Collective action towards enhanced knowledge management of neglected and underutilised species: making use of internet opportunities.

摘要

The disproportionate use of crops - with a few species accounting for most of global food production - is being re-enforced by the considerable research, breeding and development efforts that make global crops so competitive vis-a-vis "neglected and underutilised species" (NUS). NUS promotional rhetoric, preaching to the converted, complaints about the discrimination of the "food of the poor" and the loss of traditional dietary habits are unlikely to revert the neglect of the vast majority of crop species. We need to lessen the supply and demand constraints that affect the production and consumption of NUS. NUS attributes relevant to consumers, nutrition and climate change need to be substantiated, demand for NUS stimulated, discriminating agricultural and trade policies amended, and donors convinced to make greater investments in NUS research and development. Much fascinating NUS research and development is underway, but much of this is dissipated amongst countries, institutions and taxa. Researchers operate in unsupportive environments and are often unaware of each other's work. Their efforts remain unrecognised as addressing global concerns. We suggest that the much-needed enhancement of NUS knowledge management should be at the centre of collective efforts of the NUS community. This will underpin future research and development advances as well as inform the formulation and advocacy of policies. This paper recommends that the NUS community make greater use of Internet knowledge repositories to deposit research results, publications and images into the public domain. As examples for such a low-cost approach, we assess the usefulness of Wikipedia, Google Books and Wikimedia Commons for the documentation and dissemination of NUS knowledge. We urge donors and administrators to promote and encourage the use of these and other public and electronically accessible repositories as sources of verification for the achievement of project and research outputs.