http://www.agrobiodiversity.net SAVE-Foundation office@save-foundation.net http://variety-savers.net/page/heritaste-consultation 22 November 2011 00:00:00 GMT As announced in the last eNews the public consultation about Heritaste® is now running on the Variety-Savers website. It will remain open until the end of 2011. There are still some important points that need to be discussed before the consultation is completed. All interested people are urged to visit the website and to give their feedback either in the Variety-Savers forum (membership required) or directly by e-mail to office@save-foundation.net. See: e SAVE-Foundation http://www.fruit-net.info 17 November 2011 00:00:00 GMT To conserve the almost forgotten knowledge about old varieties and genetic diversity for future generations, the Fruit-Net project was called to life a few years ago. Fruit-Net, the Internet database of conservers of rare fruits and berries in Europe now appears in new guise and with a new database system. In this publically available database a variety of search experts and institutions that harbour rare species and varieties (and in some cases offer for sale) can be found through an extensive search function. It is also possible to search by species (varieties). Currently about 450 institutions and experts in Europe are listed. e SAVE-Foundation http://agrobiodiversityplatform.org/database/ 14 November 2011 00:00:00 GMT The “PAR - Platform for Agrobiodiversity” launched a worldwide “Researcher Database”. This Database is an online registry compiling information about experts and institutions working in the different fields of agrobiodiversity worldwide. The user can search according to certain criteria such as name, specialty, affiliated institutions, geographic location and type of the institution. Each expert or institution can register quickly and easily. The database is available on: e SAVE-Foundation http://variety-savers.net/ 26 October 2011 00:00:00 GMT Variety-Savers is the dedicated social network for networking and listing all keepers of indigenous livestock breeds and cultivators of indigenous cultivated plants found in Europe. If you have not yet joined up, then now is your chance! Go to: e SAVE-Foundation http://https://www.facebook.com/pages/SAVE-Foundation/293654690663822 25 October 2011 00:00:00 GMT SAVE Foundation is now present on some social media platforms. You can “follow” SAVE on Twitter: @VarietySavers (sadly, @SAVEfoundation was already taken by the Student Advocates for Valuing the Environment Foundation). You can also “like” and “share” the SAVE page on Facebook: e SAVE-Foundation http://www.save-foundation.net/marketing/Arca-Deli/2011en.pdf 16 October 2011 00:00:00 GMT The Arca-Deli Award is a prestigious award with market value but no prize money. It is awarded annually by the SAVE Network for delicacies and innovative services originating from the circles of the European Ark Network "Arca-Net" and the Variety-Savers Network. SAVE Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of the Arca-Deli® Awards 2011! see website: e SAVE-Foundation http://www.pp-lonjsko-polje.hr/ 14 October 2011 00:00:00 GMT SAVE Foundation congratulates Croatian conservationist Goran Gugic who received the EuroNatur Award 2011 at a special ceremony on the 12th October on the island of Mainau in Lake Constance. Goran Gugic has a long association with SAVE Foundation especially in connection with the Turopolje pigs. Since 1998, he is the director of the Nature Park Lonjsko Polje. Here, an unbroken tradition of pasturing has been preserved since medieval times. The pasture land serves as retention area for the floods of the river Sava, the largest tributary of the Danube. These alluvial wetlands host an exceptional richness in species. For more details about the Nature Park see: e SAVE-Foundation http://www.save-foundation.net/docu/reports/SAVE_activities_2011.pdf 08 September 2011 00:00:00 GMT The SAVE Activity Report 2010-2011 is now available on the SAVE website. This document will provide you with an overview of SAVE and the projects currently running. e SAVE-Foundation http://www.save-foundation.net/marketing/Arca-Deli-en.htm 30 August 2011 00:00:00 GMT If you are a member of the European Ark Network "Arca-Net" or the Variety-Savers.Net you are eligible to enter the Arca-Deli Awards! These awards are a non-monetary recognition of the work that people do to create quality products and services whilst promoting in situ/on farm conservation of Europe’s traditional livestock breeds and cultivated plants. => This prestigious award is valuable for your product marketing! If you have a product or service that is high quality and can be used as an example of good practice, then enter the award proceedings! A maximum of two products per farm can be entered. You can find out more about the award and the judging process here: e SAVE-Foundation http://variety-savers.net 14 June 2011 00:00:00 GMT The old endangered livestock breeds and plant varieties are increasing in popularity. More and more committed people care about their conservation. Nationally, several networks are in place. With Variety-Savers.Net contacts and experience can now be exchanged internationally and across language barriers. With the "Google Translate" function foreign languages are made accessible and even other characters can be translated easily. Whether one uses the Latin, Greek or Cyrillic alphabet, this will not prevent from making contact with like-minded people. Take a discovery tour of the conservation work in Europe, just for fun, or for something specific. Have a look at: e SAVE-Foundation http://variety-savers.net/page/heritaste-consultation 08 June 2011 00:00:00 GMT SAVE Foundation is in the process of launching a trademark for the marketing of products and services from European agrobiodiversity. As a part of this process a public consultation is being held to discuss the "terms of reference" and the “conditions for use”. The terms of reference include a justification of the need for a standard; clear objectives of the standard and; an assessment of risk involved in setting such standards. The conditions should be a measurable and verifiable standard that can be inspected by independent auditors. The discussion of these conditions and terms of reference will take place on Variety-Savers.net. You can join this discussion here: http://variety-savers.net/page/heritaste-consultation You will be able to read the whole discussion here but you will need to sign in as a member of Variety Savers to add your own comments. Variety-Savers offers the option to translate content. This means that, by using the Google tool provided on the website, you will be able to read the texts and comments in your own language. You can also give your views in your own language. Please note that the translation tool is not perfect – please use short, simple sentences! The consultation will run until the end of 2011 so that a pilot version of the certification can be launched early in 2012. Therefore, we kindly ask everyone interested in promoting the concept of "conservation through use" to join in this consultation process. We look forward to hearing your views. e SAVE-Foundation http://www.save-foundation.net/PDF/SAVE_2011.pdf 02 June 2011 00:00:00 GMT 22nd - 25th September 2011, in Dimitrovgrad, Serbia This year the SAVE Annual Meeting will take place in Dimitrovgrad in Serbia. The International Seminar on Agrobiodiversity will be on the subject of "Preservation or Adaptation? – Conservation in the face of a changing environment". Further information on the Meeting (provisional programme, how to get there) are now available online. Registration forms should be sent by 26th June 2011 to the SAVE office. We look forward to meeting you in Serbia! e SAVE-Foundation http://www.arca-net.info 27 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT Arca-Net is ready in an updated version in time for the outings and holiday season. The European Ark network is made up of publically accessible Ark farms, open air museums, variety gardens and arboreta that show the diversity of traditional livestock breeds and cultivated plants in a way that is of interest to the public. Some of them also offer other services (cafes or restaurants, riding or rooms) or products in a farm shop. The Ark owners have recently updated their information for 2011 and many new centres have been added in the last year, especially variety gardens and centres in southern European countries. Many of the centres have also taken advantage of the opportunity to add a product page to their Arca-Net web-pages. You can search for Ark centres in your vicinity or near your holiday place. You can find them all at www.arca-net.info. Why not visit this website and take a look at what is on offer. You can search using either the map or the text search functions. Have fun! e SAVE-Foundation 26 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT During 15 years the "Monitoring Institute for Rare Breeds and Seeds in Europe", based in St.Gallen/Switzerland, worked as independent scientific branch of the European SAVE Foundation. It acquired scientifically founded basic data for the securing and long-term conservation of genetic resources in European agriculture. The tasks of the institute were: mapping, watching, alarming: - Recording and documentation of endangered breeds of farm animals and varieties of cultivated plants by studying old agriculturaland veterinary publications and by searching in a specific area or in a promising area (mapping) - permanent survey of the situation and call for action, if necessary, as well as judgement of the measures being taken (watching) - waking awareness, both in the wider public and in decisionmakers. Regular assessment of a possible need for action, alarming of responsible institutions and organizations (alarming). Due to the decision by Hape Grunenfelder (director of Monitoring Institute) to gradually withdraw from the world of work into retirement, the Institute was integrated in its entirety, including the budget and the staff, within the SAVE Project Office. With this, the knowledge built up during 15 intensive years is secured for the future for the use by the SAVE-Network. e SAVE-Foundation http://www.save-foundation.net/Conferences/Sighisoara.htm 20 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT The Workshop “Conservation of Autochthonous Buffalo in Southeast Europe” took place 6-7 May 2011 in Sighisoara, Romania and was organised by SAVE Foundation and Fundatia ADEPT. It was an event to meet together with buffalo experts and stakeholders from South-eastern Europe with the aim of creating a network for the conservation of water buffalo in the area. The goals of the workshop were varied – from assessing stakeholder motivation for forming a network through to agreeing upon a conservation strategy through identifying further priorities and planning future actions. Participants contributed with presentations of the situation in their area. Emphasised was the genotyping, the registration and recording of the buffalos in the countries. Presentations and a summary of the results can be found on URL: e SAVE-Foundation 22 March 2011 00:00:00 GMT The autochthonous buffalo of South Eastern Europe including the Pannonian and Carpathian area are little known outside of a small group of experts. There is not much literature about the different varieties or even any certainty about how many varieties there really are. Likewise, there is not much stock data to work with. In the light of this situation, SAVE Foundation has decided to act before it is too late. The main threat, apart from lack of knowledge, would appear to be