mexican plants, including:  Zea, 
Phaseolus, Amaranthus, Capsicum, Cucurbita, Physalis, Sechium, Persea, 
Crataegus, Agave, and several medicinal species.

The reviews of each species contain brief comments on the origin, variation, 
distribution and uses of the plant, together with accounts of the status of 
collections, special problems pertaining to collection and preservation, and a 
summary of current progress with recommendations for future action.  
Alarming common threads in these assessments are: 1) accelerated 
germplasm erosion due to replacement of land races with improved 
cultivars, 2) loss of habitat due to environmental degradation (deforestation 
and misuse of land) and human encroachment, and 3) lack of economic 
resources to collect and even maintain germplasm banks for some of the 
more important economic species, including Zea, Phaseolus, Capsicum and 
the Cucurbita.

An often noted irony is the fact that limited financial backing for germplasm 
preservation and crop development causes double damage.  This occurs 
because research and collections to preserve disappearing germplasm are of 
low priority compared to the need to develop and maintain improved 
versions of cultivars for commercial agriculture.  These improved cultivars 
then replace land races and further diminish diversity of the germplasm 
base.  Examples for maize are the virtual disappearance from cultivation of 
the important races Jala, Vande~o and Tepecintle, displaced by Tuxpe~o-
based varieties and by other economic crops, such as coffee.  A similar 
situation occurs with avocado.  The commercial avocado crop, the world's 
largest, is derived mostly from trees of the cultivar Hass, introduced from 
the United States two decades ago.  The trees, reproduced by clonal 
propagation, are preferred because of their high-quality fruit, shipping 
properties, and resistance to root rot.  Yet this variety has caused the 
abandonment of important land races.  Armando Garci'a V. reports that if 
new strains of the Phytophthora fungus were to develop, there would 
currently be nothing to fall back upon.  In the country where the current 
major commercial germplasm of the crop originated, where the crop 
provides employment for one person per cultivated hectare, where per capita 
annual consumption is 8 kg (the world's highest), and where the crop is a 
highly remunerative cash crop, there is nil formal collection and research of 
avocado germplasm.

For hundreds of years Mexico has been a cultural crossroads, and it 
becomes clear while reviewing these papers that the struggle to preserve 
germplasm there is just another aspect of culture clash.  Land races, of both 
commercially exploited as well as noncommercial plants, are by and large 
preserved and improved by traditional farming communities.  Commercial 
cultivars that displace those races are quickly adopted by large-scale 
commercial farmers.  Commercial agriculture competes with and threatens 
the viability of traditional farmers.  This in turn directly impacts on plant 
biodiversity.  Jorge Acosta G. and colleagues report a study that found that 
germplasm diversity of Phaseolus cultivars in the field varies inversely with 
economic status of the producer.  In 1988, more than 300,000 ha were 
planted with the single bean variety "Negro San Luis" in Zacatecas state.  In 
Sinaloa state, over 90% of the bean acres were planted with either of two 
improved varieties.  Other studies reported here demonstrate that the regions 
where germplasm diversity of maize and bean is most preserved and 
developed are those with the greatest indian populations (notably, the states 
of Oaxaca, Chiapas and Veracruz.)  This preoccupies symposium speakers 
greatly.  Rafael Ortega P. declares that "It seems about time to abandon the 
idea that the near future of evolution under domestication of maize falls 
exclusively to plant breeders, and we should recognize the conservation, 
introduction, recombination and selection efforts performed by peasant 
farmers."  Dr. Ortega P. then describes an effort to refocus breeding efforts 
to complement and assist traditional farmers to select for characters that the 
latter need and desire.

Of course such "nativist" topics cannot be addressed without 
acknowledging the opinions and influence of E. Herna'ndez X., who does 
not disappoint.  In the lead paper this speaker argues succinctly that 
preserving plant biodiversity means preserving traditional lifestyles that 
nurture and maintain that diversity.  Herna'ndez X. presents compelling 
data, from a number of case studies performed by the Ethnobotany 
department of the Postgraduate College, reflecting favorably on the 
effectiveness of in situ preservation.  "Xolo," as he was known by his 
students and colleagues, believed earnestly that by its very nature "modern 
agriculture" mitigates against germplasm preservation because of emphasis 
on large-scale uniformity and the profit motive, that modern seed banks 
serve the interests of this modern agriculture, and that ex situ preservation 
truncates natural evolutionary processes that maintain the vitality of plant 
populations.  Furthermore, Xolo believed that it is improper that the benefits 
of improved cultivars be unavailable to the very traditional farmers whose 
plant populations and breeding efforts have been the source of useful genes.  
Cristina Mapes S. follows up by emphasizing that in situ preservation 
efforts are viable only when coupled with effective rural development 
programs, and urges biological scientists to comprehend the socioeconomic 
factors that motivate traditional farmers.  Another paper reports on the 
germplasm resources of Totonacan indian communities and concludes that 
plant resources and their management can be understood only by 
understanding the worldview of the people who develop these resources.  
Guadalupe Palomino H. suggests that this can be accomplished best by an 
interdisciplinary approach to plant resource management.

