Global Crop Diversity Trust: a Foundation for Food Security

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Global Crop Diversity Trust a Foundation for
Food Security
Development of Conservation Strategies September
2004
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Overview

• Introduction to the Trust
• Essential conservation activities
• Fundraising for the Trust
• Eligibility Principles
• Conservation Strategies

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An Introduction to the Trust

• An independent fund established under
  international law
• A public-private partnership
• At its centre is an endowment fund with an
  initial target 260 million, generating approx
  US12 million per year for conservation in
  perpetuity

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An Introduction to the Trust

• A joint initiative of FAO and IPGRI acting for
  the Future Harvest Centres of the CGIAR
• An essential element of the funding strategy of
  the International Treaty on PGRFA
• Technical framework provided by the GPA

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What will the Trust do?

• Proceeds from the endowment will support
  essential conservation activities of important
  national and international germplasm collections
• Grants also provided to upgrade and build
  capacity of eligible collections
• Ultimate goal to support forever an
  efficient and effective approach to the
  conservation of the world's most important crop
  diversity collection

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Essential Conservation Activities

• Defined as activities essential to maintain and
  make available an existing collection over the
  long term
• Storage and maintenance (seed, in vitro, field)
• Safety-duplication
• Regeneration
• Characterization
• Documentation
• Health of germplasm
• Distribution/links to users
• Acquisition

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Fundraising for the Trust

• To date
• 44 million in firm commitments
• From governments, foundations, the private sector
• 60 million under discussion

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Eligibility Principles

• The plant genetic resources are included in Annex
  1 to the International Treaty or referred to in
  Article 15.1(b) of the International Treaty
• The plant genetic resources are accessible under
  internationally agreed terms of access and
  benefit sharing provided for in the multilateral
  system as set out in the International Treaty

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Eligibility Principles

• Each holder of plant genetic resources for food
  and agriculture commits to its long term
  conservation and availability
• Each recipient of funds from the Trust shall
  undertake to work in partnership with the aim of
  developing an efficient and effective global
  conservation system

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Conservation strategies

• Crop and regional strategies
• To identify the collections that are eligible for
  funding by the Trust
• To set funding priorities for upgrading and
  capacity building
• To define the most efficient and effective
  approach for conservation at the crop or regional
  level
• Collectively will represent an efficient and
  effective arrangement for crop diversity
  conservation globally

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Regional Strategies

• Key collections of important crops identified on
  a region-by-region basis
• Collective analysis by holders and experts of
  needs and development of models for
  rationalization and cost effective conservation
  at regional level
• facilitates the identification of regional
  priorities
• identifies upgrade and capacity needs
• funds several collections in a single genebank

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Crop Strategies

• Holders of collections and other crop experts
  identify most important collections of Annex 1
  crops
• Set priorities for upgrading and capacity
  building, if needed
• Collective determination of a model for
  collaboration and sharing of responsibilities
• Enriches the information revealed in the regional
  strategies
• Will identify collections to receive conservation
  support over the long term

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Questions to be addressed

• Where are the most important collections?
• (How is most important defined? e.g.)
• Do they meet the eligibility principles? If not,
  are they willing to do so?
• How can conservation responsibilities be shared?
• What are the collections of highest priority for
  funding (needs and threats)?
• What are upgrade and capacity building needs?
• What standards of management are appropriate for
  the crop?