Ronnie Vernooy is a rural development sociologist with a particular interest in agricultural biodiversity and natural resource management. He has more than 20 years of experience in managing and conducting participatory research in a number of countries, including Nicaragua, Cuba, Honduras, China and Mongolia. He has coauthored and coedited several books and articles on biodiversity management and conservation; most recently, with Manuel Ruiz, The Custodians of Biodiversity: Sharing Access and Benefits of Genetic Resources.