CBN-V Video Archives
In Memoriam: Chusa Ginés and Verónica Mera-Orcés

These proceedings are dedicated to the memory of two key members of the Cassava Biotechnolgy Network, María Jesús ("Chusa") Ginés and Verónica Mera. The two women lost their lives on January 28, 2002, when the commercial aircraft they were aboard crashed into the Cumbal volcano on the border between Colombia and Ecuador.

Chusa, aged 43, had been CBN Coordinator since 2000. Verónica, 36, was a social scientist and research associate with the Network. Based in Quito, Ecuador, they were en route to the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Cali, Colombia, at the time of the accident. Chusa was to have given a presentation at CIAT, the organization which hosts CBN and of which the two women were staff members.

A dual citizen of Spain and Canada, Chusa was a respected biodiversity expert and molecular biologist, with a keen interest in plant genetic conservation. Through her diverse international contacts and activities, she also championed the rights of poor farmers. She received her PhD in biology (molecular genetics and biotechnology) from Carleton University in Ottawa in 1987, and a graduate diploma in International Development and Cooperation from the University of Ottawa in 1991.

Before joining CIAT and CBN, Chusa worked for the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in Ottawa for nearly a decade. During that time she held several progressively senior research and management positions in the areas of biodiversity, environment, and natural resources.

Veronica, a dual citizen of Ecuador and the Netherlands, received her MSc in Management of Agricultural Knowledge Systems in 1998 from Wageningen University and Research Centre in the Netherlands.

These two scientists, who dedicated their lives to the social and economic advancement of the rural poor in developing countries, will long be remembered by their colleagues and friends both within and beyond the Cassava Biotechnology Network. Discussions are under way within CIAT and partner organizations to create an endowment fund, from public and private contributions, to honor the memory of Chusa Ginés and Verónica Mera. Fund earnings would be used to provide scholarships for young women from developing countries to complete master's theses on molecular biology, social and rights-related aspects of agrobiodiversity and its conservation.

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