Presentations
Mekong ARCC – Final Workshop – Natural Systems Study
This presentation for the Mekong ARCC project was given by ICEM’s Peter-John Meynell, Sansanee Choowaew, Nguyen Huu Thien and Jeremy Carew-Reid at the Final Workshop in Bangkok – held in March 2013.
The presentation considers Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) and Crop Wild Relatives (CWRs) in the context of climate change in the Lower Mekong Basin. NTFPs and CWRs are an integral part of the farming systems of the Mekong. CWRs are especially important to breed new varieties through genetic diversity. CWRs are the largest source for crop improvement and the richest source of diversity for adaptive characteristics.
The presentation considers the increased market pressures on NTFP resources, the loss of forest habitat due to commercial logging and conversion to agriculture and the importance of protected areas as a last refuge for NTFPs and CWRs.