The Centre for Environmental and Community Development

CECD Protecting the people and ecosystems

The focus of CECD is to ensure food security by assisting farmers to adapt to climate change through a targeted set of high impact activities on the forest conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.

Farmers Rights
As its in Article 9, of the International Treaty on famers right
the International Treaty recognizes the enormous contribution that the local and indigenous communities and farmers of all regions of the world, particularly those in the centers of origin and crop diversity, have made and will continue to make for the conservation and development of plant genetic resources which constitute the basis for+ food and agriculture production throughout the world. It gives governments the responsibility for implementing Farmers' Rights, and lists measures that could be taken to protect and promote these rights:

• The protection of traditional knowledge relevant to plant genetic resources for food and agriculture;
• The right to equitably participate in sharing benefits arising from the utilization of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture; and
• The right to participate in making decisions, at the national level, on matters related to the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.

The International Treaty also recognizes the importance of supporting the efforts of farmers and local and indigenous communities in the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, conserve and sustainably utilize plant genetic resources for food and agriculture