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In memoriam:
Chusa Ginés and Verónica Mera
Two key members of the Cassava Biotechnology Network (CBN), María Jesús
("Chusa") Ginés and Verónica Mera, lost their lives on
28 January 2002, when the commercial aircraft they were aboard crashed into the Cumbal
volcano on the border between Colombia and Ecuador.
Chusa, an expert in plant genetic resources who held a PhD in molecular biology, had
been CBN Coordinator since 2000. Verónica, who held an MSc in the management of
agricultural knowledge systems, was a social scientist with the network, simultaneously
working toward a PhD in sociology. Based in Quito, Ecuador, they were en route to CIAT
headquarters in Cali at the time of the accident.
Center management and staff as well as colleagues in many partner organizations mourn
the tragic loss of these two valued staff members. To their families, we extend our
sincere condolences. An endowment fund in their memory is being planned. It will provide
scholarships for young women from developing countries to complete studies in the
conservation of agrobiodiversity.
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New CIAT Web site
CIAT is pleased to announce the launch of its newly redesigned and expanded Web site
(www.ciat.cgiar.org). Here are some of the things you can do with information resources
available on the site:
- Consult databases on the extensive plant genetic resources of beans, cassava, and
tropical forages conserved in the CIAT gene bank and make on-line requests for samples.
- Contact Center plant breeders to obtain improved germplasm of cassava, common bean,
tropical forages, and rice.
- Browse the easy-to-use catalog of electronic and print products providing useful tools,
methods, and other information relevant to crop improvement and natural resource
management. The full text of many recent publications and documents can be downloaded in
PDF format.
- Visit the growing collection of CIAT project subsites, which provide further access to
finished products as well as a glimpse at research in progress.
- Refer to the highly detailed library subsite, which opens numerous avenues to helpful
information, including on-line catalogs, electronic journals, agricultural databases, and
other services such as bibliographic searches.
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Nicaraguan Community Wins International Award
A project on natural resource conservation at San Dionisio in Nicaragua’s
Matagalpa Department was awarded during the 48th annual meeting of the Central American
Cooperative Program for Crop and Livestock Improvement (PCCMCA).
Under the project farmers in a remote hillside community used a method called
"Participatory Mapping, Analysis, and Monitoring of Natural Resources in a
Microwatershed" to determine the status of forests, water, and soils both before and
after Hurricane Mitch struck the region late in 1998. They then developed an action plan
for resource conservation in the areas that had suffered the most damage.
The work was led by CIAT agronomist Jorge Alonso Beltrán, Jairo Morales of
Nicaragua’s National Agrarian University, and Juan Carlos Zeledón, a farmer and
member of the local watershed management association, with support from Canada’s
International Development Research Centre (IDRC). |
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