Evolvability
The capacity of a system to generate useful variation and therefore to adapt.
Why it matters now
This may be the single most important concept on the whole diagram for the century ahead. Evolvability depends on standing diversity, modularity, and redundancy, which is a precise scientific argument for seed banks, crop wild relatives, genetic reserves, and cultural pluralism. Preserving variety is preserving the ability to respond to conditions nobody has predicted.
Where this is happening on Earth
- AsiaCrop wild relatives of rice and wheat across the Fertile Crescent and South AsiaWild populations holding drought and salinity traits absent from cultivated lines.
- South AmericaAndean potato diversity, Peru's Parque de la PapaFarmer communities maintaining well over a thousand varieties as a living adaptive reservoir.
- EuropeSvalbard Global Seed Vault, NorwayBackup for more than a million crop accessions from nearly every country.
- AfricaEthiopian coffee and teff genetic diversityCentre-of-origin variation that underwrites the future of both crops worldwide.
- OceaniaHeat-tolerant coral breeding programmes, AustraliaSelecting and crossing corals for thermal tolerance to raise reef evolvability deliberately.
The idea itself
The encyclopedia entry first, then live searches at journals and magazines that keep returning current work on this specific idea.
Current reporting from around the world
Standing feeds at reputable periodicals. These stay fresh on their own, which is why they are here instead of a list of articles that would be out of date within a season.