Summary of the International Symposium on Managing Biodiversity in Agricultural Ecosystems

This issue is written and edited by Changbo Bai and Teya Penniman . The Editor is Lynn Wagner . Director of IISD Reporting Services (including Sustainable Developments) is Langston James "Kimo" Goree VI . Funding for coverage of this meeting has been provided by the United Nations University. The authors can be contacted at their electronic mail addresses and at tel: +1-212-644-0204. IISD can be contacted at 161 Portage Avenue East, 6th Floor, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 0Y4, Canada; tel: +1-204-958-7700; fax: +1-204-958-7710. The opinions expressed in Sustainable Developments are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of IISD or the United Nations University. Excerpts from Sustainable Developments may be used in other publications with appropriate academic citation. Electronic versions of Sustainable Developments are sent to e-mail distribution lists (ASCII and PDF format) and can be found on the Linkages WWW-server at . For further information on Sustainable Developments, including requests to provide reporting services, contact the Director of IISD Reporting Services at . Volume 63, Number 1 Monday, 12 November 2001 A SUMMARY REPORT FROM THE SYMPOSIUM ON MANAGING BIODIVERSITY IN AGRICULTURAL ECOSYSTEMS ON-LINE COVERAGE AT HTTP://WWW.IISD.CA/LINKAGES/SD/MBAE/ SUMMARY OF THE INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON MANAGING BIODIVERSITY IN AGRICULTURAL ECOSYSTEMS 8-10 NOVEMBER 2001 The International Symposium on Managing Biodiversity in Agricultural Ecosystems convened from 8-10 November 2001 in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Building in Montreal, Canada. The Symposium was organized by the United Nations University (UNU), the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI). This three-day Symposium brought together approximately 140 participants from the academic, government, research and nonprofit worlds to share experiences, case studies, initiatives and ideas on the management of biodiversity in agro-ecosystems. The Symposium was organized on a thematic basis covering the topics of: crop and livestock genetic resources; associated biodiversity and agro-ecosystem services; and landscape, scale and change. Each day addressed a different theme, with presenters offering their research in sessions focused on specific aspects within the broader topic. Poster displays outside the meeting halls further explored the thematic areas. The Symposium’s objectives were to: advance understanding of the complex process and mechanisms for on-farm management of biodiversity and their relation with farmers' livelihoods; compare and exchange experiences in encouraging profitable management practices and systems of biodiversity on farm; identify lessons learned for policy and capacity building; and contribute to, and promote, the implementation of the CBD Programme of Work on Agricultural Biodiversity.