THE CUSTODIANS OF BIODIVERSITY ( 2001-2002)
In his prizewinning THE CUSTODIANS OF BIODIVERSITY photographer Pablo Balbontin Are-nas surveys biodiversity in the agricultural sector. Although during the tens of thousands of years of agricultural history many thousands of plants have been cultivated, today there are no more than 150 in active cultivation. Four of these – maize, wheat, rice and potatoes – constitute more than half of all vegetable foodstuffs. This shrinking biodiversity should be a reason for concern. It makes food supplies and food safety vulnerable, with the potato famine of 19th century Ireland as a horrible warning. Balbontin Arenas has taken the ‘big four’ of the human diet as his point of departure. In often remote, culturally intact communities he won the trust of farmers and families. In this way he brings us into contact with our common rural origin.
