South East Asia Regional Initiatives for Community Empowerment (SEARICE)

The South East Asia Regional Initiatives for Community Empowerment (SEARICE) is a Philippine-based regional NGO that started in 1977 as an informal network, and was registered formally as a non-stock, non-profit organisation in the Philippines in 1981. SEARICE vision is: "To work for the creation of a just democratic civil society which upholds peoples initiatives towards the creative and sustainable utilization of the earth's resources."

SwedBio supports the programme "CBDC - BUCAP - Strengthening farmers´ rights to plant genetic recourses conservation, development and use in Asia towards sustainable farming systems" during the period January 2006 - December 2008. The programme is coordinated by SEARICE.

The programme is the regional node of the CBDC (Community Biodiversity Development Conservation) Network - a global initiative developed by governmental and non-governmental organisations involved in agricultural initiatives in Africa, Asia and Latin America, in cooperation with Northern partners.

The main goal of the CBDC-BUCAP programme is to strengthen farmers' rights to plant genetic resources conservation, development and use towards farmer empowerment for sustainable agriculture and livelihood systems, and the objectives to reach this are:

• Conserve and develop plant genetic resources (PGR).
  
• Strengthen farmers' management system of their plant genetic resources at the community, national and regional level.
  
• Strengthen and develop capacities of local institutions and other stakeholders to support farmers' management of their PGR diversity.
  
• Affect policy environment with positive changes and actions at local, national, regional and international level towards the protection of farmers' rights over their PGR.
  

The CBDC_BUCAP programme is implemented in five countries by the following partners:

• Bhutan (National/local partners: National Biodiversity Centre; Ministry of Agriculture)
  
• Laos (National/local partners: Department of Agriculture at Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry; the Plant Protection Centre)
  
• Philippines (National/local partners: SEARICE; Farmers Provincial and Municipal Agriculture offices; Central Visayas State College of Agriculture and Forestry)
  
• Thailand (National/local partners Hak Muang Nan; Ubon Ratchani Rice Research Centre)
  
• Vietnam (National/local partners: Mekong Delta Farming Systems Research and Development Institute - Cantho University; Plant Protection Department - Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development)