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CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS
ON GENETIC RESOURCES
IN THE CARIBBEAN
ROLE OF GENETIC RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT AND UTILISATION
CLIMATE CHANGE
• Climate change refers to long-term
changes in the weather pattern.
• The real threat of climate change lies in
– Rapidity with which the changes occur
– Unpredictability of weather patterns
ISLAND CARIBBEAN STATES
• The Caribbean islands are home to
unique ecosystems and species, with
unsurpassed biodiversity.
• Extremely vulnerable
– fragmentation of habitat - small population
sizes
– invasive species
– fires, hurricanes, floods
CLIMATE CHANGE IN ISLAND
STATES OF THE CARIBEAN
• Sea level rises
– loss of coastal ecosystems, coastal erosion, salination
of arable lands
• Increased frequency and intensity of hurricanes
– flooding, wind damage, further fragmentation of
habitats
• Increased frequency and severity of droughts
– fires, crop losses.
CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT
ON ECOSYSTEMS
• Ecosystems will become fragmented and
population sizes reduced.
• Species extinction rates are already much
higher in island states
– Likely to be further aggravated by climate
change.
• Species may require human intervention for
survival.
AGRICULTURE SCENARIO
• Likely to be more severe in agriculture
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Reliance on a few crops
No genetic variability within crops
No evolutionary flexibility of varieties
Reliance on imported varieties with poor
adaptability
– Modern varieties show limited plasticity
– Seed production system not conducive to
evolution
IMPACTS ON AGRICULTURE
• Greater management interventions reqd
– greater cost of production and poor profitability
• Greater agricultural risk due to
unpredictable weather patterns.
• Lead to system of agriculture that is not
sustainable.
• Implications to food security.
Genetic Resource Management
• Aims
– Improve evolutionary flexibility
• to allow species and varieties to evolve to climate
change (prevent extinction)
– Reduce Agricultural Risk and Cost of
Production
• Improving environmental flexibility by improving
the stability of varieties
• Improve adaptability
Genetic Resource Management
• Species in natural ecosystems should be
monitored for their health
– genetic and biotechnology tools provide a
system for monitoring.
– Endangered species would require human
intervention.
– Conservation strategies for ecosystems.
Genetic Resource Management
• Indigenous crop species of the Caribbean
should be collected and conserved
– Adapted to the Caribbean, have the greatest
genetic variability and hence evolutionary
flexibility.
• Underdeveloped crops should be developed
to provide a greater crop diversity
Genetic Resource Management
• Rethinking the crop ideotype
• Rethinking the population structure of
varieties
• Rethinking our seed production systems
Genetic Resource Management
• Pre-breeding populations
• Reduce agricultural risk through
breeding for tolerances
• Crop biotechnology
• Local more diversified breeding efforts
A Note of the Role of
Biotechnology
• Biotechnology tools have provided a
scientific basis for managing natural
populations by studying the genetic
diversity
• Provide means of adaptation to new stresses
in short periods of time.
Thank you.