This Symposium explores how the theory of commons can be used to study, conceptualize and transform governance models for seed and plant varieties to counter ongoing trends towards agrobiodiversity loss and concentration of economic and political power in farming and food systems. Contributions to the Symposium present case studies from a range of geographical and socio-cultural contexts from the Global North and South. They show how seed and varieties relate to various known commons categories, including natural resource commons, knowledge and cultural commons, and global commons. Elements of these categories need to be integrated to gain a deeper understanding of Seed Commons, including the specific challenges that arise from the fact that seed, although a biological asset, is at least partly shaped by human selection driven by values, knowledge and needs of users. Collective responsibility, sharing of knowledge and seed, protection from private enclosure, and distributed, polycentric governance are key features of Seed Commons. The notion of ‘commoning’ focuses on the social practices and processes that create and sustain commons. Conceptualizing Seed Commons in their complexity offers initial starting points for policies and legal frameworks conducive to releasing the transformative power of Seed Commons for advancing sustainable farming and food systems.

中文翻译：

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研讨会介绍：种子即公地——探索管理种子和品种的创新理念和实践

本次研讨会探讨了公地理论如何用于研究、概念化和转变种子和植物品种的治理模式，以应对农业生物多样性丧失以及农业和粮食系统中经济和政治权力集中的持续趋势。对研讨会的贡献展示了来自全球南北的一系列地理和社会文化背景的案例研究。它们展示了种子和品种如何与各种已知的公地类别相关，包括自然资源公地、知识和文化公地以及全球公地。需要整合这些类别的元素以更深入地了解种子共享，包括由于种子虽然是生物资产，但至少部分是由价值观驱动的人类选择而形成的这一事实所带来的具体挑战，用户的知识和需求。集体责任、知识和种子共享、不受私人圈地保护以及分布式、多中心治理是种子共享区的主要特征。“公地”的概念侧重于创造和维持公地的社会实践和过程。将 Seed Commons 的复杂性概念化为政策和法律框架提供了初始起点，有助于释放 Seed Commons 的变革力量，以推进可持续农业和粮食系统。