From CIRAD - Sophie Della Mussia
The islands of the Indian Ocean have launched, under the auspices of the IOC (with support from the CIRAD and financial support from Europe, the French & Réunion Government) a new information resource on the web: the Indian Ocean Biodiversity & Agriculture portal.
It's finally here - the Bio & Agri OI Web Portal is now open to
business, where you can discover more about the natural and agricultural
heritage of the islands of the Indian Ocean. This region is one of the
world's biodiversity hotspots, and each of the five member states of the
Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), - Comoros, Reunion, Madagascar,
Mauritius and the Seychelles - have pledged to preserve this
biodiversity.
"These new policies are basically equitable management of natural resources, to improve soil fertility, protect crops against pests and improve irrigation and using fewer resources, while maintaining a satisfactory level of production. This is the challenge of today’s agro-ecology, and the main concern of national authorities will be to address climate change," says Tahina Rakotondralambo, coordinator of the Regional Agro-ecology & Climate Change Initiative (IRACC), launched by the IOC and financed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). This will enable farmers to better cope with droughts, overcome the difficulty for islanders of obtaining supplies, so as to enhance their autonomy. Aims also include avoiding resource depletion. These are the practices the IOC member states have pledged to promote.
Promoting agro-ecology
In order to safeguard our biodiversity, members of the Indian Ocean agricultural community have agreed to adopt more environmentally friendly policies."These new policies are basically equitable management of natural resources, to improve soil fertility, protect crops against pests and improve irrigation and using fewer resources, while maintaining a satisfactory level of production. This is the challenge of today’s agro-ecology, and the main concern of national authorities will be to address climate change," says Tahina Rakotondralambo, coordinator of the Regional Agro-ecology & Climate Change Initiative (IRACC), launched by the IOC and financed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). This will enable farmers to better cope with droughts, overcome the difficulty for islanders of obtaining supplies, so as to enhance their autonomy. Aims also include avoiding resource depletion. These are the practices the IOC member states have pledged to promote.
A new way of exchanging information
The Bio & Agri OI web portal is part of this initiative. The address of the portal is http://agriculture-biodiversite-oi.org, and is designed for :- Professionals in agriculture and the environment, who are invited to share their successful experiences in agro-ecology.
- Scientists, who will publicize their successes;
- States, who will share their agricultural and environmental policy ideas;
- Anyone curious about the natural and agricultural heritage of the Indian Ocean;
- The press
