Paper short abstract:

Farmers from the Potato Park in Peru are attempting to preserve their heritage of diverse varieties of potatoes. The results of this project, focused on preserving biodiversity and on documenting climate change, will be presented here as an example of decolonizing interventions in conservation.

Paper long abstract:

Plant domestication and agriculture are examples of long-term human heritage. One of the world's earliest domesticates and one of its most important economic plants, the potato (Solanum sp.), originated in the central Andean Mountains of Peru. A group of traditional farmers, from the protected area of the Potato Park outside of Cuzco, is attempting to preserve their heritage of diverse varieties and species of tubers. This park is situated in a region marked by rapidly retreating glaciers and uncertain future water supplies. The farmers of the Potato Park are working in conjunction with the NGO Asociación Andes to protect and preserve the critical role and interdependency of indigenous biocultural heritage for local rights, to create local capacity for action research, policy influence and autonomous conservation, and to develop initiatives based on local knowledge and practices. The specific steps taken by these farmers to preserve the diversity of indigenous potatoes include moving their crops to higher altitudes in order to deal with warming weather patterns and rotating in other crops to prevent increasing pest infestations, also likely a result of climate change. The initial results of this project focused on preserving indigenous biodiversity and on documenting Andean perspectives on climate change, will be presented here as an example of knowledge production aimed at generating decolonizing interventions in conservation. The results of this research analyze the long-term human heritage of the potato within the current context of attempting to manage an Andean biocultural expression in a rapidly changing environment.