campesinos y biodiversidad en américa latina

This report by Friends of the Earth International describes the role of small-scale farmers and indigenous communities in Latin America in protecting and restoring biodiversity. It highlights specific local projects in Costa Rica, Paraguay, and Uruguay while critiquing the impact of industrial monocultures, the 'Green Revolution', and neoliberal trade policies on global biodiversity and rural livelihoods.

• In northern Costa Rica, the family of Félix Díaz Alvarado successfully restored a plot of land that had been degraded and surrounded by monocultures. After 18 years of ecological restoration, the land contains over 137 tree species, including nine that are threatened with extinction in Costa Rica, and provides the family with income from timber and food.
• In Paraguay, the organization Sobrevivencia Amigos de la Tierra established 'la Farmacia viva' (the Living Pharmacy) in the community of Itaguazú. This medicinal garden currently contains 51 species and serves as a tool to recover and maintain traditional knowledge of medicinal plants through daily practice.
• In Uruguay, neoliberal economic policies have led to a decline in small-scale production, land concentration, and a loss of cultivated biodiversity. In response, the Association of Organic Producers of Uruguay (APODU), the Faculty of Agronomy of the Republic University, and REDES-Amigos de la Tierra Uruguay are working to identify, multiply, and reintroduce local crop varieties, such as butter beans, to promote food autonomy.
• Industrial forest monocultures are identified as a major threat to biodiversity and rural stability. In Costa Rica, these plantations cover between 121,000 and 147,000 hectares, exceeding the area of coffee, banana, or sugar cane plantations. Such monocultures are cited as causes of rural unemployment and forced migration because they generate up to 800 times fewer jobs per hectare than small-scale agriculture.
• The 'Green Revolution' and the subsequent liberalization of trade have marginalized small farmers by imposing a model of mass intensive production. This has led to genetic erosion as farmers were forced to use uniform or genetically modified varieties sold by a few multinationals, such as Monsanto, which controls 90% of the transgenic seed market.
• The report argues that international trade agreements and institutions undermine sustainable agriculture. The World Trade Organization (WTO) is criticized for supporting a system where Northern agriculture receives high subsidies, leading to 'dumping' in Southern markets. Additionally, the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) is viewed as a threat that could devastate local small-scale agriculture.
• The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is criticized for creating 'biocrats' and facilitating 'colonial biopiracy' by allowing genetic resources to be treated as the property of the country where they are located, which the report claims benefits the North where many gene banks are situated.

APA

Friends of the Earth International (2003). campesinos y biodiversidad en américa latina. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/handful_esp.pdf

Chicago

Friends of the Earth International. campesinos y biodiversidad en américa latina. 2003. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/handful_esp.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Friends of the Earth International |title=campesinos y biodiversidad en américa latina |date=May 2003 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/handful_esp.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{friendsoftheearthinternational2003campesinos, author = {{Friends of the Earth International}}, title = {{campesinos y biodiversidad en américa latina}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2003}, month = may, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/handful_esp.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }