15.

Pl
antGeneti
cResour
cesAct
ivi
ti
es:I
nter
nat
ionalPer
spect
ive
-R.KAror
a,R.
S.Par
odaandJ.M.M.Engel
s
I
ntr
oduct
ion
Thefiel
dofpl antgenet i
cr esources( PGR)hasgai nedmuchmoment um, particularlyinthelast
twodecades.I tiswel lr
eal isednowt hatnosi nglecount ryorregi oncanbesel f-suffici
entinits
needsongenet i
cdi ver
sity .Iti
sest i
mat edt hatav eragei nter
-dependencebet weenal lr
egionsof
thewor l
di smor et han50per cent-f orsomer egionsi tmayev enbemor ethan90per cent
(Wood, 1988).Byandl ar ge, mankinddependsonbar ely25cr opsf orit
smaj orneeds( Harlan,
1975).Themonocul turepr acti
ces,env i
ronment al degr adati
onandur bandev elopment-al lhave
contri
but edtolossofpl antgenet icdi versi
ty,sov italtoman' sfoodsecur ity( vanSl oten,1990a,
b).Theneedt opr otectandconser vetheser esour cesmor esy stemat ical
lyisget ti
ngr ecognised
nowmor eandmor e,andov er100nat ionalprogrammesar epresent l
yoper ating( vanSl ot
en,
1990b) .Howev er,withthespr eadofawar enessi npl antgenet icr esourcesi ngl obal context,
severalissueshav eemer gedandpl antgenet icresour ceshav ebecomet hesubj ectofpol i
ti
cal
andeconomi ccont roversy .Thus, global coll
aborat ioninPGRact iv i
ti
esandt hei rmanagementi s
ofvit
alimpor tance( Esqui nas- Al
cazar ,1989; vanSl oten,1990a, b).

Thet er m'Genet icResources'star t

edwi t
hthet echnical conf erenceor ganizedbyt heFoodand
AgricultureOr ganizati
on(FAO)i nRomei n1967, wher ei
nsci ent i
fi
cpr i
nciples, met hodol ogies
andst rategiesofexpl orat
ion,conser vati
on,ev aluationanddocument ationwer eel abor at
ely
discussedf orthef i
rstt
ime.Af ol l
owupoft hisr esultedinar eportont hesur veyofcr opgenet i
c
resour ces( Frankel,
1970)andt hroughsubsequentconf erences, i
nt womor ev erytimel y
publications( FrankelandBennet t,
1970;Frankel andHawkes, 1975).Sincet hentheact ivi
ti
es
havedev elopedf astinnationalandi nter
national per spective.Asf orIndia,t henat ional concern
i
swel ldiscussedi nChapt er14oft hi
sbookand, byandl arge, i
salsopr oper lyreflectedi nother
topic-specificchapters.Her e,
itisintendedtodeal withther ol eofinternational organi sati
ons
whichhav egoneal ongwayi niniti
ati
ng,promot ingandaccel erat
ingconcer nonpl antgenet ic
resour cesinal lpossibl
edi mensi onsofPGRact ivi
ti
es.

CGI
AR
TheConsultati
veGr ouponI nter
nat i
onalAgri
cult
uralResearch(CGI AR)wasest abli
shedi
n1971.
Iti
sanassociationofcount ri
es,i
nt er
nati
onalandregionalorganisationsandprivat
e
foundat
ionsdedicatedtosuppor tingasystem ofagricul
turalr
esear chcentr
esandpr ogr
ammes
aroundtheworld(IBPGR, 1989b) .Theresearchcarr
iedouti sdir
ectedt oimprovethequant
it
y
andqualit
yoffoodpr oductionindev el
opingcountri
es.TheWor l
dBank, FAOandUNDPar eco-
sponsorsofthi
sef fort
.TheCGI ARi sadvisedbyaTechni calAdvisor yCommittee(TAC).

Curr
entl
y,13Inter
nat
ionalAgri
cult
uralResearchCent r
es(IARCs)areworkingundert heaegi
sof
theCGIAR.Ofthese,
ninearecropcommodi t
yi nst
it
utesandarealsoinvolvedint he
conser
vati
onandut i
l
isat
ionofplantgeneti
cr esources(Hawkes,1985;vanSl oten,1990a,b).
However,t
hemai nCentr
ef orPGRactivi
ti
esundert heCGIARi stheInt
ernationalBoar df
orPlant
Geneti
cResources(I
BPGR) .

ThepurposeoftheCGIARsupporttopl
antgeneti
cresourcesistoensurethatthediver
sit
yof
ger
mplasm issafel
ymaintai
nedandmadef r
eelyavai
labl
ef orusei
nresearchandcr op
i
mprovementforlong-
ter
m benefi
tofal
lpeopl
e.TheCGI ARseekst oachievethisgoalbot
h
dir
ectl
yt hr
ought heinsti
tuti
onsitsupportsandindi
rectl
ythr
oughst rengtheni
ngnational
capabil
i
t i
es.ThePGRact i
vit
iessupportedbytheCGI ARarethusdiver seandincl
udeexplorati
on
andcollecti
on, character
izati
on,multi
pli
cati
on,eval
uati
on,conservation,dat
amanagement ,
i
nformat i
onser viceandt hesupplyofgermplasm toplantbr
eeders/researchworkers.Wher e
appropri
ate,theseact ivi
ti
esaresupportedbyresearchandtraini
ng( IBPGR,1989b;v anSloten,
1989;1990a, b).

I
ARCs
Tabl e1l iststhe13I nternational Agr i
cul turalResear chCent r
es( IARCs)oft heCGI AR, the
count ri
eswher et hesear esi tuatedandt hei rmandat e.Fi g.1showst hei
rgeogr aphi callocation.
Oft hese, ninear ecr opcommodi tycent res.Wi thwel ldef inedgoal s, theeffortsoft heseI ARCs
directedt owar dsaugment inggenet icdi versityint heirmandat ecr opshav ebeenappr eciable
(Hawkes, 1985) .Tabl e2l iststheger mpl asm accessi onsassembl edbyt heseI ARCswhi ch
representasi zabl epar tofthet ot alwor ldhol dingsf orther espect ivecr ops.Thewor l
d
ger mplasm col lectionsoff oodcr opsar el i
st edi nTabl e3basedonr ecentanal ysis( Chang,
1987; Ander son  etal., 
1988; vanSl oten, 1990a) .Thisal soi ndicat est heper centageofgenet ic
mat erialint er
msofl andracesandwi l
dspeci es, andthepossi bledegr eeoft hreatposedt o
mat erialst i
llt
obecol l
ected.Thedegr eeofcompr ehensi venessofger mplasm col l
ecti
ons
amongmaj orf oodcr opsmayt husber ankedi nt heor derofcer eals, commonorI ri
shpot ato,
grainlegumes, sor ghum andmi l
lets,cassav a, soy beanandpeanut s, sweetpot atoandy am
(Chang, 1987) .Itisal soest imat edt hatt hedupl i
cationofaccessi onswi t
hinacr opamongt he
variousgenebanksmayv aryf r
om 35per cent( inpeanut )t o75per cent( i
nwheat ).Detailsof
l
essercr opsar egi veni npaper spubl ishedbyPl ucknett etal .
 (1983)andLy man( 1984) .Mostof
theI ARCsnowhav eorar einapr ocessofget tingest ablishedl ong- term conser vati
onf aci l
it
ies
(vanSl oten, 1990a, b).Thesecent resar eal soequal lyconcer nedwi t hthedev elopmentof
over al
l databasesonwor ldhol dingsoft heirmandat ecr ops.
Tabl
e1.Int
ernat
ionalAgri
cult
uralResear
chCentr
es(I
ARCs)wit
hintheConsul
tat
iveGr
oupon
I
nter
nat
ionalAgri
cult
uralResearch,
li
stedinor
derofy
earest
abl
ished

Acr
ony
mCent
re Year Resear
chPr
ogr
ammes Locat
ion
Establ
i
shed
I
RRI I
nternat i
onalRiceResear ch 1960 Ri
ce Phi
l
ippi
nes
I
nstitute
CIMMYTI
nternat i
onalMai zeandWheat 1964 Mai
ze,
wheat
,tr
it
ical
e,bar
ley Mexi
co
I
mpr ovementCent re
I
ITA I
nternat i
onalInstit
uteofTr opical 1965 Maize,r
ice,cowpea,sweetpotat
o,Niger
ia
Agricultur
e yams,cassava
CIAT Cent reInt
ernacionaldeAgr i
cult
ura1968 Cassava,beans,r
ice,past
ures Colombia
Tropical
WARDA WestAf ri
caRiceDev el opment 1971 Ri
ce I
vor
yCoast
Associ ati
on
CIP I
nternat i
onalPot at
oCent re 1972 Potato Peru
I
CRISATI
nternat i
onalCropsResear ch 1972 Chickpea,
pigeonpea,
pear l
mi l
l
et,I
ndia
I
nstitutefortheSemi -
Ar idTropics sor
ghum, groundnut
I
LRAD Internat i
onalLabor at
or yf or 1974 Try
panosimiasis,
thei
ler
iosis Kenya
Resear chonAni mal Di seases
I
BPGR Internat i
onalBoar dforPl ant 1974 Pl
antgenet
icr
esour
ces I
tal
y
Genet icResources
I
LCA I
nternat i
onalLivestockCent refor 1974 Li
vest
ockpr
oduct
ionsy
stems Et
hiopi
a
Afri
ca
I
FPRI Internat i
onalFoodPol icyResear ch1975 Foodpol
i
cy USA
I
nstitute
I
CARDA I
nternat i
onalCent r
ef or 1976 Wheat,
bar l
ey,t
ri
ti
cale,
fababean,Sy
ria
Agricultur
alResear chi ntheDr y l
ent
il
,chickpea,f
orages
Areas
I
SNAR Internat i
onalServ i
cef orNat ional 1980 Nat
ional
agr
icul
tur
alr
esear
ch Net
her
lands
Agricultur
alResear ch
Manyofthecent
resalsohaveeconomi
corf
armi
ng-
syst
emsr
esear
chpr
ogr
ammes.For
l
ocat
ionsofcent
res,
seeFig.1.

Tabl
e2.Ger
mpl
asm hol
dingsofI
ARCs(
vanSl
oten,
1990a)

I
ARC Roundednumberof
accessi
ons
CIAT ( CentroInter
nacionaldeAgr i
culturaTr opical ,Colombia) 66,
000
CIMMYT(I
nternati
onalMai zeandWheatI mpr ov ementCent r
e,Mexico) 70,
000
CIP (I
nternati
onalPot at
oCent re,Peru) 12,
000
I
CARDA (I
nternati
onalCent r
ef orAgr i
cult
ur alResear chi nDryAreas,Syri
a)87,000
I
CRISAT(I
nternati
onalCropsResear chInstitutef ort heSemi -Ari
dTropics, 96,
000
I
ndia)
I
ITA (I
nternati
onalInstit
uteofTr opicalAgr iculture, Niger
ia) 36,
000
I
LCA (I
nternati
onalLivestockCent reforAf rica, Ethiopia) 9,
000
I
RRI ( I
nternati
onalRiceResear chI nstit
ute, Philippines) 83,
000
WARDA (WestAf ri
caRiceDev elopmentAssoci ation, Cot ed'
Ivoi
re) 6,
000
Total 466,000
Percentageofundupl icat
edwor ldhol dings* 35%
*Tot
alwor
ldwi
dehol
dingsar
eest
imat
edat2,
600,
000accessi
ons,
cont
aini
ngaconsi
der
abl
e
amountofduplicat
ion,
possibl
yupt o60percent(source:
Hol den,
1984) .Thenumberofunique
samplesingenebanksaroundtheworldis,
theref
ore,esti
mat edat1,050,000.Al
lowi
ngforan
i
ncreaseofuniquemateri
aloverthepastsi
xy ear
s,thecurrentesti
mat eofuniquesamplesis
1,
300,000.

Tabl
e3.Col
lect
ionoff
oodcr
opger
mpl
asm (
Ander etal
son  .,
 
1988)

Disti
nct Percentageofgenet i
c Threatto
Accessi
onsi
nmaj or material
scoll
ecteda
Cr
op accessions uncoll
ected
genebanks(
thousand)
(thousand) Landraces Wi l
dspeciesmaterial
Wheat 400 125 95 60 Medium
Ri
ce 200 70 70 10 Medium
Maize 70 60 90 n.e.* n.
a.
Barl
ey 250 50 40 10 Medium
Sorghum 90 20 80 10 High
Phaseolus beans65 33 50 10 Medium/ l
ow
Groundnut 33 10 70 50 Low
Sweetpot atoes 8 3 60 1 High
Potatoes 42 30 95 n.e. Low
Okra 3 2 80 3 Medium
Cowpeas 18 12 75 1 High
*n.
a.Notenoughinf
ormat
ionav
ail
abl
e.,
n.e.notest
imat
ed.
,a.Thebasef
ort
heper
cent
agei
sa
col
l
ecti
onthati
sjudgedt
obeadequat
e;Sour
  ce:I
BPGR1984.

Thei
mpor
tanceandr
elat
iveadv
ant
ageoft
heI
ARCsar
e:

1.Themaintenanceofgl
obal
col
lecti
onsoft
hemandatecr
ops,thei
rthor
ougheval
uati
onand
acti
veuti
l
isationi
nthebr
eedi
ngprogrammes,ar
eal
li
ntegr
atedprogr
ammesi noneandthe
sameinsti
tute.

2.Theexi
stenceofwellmanagedcooperati
ngnetworkswi
ththenati
onalpr
ogrammesmai
nly
oncropimprovement,
butalsomoreandmor eonPGR.Thi
shasfacil
it
atedt
hef l
owof
germpl
asm andhelpedbui
lding-
upcapabil
i
ties/
faci
l
iti
esi
nthepart
ici
pati
ngcountri
es.

TheIBPGRhassubst antial
l
yassi stedtheIARCstocollectgermplasm whichi
sheldi
ntrustby
theI
ARCsandi notherPGRr esearchactivi
ti
es.Si
nce1988, IBPGRandt heconcer
nedGenetic
ResourcesUni
tsoftheI ARCsmeetr egular
lyanddiscussPGRi ssuesofcommoni nt
eresti
nan
I
nter-
CentrePGRWor kingGr oup.

I
BPGRandi
tsact
ivi
ti
es

Gl
obalnetworkofbasecoll
ections
Cr
opgenet i
cresourcesnet
works
I
ntegr
atedconservati
onstr
ategies

TheInt
ernati
onalBoardf
orPl
antGeneti
cResour
ces(IBPGR)wasestabli
shedin1974withi
nthe
CGIARsystem t
opr omot
eandcoordi
natet
hecoll
ect
ion,conser
vat
ion,documentat
ion,
eval
uationanduseofger mplasm.Sinceitsincept
ion,IBPGRhasbeeni
nstr
umentali
n
acceler
ati
ngger mplasm col
lectingacti
vit
iesbasedoncr opaswellasr
egi
onalpr
ior
it
ies
accordi
ngtot helossofgenet i
cdiversi
tythroughspreadofmoderncul
ti
var
s/HYVsorotherbi
o-
ecologi
calcausesr esul
ti
ngint hedeplet
ionofgeneticdiver
sit
y.

In1986, t
heCGIARappr ov
edanext endedmandat etoenabl eI BPGRt ocatal
yzewhatever
acti
onswer eneededtosupportandwi denthealr
eadyexi stingglobalgeneti
cresources
networ k.Thismandateistof
urtherthestudy,col
lect
ion,preser vati
on,documentat
ion,
evaluationandutil
i
sati
onofthegenet icdi
versi
tyofuseful plantsforthebenefi
tofpeople
thr
oughoutt heworl
d.IBPGRshallactasacat al
ystbothwi thinandout si
detheCGIARsy stem i
n
sti
mul atingtheact
ionneededtosust ai
nav i
ablenetworkofi nst
itut
ionsfort
heconser v
ati
onof
geneticr esour
cesfort
heseplants.

I
nordert
omeettherequi
rementsasdescr
ibedinthemandat
e,IBPGRr
econst
ruct
edi
ts
pr
ogrammeasfol
lows(Engel
s,1989;
vanSloten,1989,
1990a,b):

Germpl asm acqui

sit
ion:
 
monit
ori
ngdegreeofgeneti
cerosi
on,col
lecti
ngthr
eat
enedgermpl
asm,
supplementingexist
inggapsi
ngerm-
plasm col
lect
ionsandfaci
li
tat
inggermpl
asm f
lowona
globalscal
e.

Germplasm charact
erizat
ionandevaluat
ion:
 gener
ati
ngt hebadl
yneededdataontheexisti
ng
col
lecti
onsthroughstandardi
zat
ionofprocedurestoprocess,st
oreanddist
ri
bute
charact
eri
zati
onandev al
uati
ondata.Dataacquisi
ti
on,dataanal
ysi
s,appl
i
cationandevaluat
ion
str
ategyaretheprogrammeel ements.

Tr
aini
ng: 
thedevelopmentofconcept
ual,techni
calandmanager
ialski
l
lsthroughsuppor
tof
manpowert r
aini
ng.Thi
sinvol
vespostgraduatetr
aini
ng,
speci
ali
zedshorttechni
calcour
ses,
i
ndi
v i
dualtr
aini
ngandinter
nfell
owships.

In-
vitr
ocultureresearch:
 
developmentof i
n-vi
tro 
techniquesforthecol
lecti
on,conser
vat
ionand
exchangeofgenot ypesforrecalci
tr
antspeciesincludi
ngcollect
ingandtissuecult
ure
technology,di
seaseindexingandtherapy,cr
y opr
eservati
on,geneti
cstabil
it
yandapi l
otstudy
fori
 n-
vitr
o genebanks.

Geneti
cdiver
sityresear
ch: 
toenhanceourunderst
andi
ngont heorigi
n,evol
uti
onandvar
iat
ion
patt
ernsofcropgenepools.Thi
si ncl
udesspeci
esmapping,ecogeographi
cstudi
es,
devel
opmentofbi ochemicalmethodsofdescri
pti
onandresearchonwi l
drel
ati
vesi
npri
ori
ty
cropgenepools.

Seedconserv
ati
onresearch:
 
toestabli
shandi mpl
ementstandardsforseedstor
age.Thiseff
ort
i
ncludesst
udyofphysiol
ogyofstoredorthodoxandrecal
cit
rantseeds,t
hei
rgeneticst
abil
i
ty,
dormancy,
regener
ati
onandgenet i
cintegri
tyaswell
asnon-destruct
ivedi
seaseindexi
ng.

Globalgeneti
cresourcesnet work:
 
dev el
opmentalacti
vi
tieswit
hthecooperat
ingnat
ional
programmesandI ARCsincludingfoster
ingbaseandact i
vecoll
ect
ionsanddatamanagement
andtransfer
.Theimpor t
antr ol
eofcr opgermplasm net
wor ksi
smor eandmor er
eal
isedand
usedasanor ganisati
onalinstr
umentt obringal
lconcernedworker
st oget
her
.

Techni
calservi
ces:
 pr
ovisi
onoftechni
caladvi
ceandi
nfor
mat
iont
oal
lst
affandsci
ent
if
ic
community,publ
icaff
air
s,publ
i
cationsandli
brar
y.
Ther ealstrengt hofIBPGRi npromot i
ngPGRact i
vit
iesongl obal basi s,particularl
yinthe
contextofnat i
onal progr ammes, hasbeeni tsoutreachpr ogr amme( v anSl oten,1989;1990a, b)
.
Eightregional offi
ceshav ebeenest abli
shedi ndiff
erentcont i
nent sandspr eadi nareasof
developingcount r
ies,mai nl
yt hosewhi chhol dr i
chgenet icweal th, vi
z.i nMexi co(basedin
CIMMYT, f
orMeso- Amer icaandt heCar i
bbean) ;i
nCali,Col ombi a( basedi nCI AT,forSouth
Amer ica);i
nRome( basedatI BPGRHeadquar tersforEurope, NorthAf ricaandSout h-WestAsia)
;
i
nNi amey ,Niger(basedi nt heICRI SATSahel ianCent r
ef orWestAf rica) ;i
nNai r
obi,Kenya
(basedi nILRADf orEastandSout hernAf rica);inNewDel hi,India( basedi nNBPGR, forSouth
andSout h-
EastAsi a-wi thasub- offi
cei nLosBaños, t
hePhi li
ppines, basedi nI PB,forSouth-
EastAsi a),andi nBeijing, China(basedi nCAASf orEastAsi a).I
naddi tion,IBPGR' sfullt
ime
plantcollectorsar ebasedi nCy prusandZi mbabwe.Di stri
but ionofger mplasm col l
ectedas
seedt hrought heI BPGRsuppor tedmi ssionsi sdecentralizedwi thSeedHandl i
ngUni t
sinKew,
UK; Singapore; andTur r
ialba,Cost aRi ca( Fig.2;vanSloten, 1989, 1990a) .

Fi
g.2.TheI
BPGRnet
wor
k
Ther egi onal of
f i
cespr ov i
dev i
tall
inkswi thi
ntheirareaofoper ationbet weent heI BPGR, nati
onal
progr ammesandr egional programmesi ngearingPGRact i
viti
esi nt henational plantgenet i
c
resour cessy st
ems( vanSl oten,1990a).Theyal soeffecti
velymai ntaincoordinationand
cooper ati
onwi tht heI ARCsandot herregional
/inter
nationalor ganisationswithint heir
j
ur i
sdi cti
on.Theyor gani seperiodicmeet i
ngsoft henat i
onal PGRcoor di
natorsofdi f
ferent
count rieswi thi
nt her egi on.Thus,theseof fi
cesar eplayi
nggr eat ercoor di
natingr ole,advisory
serviceandon- spotgui dancet onationalprogrammesaspert heneedsoft hel atter.The
professi onal st
af fateachof fi
ce,Coordinator,
Associ at
eCoor dinatororAssi stantCoor di
nator,
mai ntainef fectiv
edi alogueandcooper ationandar eIBPGRst ruel i
fe-l
inesincat alyzingand
strengt heningsuchact iv i
ti
es.

Someofthemajorpastachi
evement
soft
heI
BPGRar
esummar
izedbel
ow(
Engel
s,1989;
van
Sl
oten,
1990a,
b) :

1.Thedev
elopmentofagl
obalnetworkofgenebankstoconserv
egermplasm.Atpr
esent
,the
networ
kcomprisesov
er100operati
nggenebanksindevel
opinganddev
elopedcount
ri
es.

2.Thest i
mulati
onofotherinst
it
utionsonnational
,regional andinternati
onallev
elstoassume
theresponsibi
li
tytocol
lect
,character
izeandstoreplantgenet i
cr esources.Thesegenebanks
nowoper ateinover100countri
esandr angefrom emer gentnational ent
it
iestohighl
y
sophist
icatedcentr
esintheCGIARandi nsomenat i
onal programmes.

3.Theest
abl
ishmentofpri
ori
ti
esbyspeci
esandr
egi
onsforthecol
l
ecti
onoft hr
eat
ened
germpl
asm.Over400coll
ecti
onmissi
onsworl
dwi
dewereorgani
sedand/orsuppor
ted.

4.Thesupportt
otr
ainov
er1450i
ndi
vi
dual
sinal
laspect
sofgenet
icr
esour
cesconser
vat
ion
anduti
li
sat
ion.

5.Thestandardi
sat
ionofchar
act
eri
zat
ionandeval
uati
onact
ivi
ti
esthr
oughtheproducti
onof
descr
ipt
orlist
sforall
majorcr
opspeci
es(over60cr
opdescr
ipt
orshavebeenprepared)
.

6.Thepubl
i
cat
ionanddi
ssemi
nat
ionofsci
ent
if
icr
epor
ts,
dir
ect
ori
esandnewsl
ett
ers.

Between1974and1989,188,419sampl eshavebeencoll
ectedbyt heIBPGRorwi t
hIBPGR
support(
vanSlot
en,1990a,b).Thesearelist
edinTabl
e4.Itshouldbement ionedherethat
IBPGRdoesnotpossessanyger mplasm i
tself
,al
lthemater
ialcol
lectedwit
hi t
ssupportis
maintai
nedinoneormoreglobalbasecollecti
onsandwit
ht herespecti
venational
programmes.

Tabl
es4.Ger
mpl
asm col
lect
ionsmadewi
thI
BPGRsuppor
tupt
o1989(
vanSl
oten,
1990a)

Cereals 74,
516
Forages 29,
058
Foodlegumes 28,
856
Rootandt uber
s 19,
140
Vegetables 17,
012
I
ndustrial 8,
483
Frui
ts 7,
237
Other
s 4,
117
Total
accessi
onscol
l
ect
ed1,
88,
419

Atpr
esent
,someoft
hemaj
ori
ssuesi
nthePGRcommuni
tyand,
ther
efor
e,ofmaj
orconcer
nto
I
BPGRare:

1.Gl
obal networkofbasecoll
ections.
2.Cr
opgenet i
cresourcesnet
works.
3.I
ntegratedconservati
onstr
ategies.
4.I
nformat i
onmanagementi ndat abases.

Someot herissuesofconcerntot
heIBPGRandrel
evantt
other
eader
sdeal
wit
hbi
odi
ver
sit
y,
bi
otechnologyandtheintel
lect
ual
proper
tyr
ight
s.

Gl
obalnet
wor
kofbasecol
lect
ions

Since1976, theIBPGRhasi dentif

iedanumberofbasecol lect
iongenebanksar oundt hewor l
d
tomai ntaincoll
ect i
onsofspeci f
iccropsonar egi onal orglobalbasis.Thesebasecol l
ections
covermai nlycereal s(wheat,ri
ce, maize,barley
, sorghum andmi ll
ets,oat
sandr y
e);food
l
egumes( chickpea, fababean, groundnut ,
lenti
l,lupin,Phaseol
  us, 
pigeonpea,
soybean, mung
bean, cowpeaandwi ngedbean) ;rootcrops(cassav a,potatoandsweetpot at
o);vegetables
(All
ium,  amaranth, Capsicum, crucif
erouscr ops, cucurbits,okra,tomat oandeggplant);
i
ndust r i
alcrops( cotton,sugarcaneandt obacco) ;andf oragelegumesandgr asses(16gener a).
Thesegenebankshol dt
hecol lect
ionsofspeci ficcr opsundercondi ti
onswhichpreser v
et hei
r
l
ong- termv i
abil
ity.Howev er,someoft hesebasecol l
ectionsar eheldbycentreswithonly
medi um- t
erm storagecondi ti
onswhi char eaccor di
nglybei ngencour agedtoupgradet heir
facil
it
iest oat t
aint hestandardsnecessar yforlong- term seedst orage.

Sof ar,
theI BPGRhasanunder standingwi t
h39genebanksf orthelong- term conser vationof
mostoft hemaj orandanumberofmi norcropswi t
hor thodoxseed( FAO, 1989b) ;ofthese, 31
areinthenat i
onal instit
ut esofthef oll
owingcount ries:Af
  rica: 
Ethi
opia; Asiaand
t Paci
he  fi
c: 
Aust rali
a( 2),Bangladesh, Chi
naP. R.,India,Japan( 3),thePhi li
ppi nesandThai land
(2);
 Europe: 
Bel gium, Feder alRepublicofGer many( 2) ,Greece,Hungar y,Italy,theNet herlands,
Poland, Portugal,Spai n( 2),Sweden, t
heUK( 2),
andt heUSSR; Lat
  i
nAmer i
ca and
t Car
he  i
bbean:  Argent i
na, Brazil
andCost aRi ca;
 Nor thAmer i
ca: 
Canadaandt heUSA; sevenar e
l
ocat edintheGGI ARcent res(CIAT,CIP,I
CARDA, ICRI SAT, II
TA,ILCAandI RRI )
;andonei nt he
AsianVeget ableResear chandDev elopmentCent r
e( AVRDC) .Appendi xI(aandb)gi vest he
detail
sonsuchgenebanks( IBPGR,1990) ,whil
et hecur rentstatusofi nstituteswi thlong-term
seedst oragef acili
ties,bot hinthedev el
opedanddev elopingcount ri
es, i
sdepi ctedinFig.3( v
an
Sloten,1990b) .

Fi
g.3.Thenumberofi
nst
it
uteswi
thl
ong-
ter
m seedst
oragef
aci
li
ti
es(
vanSl
oten,
1990b)
Cr
opgenet
icr
esour
cesnet
wor
ks

Theprimaryobjectiv
eofacr opnetworkistoimprov eand/
orcoordi
nateconservat
ionand
uti
l
isati
onofthecr opgenepoolstart
ingwit
hadi aloguebetweenall
concernedparti
es-
germplasm col
l
ect ors,
curat
ors,r
esearcher
s,breedersandotherusers-
fol
lowinganintegr
ated
approach(I
BPGR, 1989a;vanSloten,1990a,b).Throughsti
mulat
ingthedevelopmentsofsuch
networks,
IBPGRi saimingat:

1.l
ong-
ter
m securestorageinbasecoll
ecti
ons;
2.r
eadyprov
isionofinf
ormationthr
oughdatabases;and
3.r
eadyavai
labil
i
tyofsamplesfrom act
ivecol
lect
ionsli
nkedwi
thbasecol
l
ect
ionsand
i
mproveduseofcr opgenepool.

TheI BPGRwi llactasacat alysti

nbr i
ngi ngthespeci al
iststogetherwhot hendev eloppl ansfor
thenet wor k.Thecoor dinationofsuchnet workscanbewi thani nter
nati
onal centreoral ead
breedingi nst i
tute.Inordert ogainex perienceanddev eloptheconcept ,ataskf orcewas
establishedandapi lotprogr ammewasl aunchedt opr omot ethisconcernonei ghtcr ops,vi
z.
barley,mai ze, groundnut ,sweetpot ato,medi cs,banana, okraandsugar beet.Eachnet wor ki
s
beingdev elopedt hroughmeet i
ngs/wor kshopsdesi gnedt obringtogethernat i
onal and
i
nter nati
onal bodies,baseandact i
vecol l
ectioncurators,researchersaswel lastheuser
communi t
y .Oncet hesei nit
iallyi
dentifi
ednet wor kshav ebeensetup, I
BPGRpl anst odev ote
mor er esour cest ocreatingot hers.Event ual
ly,i
tishopedt hatnet workswillbeest abli
shedfor
allmaj orcr opsaswel lasf ormanyoft hemi norspecies,andt hatthesenetwor kswi l
lbecome
self-
sust ainable.TheschemeofI BPGR' sconceptofnet worksi sgiveninFig.4(vanSl oten,
1989)
.