the cross-breeding with Murrah. Whilst this cross-breeding is understandable, it is nevertheless important to maintain purebred stock that is especially adapted to the region. SAVE Foundation in collaboration with Fundatia ADEPT, Romania announces an International Workshop on Conservation of Autochthonous Buffalo, 6-7 May 2011 taking place in Sigishoara, Romania. office@save-foundation.net e SAVE-Foundation http://www.save-foundation.net/english/PDF/news/SAVE_eNews_11_1en.pdf 17 March 2011 00:00:00 GMT SAVE-Monitoring Institute has published in its SAVE eNews 1/2011 an extensive article on the completion of the feasibility study "Agricultural Species Diversity in the Alps - Conservation and Use of Traditional Knowledge". This wiki-based data-system may be a prototyp for other areas, too. The SAVE eNews may be downloaded from the archive under URL: e SAVE-Foundation http://www.save-foundation.net/english/PDF/news/SAVE_eNews_10_4en.pdf 21 December 2010 00:00:00 GMT Closing Phase II of the joint SAVE/Amaltheia project "Conservation of AgroBiodiversity in Greece" SAVE Foundation published in its SAVE eNews 4/2010 a summary of the work undertaken. It can be seen on URL: e SAVE-Foundation http://www.anl.bayern.de 23 November 2010 12:00:00 GMT SAVE runs a workshop on the Conference „Biodiversity and Land Use Systems in Europe” which is organised by the ANL (Bayerische Akademie für Naturschutz und Landschaftspflege), Laufen, Germany. The workshop deals with the subject: "Agrobiodiversity and Land Use Systems". Specially we want to discuss how to documentate and how to use the traditional knowledge in the Alps. anmeldung@anl.bayern.de e SAVE-Foundation http://www.forumcarpaticum.org 18 October 2010 00:00:00 GMT The first Forum Carpaticum took place in Krakow, Poland, 15th -17th September 2010. The Science for the Carpathians initiative (S4C) invited scientists, policy- and decisionmakers working on, or interested in the sustainable development of the Carpathian region to discuss and present a broad spectrum of scientific disciplines from both, the natural and social sciences, as well as practical knowledge. The Forum Carpaticum was an attempt to integrate different fields of expertise to generate value for the Carpathian mountain region. SAVE Foundation took part in the Forum with a workshop about agrobiodiversity. For more information, please see: e SAVE-Foundation http://www.elbarn.net 18 October 2010 00:00:00 GMT ELBARN is a pan-European concept for in-situ conservation of animal genetic resources. It aimed to change the status quo by creating a network of existing Ark Farms, by encouraging the development of new ones so that every European country has at least one "Ark and Rescue Centre" and also by enhancing the system with the missing element: capacity to rescue animals that are both Rare Breeds and face slaughter or other immediate dangers (epidemics). ELBARN was co-financed by the EU-Commission in the frame of GenRes 870/2004 and was elaborated in a three year programme by five NGOs: EuroNatur, GEH (Germany), SAVE Foundation, SLE (Belgium) and RARE (Italy). All about ELBARN can be seen on URL: e SAVE-Foundation http://www.save-foundation.net/Conferences/Schimatari.htm 10 September 2010 00:00:00 GMT Within the framework of the project "Conservation of Agrobiodiversity in Greece" SAVE Foundation and the Greek partner organization Amaltheia organized a workshop from 12-13 June 2010 for keepers of rare small ruminants. More than 30 participants, mostly breeders, owners, official- and university representatives, accepted the invitation to participate. The main goals were to get an overview of the situation of the various breeds and to achieve an interdisciplinary exchange between keepers, scientists and officials. Once again, it showed how important it is to bring all partners for conservation work around one table. Valuable contacts were established between the different stakeholders. Officials explained the possibilities and obstacles for an official recognition of further breeds and direct payments. The Workshop papers may be seen at: e SAVE-Foundation http://www.save-foundation.net/english/PDF/news/SAVE_eNews_10_2en.pdf 25 June 2010 00:00:00 GMT SAVE Foundation has published in its SAVE eNews 2/2010 a short report on the establishment of a rescue station for endangered autochthonous pig breeds in Northern Albania, a joint project SAVE/AlbaGene, supported by the local government and the GEF small grant programme. The SAVE eNews may be downloaded from the archive under URL: e SAVE-Foundation http://www.arca-net.info 20 June 2010 00:00:00 GMT Arca-Net is a database-supported internet portal to Ark Farms, Farm Parks, Open Air Museums, Variety Gardens, Arboreta, etc found in Europe and open to the public. People interested in the subject can use the extensive search function to find out what can be visited. Arca-Net is available in four languages: English, French, German and Italian. It contains actually 520 institutions in 43 countries from Iceland to Malta North-South and from the Azores to Ukraine West-East. A googlemap to zoom the institutions is integrated in the search-functions: e SAVE-Foundation http://www.save-foundation.net/english/PDF/news/SAVE_eNews_10_1en.pdf 15 March 2010 00:00:00 GMT SAVE Foundation writes in its quarterly Newsletter, the SAVE eNews 1/2010 about a successful restart of the Buffalo breeding in Transcarpathia, Ukraine. The Ark and Rescue Centre Saldobosh at Steblivka can be seen as a perfect example of how the rescue of endangered breeds can take place. The project was a success because a few, highly motivated people and organisations collaborated ideas and strengths and, also, found adequate funds in time to finance the purchase of animals that would have otherwise been lost. The SAVE eNews may be downloaded from the archive under URL: e SAVE-Foundation