The genetic diversity represented by crop varieties and their wild relatives is a treasure to be shared justly across borders. But human error, neglect, and misfortune have gravely endangered both that biological resource and the very land on which it grows. These are not isolated annoyances, amenable to local containment. They are global threats. If the diversity of Latin America’s beans, for example, were to be suddenly dealt a crippling blow, it would not be long before small farmers in Eastern and Central Africa began feeling the loss. And each of us, regardless of postal code, will have to face the consequences of faster global warming if pastures in the African and South American savannas store less carbon because they have become degraded. The constructive counterpoint here is local innovation. Like any form of creativity, this endowment cannot be minted like so many identical pennies. But it can be stimulated, documented, and emulated. This issue of CIAT in Perspective, the 2003-2004 annual report of International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT, the acronym in Spanish), is more prospective than usual. It considers collaborative strategies for addressing three global issues: conserving and using agrobiodiversity, fighting land degradation, and promoting rural innovation.

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