Fi
g.4.Schemat
icpl
anofI
BPGR'
sconceptofcr
opnet
wor
ks(
vanSl
oten,
1989)

I
ntegr
atedconser
vat
ionst
rat
egi
es

Thest arti
ngpoi ntfordev i
singaconser vat i
onst r
at egyi sthecomposi tionoft hegenepool .I
twi l
l
bemor elikelyt hatabal ancedappl i
cat ionoft echnol ogi eswillbeneededi nbot h  i
n- sit
u and  ex-
sit
u conser vat ion.Wi thinthel at
tercat egor y,af urtherbal anceneedst obemadebet weenseed,
fi
eldgenebank,  in-
vit
ro, pollenand, per hapsi nthef utur e,DNAandgenest orage.Dependi ngon
thebiological factors( Table5) ,available( t
echni cal)i nfrastr
uct ure,amountofaccessi onsat
handandsomeot herf actor s,onewi llchooseoneoracombi nationofconser vat ionmet hods
foragi vengenepool .Exampl esoft hr eesel ectedcr opsar egiveni nFi g.5demonst ratingt he
dif
ferencesbet weenor t
hodoxandr ecal citrantseedcr opsbet weensexual lyandasexual l
y
propagat edcr ops, betweenannual andper ennial speci es,andt heexi stenceand/ ordi stribution
ofthewi l
dspeci esint heirnat uralhabi tat .Inthel attercase, ther elevanceby i
 n-
sit
u conser vat ioni sther e,wher easacr opl ikecoconutwi thoutr elatedwi l
dspeci esdoesnot
requir
eext ensi ve i
n-situ conser vation.Themet hods, l
istedinTabl e6, arenotal l sui tablef or
l
ong- t
er m conser v
ation.Themaj or
ityar eonl ysui t
abl ef orshortormedi um- term conser v ati
on,
andsomeot her ssuchascr y opreser vationandDNAorgenel ibrariesneedf urtherr esear cht o
besaf elyut i
lisedf orl ong-ter m conser v ation.Atpr esent ,onlyseedst or ageand, althoughl ess
usedsof ar ,
pol l
enst orage, ar esafeandsui tablemet hodsenabl ingl ong- t
erm st at i
c
conser vati
onofgenet icdiver sit
y .I
nt hecaseof  i
n-si t
u  conservat i
on, oneal l
owst henat urall
y
occurringspeci estoev olvei ntheirecosy stem and, ifpr opermoni toringi sav ailabl e,thiswi l
l be
anadequat ef or m ofdy nami cconser v ation( Engel s, 1990) .Amodel dev el
opedbyI BPGR
depicti
ngcompl ement aryconser vationmet hods( vanSl oten,1990a) ,iselabor at elydeal twithin
Chapter11.
Tabl
e5.Bi
ologi
calf
act
orsdet
ermi
ningconser
vat
ionmet
hods(
Engel
s,1990)

Biol
ogical
factors Pref er redconser v ati
onmet hods Remar ks
1.Perenni
alspecies(
especi
all
y In-situ/ fi
el d genebank  In-v
itr
o/seed I
ft r
eespeci es,
ber equi
red
tr
eespecies) and/ orpol lenst or age forutil
isat
ionpurpose
2.Annualspecies Seedand/ orpol l
enst orage/ i
n-
  v i
tr
o f
iel
d Seeal sofactor
s3, 4,6and7
genebank
3.Orthodoxseeds Seedst or age
4.Recalcit
rantseeds In-vitro/ i
n- situ/fi
el dgenebank/ poll
en Asunder1
5.Syntheti
cseeds Asor thodoxseeds Met hodunderdev elopment
6.Vegetati
v el
ypr opagat ed Fieldgenebank/ in-
specieswithoutv iableseeds vit
r o/ pollen/ cr y
opr eservati
on
7.Vegetati
v el
ypr opagat ed Fieldgenebank/ seed/ poll
en/ i
n- Fiel
dgenebankorgenot ype
specieswithv iableseeds vit
r o/ Cr y
opr eserv at i
on needst obeconser ved
8.Longl i
vi
ngpol l
en Pol lenst orage
9.Tissuecul t
ur i
ngf easibi
l
ity Iflow, lookf oral ternativemet hod
10.Cryopreser vati
onf easi
bil
ity Iflow, lookf oral ternativemet hod
11.Geneticst abil
ity Iflowf orcer tai
nmet hod,lookf or
alter nat i
vemet hod
Tabl
e6.Mostcommonmet hodsusedf
orger
mpl
asm conser
vat
ionandt
hecor
respondi
ng
PGRcategor
ies(
Engel
s,1990)

Met hods Predomi nant l

yconser vedPGRcat egoriesbycor r
espondingmet hod
Biospher er eserve Ecosy stem/ bi
odiver sit
ybyandl ar ge
Naturer eser ve Specifichabi t
at/wildand/ orweedyspeci esgenepool
Genesanct uar y Ecosy stem( speci f
ic)/wi ldspeci esgenepool
Onf arm conser vati
on( mass Agr o-
ecosy stem/ l
andr aces
reservoi
r s,bul khybridpopul
ati
ons)
Botanical gar den/arboret
um Wildspeci es,obsol etecul tiv
ars,treecropger mplasm
Fiel
dgenebank Wildspeci es,veget ativel
ypr opagat edcr ops,treecropger mplasm
Plantorganst or
age Veget ati
v elypropagat edcr ops,mai nlyint heform ofroots,tubersand
bulbs
Seedst or age AHpl antspeci eswhi chpr oducef erti
leandor thodoxseeds
Pollenst orage I
npr i
ncipleal lspecieswhi chpr oducel ongl i
v i
ngpollen
I
n- v
itr
o st orage Wildandcul ti
vatedspeci eswhi chpr oducer ecalcit
rantornoseeds,
vegetativelypr opagat edcr ops,diseasef reeger mplasm aswel las
orthodoxseeds
Cryopreser v ati
on Ger mplasm ment i
onedabov ewhi chper mitscryopreser
vation
DNAandgenel i
braries Special genet icstocks; i
npr inci
pleappl icableforallger
mpl asm
PGRdat
amanagement