In addition to the philosophical papers, there are solid technical 
contributions, including 1) a review by T. A. Kato of heterochromatin 
structure and function in Zea, and its possible role in maize evolution; 2) an 
interesting correlational study of populations of wild Solanum tubers and 
Phytophthora infestans in Toluca, with various interesting implications for 
potato improvement; and 3) a thorough assessment of the uses of 
biotechnology for conservation and accelerated improvement of species with 
long life cycles or of difficult preservation.  An example of the latter is
the traditional crop chayote (Sechium edule, Jacq.), a useful plant with many 
potential commercial uses.  The entire plant, shoots, tuberized root, and 
fruit, is edible.  Yet, there is currently no viable way to preserve the
species in refrigerated seed banks because it is viviparous, seed have high
moisture content and are difficult to separate from the fruit's pulp.
The only feasible way to preserve chayote is as a whole plant in the field,
exposing a collection to the vicissitudes of the environment.  Of 240
accessions held by Chapingo in 1984, only 50% remain viable today, the
remainder having been lost to freezes, droughts, pests, rots and livestock
feeding.  It is hoped that cell suspensions stored in vitro might enhance
the success of preservation and improvement efforts.

Nevertheless, the central issue of the symposium remains primarily a 
philosophical one.  The concluding paper is a comprehensive review of 
strategies for germplasm preservation as proposed by CARFIT, the 
Committee for Action in Latin American Cooperation and Coordination of 
Plant Germplasm, created by SELA, the Latin American Economic System.  
The authors propose that germplasm issues are of such strategic importance 
for Latin American economic development that germplasm use and 
management ought to be matters of state concern, and urge biological 
scientists to recognize that germplasm preservation and use are international 
political issues.  

The CARFIT analysis notes that under the aegis of commercial agriculture, 
industrial crops (sorghum, soybean) are gradually displacing food crops 
(wheat and rice) in Latin America, which may result in short-range 
economic benefits, but in the long-term bodes ill for social well-being in 
these countries.  In CARFIT's interpretation, the recent separation of the 
CGIAR-created International Board for Plant Genetic Resources (IBPGR) 
from FAO sponsorship aligns IBPGR with the interests of agribusiness 
against the better economic interests of developing countries (while a 
representative for IBPGR in fact spoke at the symposium, that paper is 
conspicuous for its brevity and for its prosaic summary of innocuous  
organizational goals.)  Data reported here show that while developing 
countries have contributed 91% of all accessions to IBPGR seed banks, 
benefactors have been primarily developed countries (42% of withdrawals) 
and CGIAR centers (43% of withdrawals).  Such withdrawals are an 
important nucleus for the $13 billion a year seed business, primarily 
benefitting transnational chemical firms such as Sandoz, Upjohn and 
Occidental Petroleum.  In fact, an interesting observation cited here is that 
by virtue of the recent wave of seed company acquisitions on the part of 
chemical corporations, the world's leading germplasm improvement firm is 
currently the Shell Oil Company.

CARFIT recommends a coordinated Latin American effort to develop 
regional seed banks, establish a "code of conduct" for collectors, 
conservationists and international users of germplasm, formulate coherent 
germplasm policies, seek funding to support and expand germplasm 
diversity and preservation, and for the education of Latin American 
biologists with social and agroecological sensitivities.  In order to 
guarantee fair access to CARFIT collections, it is proposed that funding
be sought from non-political global organizations such as the UN Program
for the Environment or FAO.

It is a difficult proposition, to be sure, to ensure the preservation and the 
benefit of natural resources for the country of their origin, while at the
same time judiciously sharing these resources with the world.  It is an even 
greater challenge for Mexico, holder and guardian of natural treasure more 
vast than any precious metal ever extracted by colonial powers, with its 
generations of colonial baggage and consequent distrust of countries rich 
and powerful.  However, as the president of UNAM, Dr. Jose' Sarukha'n 
K., observes in the foreword, we live in an era during which we are 
becoming sensitive to the grave ravages of unplanned and uncontrolled 
human activity in all spheres, including agriculture.  Understanding the 
importance and extent of human dependence on frail natural resources, and 
making rational strategic plans for the best use of these resources in the 
future may be the single most important step in assuring the survival of our 
race.  If Mexican scientists and policymakers can do this, they will in fact
be reversing a centuries-old colonialist trend of unbridled extraction and 
exploitation, and while it is only right that this be so, it is abundantly
clear that many more than just Mexicans stand to gain from their success.

Ricardo J. Salvador
Agronomy Department
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011-1010

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