The Balkan Peninsula is a European hotspot of biodiversity both for cultivated and wild plant species. It is located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, and its rugged terrain consisting of many rather isolated mountains, valleys and basins strongly influenced flora and fauna. Not only geography and topography, but also a high diversity of people and cultures, and partly political isolation during parts of the twentieth century contributed to a high richness of agrobiodiversity in all Balkan countries. However, the population’s drift of young inhabitants to urban areas in all countries consists a threat to the continuation of the conservation and cultivation of local and traditional varieties. Additionally, climate change, modern tentative agriculture, abandonment of rural areas and the lack of marketing opportunities for farmers cultivating local varieties are main driving factors for the existing genetic erosion taking place across the agricultural landscape of all countries.
If you want to read more about the State of Art related to the agrobiodiversity conservation in Balkan countries, please, read our AGROBIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION IN BALKAN COUNTRIES – STATE OF ART; PARTICIPATORY COMMUNITY BASED ACTIVITIES; THE ROLE OF BALKAN SEED NETWORK ASSOCIATION, available on our web site as pdf document. We hope you will enjoy reading it and you will find useful ideas and inspiration in our conclusions!
