From “Genetic Resources” to “Ecosystems Services”: A Century of Science and Global Policies for Crop Diversity Conservation

Abstract

AbstractCombining the cultural history of science and the sociology of social problems, this article analyzes the trajectory of policies and approaches for the conservation of crop diversity through a mosaic of international arenas from the early 20th century to the present time. We discuss how the concepts of “plant genetic resources” and “genetic erosion” became major policy issues in the 1960s. We show how these concepts emerged and evolved within a wider range of knowledges, imaginaries, and forms of life governance. We trace the evolution of the problem of disappearing local varieties from concerns about loss of genes as resources, to notions of “crop diversity” and “ecosystem services.” We analyze the effect of this new framing centered on the dynamic conservation of crop diversity within farming systems. Finally, we stress how, despite efforts to revise the concept of diversity as materials to exploit, this vision is still present today, shaping crop diversity conservation, and use.