The Global Diversity Foundation promotes the richness of local cultures and their environments around the world.

We are concerned about the future of the biodiversity that people tend, the languages they speak and the ways they interact with their cultural landscapes.

 

We believe that globalisation can go hand-in-hand with diversity. But it requires education, research and sheer hard work in the form of long-term, community-based projects.

We work with local people to help them adapt to the world's changing conditions. Our initiatives, conducted in partnership with local and international institutions, take three main forms:

• research and education on biocultural diversity
• training and education, from community workshops to university courses
• field projects that improve the health, education and rights of communities under threat from the globalised economy.

Mission

The Global Diversity Foundation promotes agricultural, biological and cultural diversity around the world through research, training and social action.

We conduct applied research and provide training on biocultural diversity at specific field sites in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Our community and conservation projects build on local traditions and knowledge to secure education, health, nutrition and other basic human rights for marginalised peoples.

In collaboration with diverse institutions, we support the participation of a wide range of community members – including children, young adults and elders – in our research and development programs.

Areas of specific focus include the continuity of ethnobiological knowledge, community access to biological resources and the conservation of biodiversity.

We bring these concerns to a wider public through international courses, publications and our website.

What we do

Created with the support of professionals from various academic disciplines, GDF obtained charitable status in May 2000 from the Charity Commission of England and Wales. The Foundation:

• works with selected academic institutions to offer research and training opportunities on cultural and natural diversity, conservation and community development

• supports field studies in which local researchers and students gain practical experience in documenting, monitoring and promoting biocultural diversity

• contributes to conservation and development projects that involve local communities, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations and academic research centres.

• participates in multidisciplinary diploma and graduate degree programs in collaboration with botanical gardens, research institutes and universities;

• provides fellowships for talented young colleagues who are studying for advanced degrees, and grants to support their research at field study centres

• presents the results of its applied scientific research in seminars, symposia and scientific publications

• organises excursions, exhibits and publications to educate the general public on strategies to maintain biocultural diversity.