Cent
ral
cropdat
abases

TheIBPGRcoor dinatesandpromotesalar genetworkofcr opgenet i

cr esourcesact
ivi
ti
esand
hastocollect,
or ganiseandprovi
deinfor
mat i
onconcerningdifferentactivi
ti
eswithi
nthe
net
wor k.Thiscat egoryofi
nfor
mationcov ersmanpower ,infr
ast r
uctur
eandor gani
sati
onof
nat
ionalprogrammes, acti
veproj
ects,
scientifi
cli
ter
ature,tr
aining,germplasm coll
ecti
onwit
h
I
BPGRsuppor t,
et c.TheIBPGRdocument at i
onprogrammei sthusmul tidi
mensionaland
cur
rent
lyconsi
stsoft
hef
oll
owi
ngmaj
orcomponent
s:

1.Devel
opmentandpr
omot
ionoft
heuseofst
andar
dsf
ort
hedocument
ati
onofgenet
ic
resour
ces.

2.Supportt
onati
onalandi
nternat
ional
progr
ammest oest
abl
ishand/orst
rengt
hensy st
emsf
or
eff
ici
enthandl
i
ngofthedata,andtoacqui
readequat
edataonaccessi
onsincol
lect
ions.

3.Anal
y si
sanddisseminati
onofgeneti
cresour
cesi
nfor
mat
iononcr
opsandot
heract
ivi
ti
ese.
g.
col
lect
ing,conser
vati
on,tr
aini
ng,
etc.

Cent
ralcr
opdat
abases

Numer ousadv antagesofi nt

egr
atingthedataongermpl asm hel
dindi ffer
entcentr
esintoone
comput erdatabasewer erecogni
sedbyt heIBPGRy earsago.Thet echnologi
caladvancesinthe
fi
eldofdat aprocessinghasmadei mplementat
ionofsuchdat abasest echni
call
yfeasi
bleata
reasonablecost.Thus, i
n1982,theIBPGRent er
edthisnewar eaofdocument ati
onofgenetic
resources,andthef ol
lowingpoli
cywasadopt edwithregardtoestablishmentofcentral
ised
cropdat abases:

1.Thedat
abasesshoul
dbeor
gani
zedsepar
atel
yforeachcr
op.

2.Cropdatabasesshoul
dbel
ocat
edi
nani
nter
nat
ional
l
yrecogni
sed'
Cent
reofexcel
l
ence'
for
thecropsconcerned.

3.Dat
abasesformandat
ecr
opsoft
heI
ARCsoft
heCGI
ARshoul
dpr
efer
abl
ybedeal
tbyt
he
I
ARCsconcerned.

Acent r
al dat
abaseshoul denablebothmanager sofgenebanksandagenci escoordi
nati
ng
geneti
cr esourceacti
vit
iestotargetcollecti
ngefforts;seewhetheraccessi
onsaresaf
ely
deposit
edi nbasecollecti
onsandav ailablefrom activ
ecoll
ecti
ons;plancoll
abor
ati
vetr
ial
s
ai
mi ngatchar act
eri
zati
onand/ orevaluationofger mplasm et
c.Thus, adat
abaseisaservi
cet
o
breedersandot herusers.

FAOandpl
antgenet
icr
esour
cesact
ivi
ti
es

FAOcommi ssi
ononpl antgenet
icresour
ces
I
nter
nat
ionalagreements/codeofconduct

Theinit
ialr
oleoftheFAO, muchearli
ertotheestabli
shmentoftheI
BPGRandtheacti
vi
ti
esof
theIARCs,hasalreadybeenpoint
edout.Since1983, FAOhasdevel
opedagl
obalsy
stem i
n
plantgenet
icresources.Thi
sincl
udes(Esquinas-
Alcazar
,1989)
:

1.Afl
exibl
elegalf
ramework-theInt
ernati
onal Undert
aki
ngonPl antGeneticResour
ces;
2.Anint
ergovernment
alfor
um -theCommi ssi
ononPl antGeneti
cResour ces,
and
3.Thebegi
nningofafi
nancial
mechani sm -theInter
nati
onalFundforPlantGeneti
cResour
ces.
The Internat i
onalUnder takingonPl antGenet i
cResour ces  i
saf ormal arrangement , the
objectiveofwhi chi st oensur et hatpl antgenet icresour ces, especi all
yspeci esofpr esentor
futureeconomi candsoci al i
mpor tance, willbeexpl ored, collect ed,preser ved,ev aluat edand
madeav ailablewi thoutr estrictionf orbr eedingandot hersci ent i
fi
cpur poses.The  Commi ssion
onPl antGenet icResour ces i
sauni quei ntergov ernment al global forum, wher ecount rieswhich
aredonor soruser sofger mpl asm aswel last hosewhi char esour cesofger mplasm can
discussmat t
er srelatedt oplantgenet i
cr esour cesonanequal foot i
ng, andmoni tort he
i
mpl ement ationoft hepr i
nciplescont ainedi nt heInt ernat i
onal Under taking.The  Inter nati
onal
FundForPl antGenet icResour ces istohel pensur et heconser v at
ionandpr omot et heuseof
plantgenet icr esour cesonasust ainablebasi satwor l
dl ev el.TheFundpr ovidest hemechani sm
forcount ri
es, intergov er
nment al andnon- gov ernment al organi sations, andpr ivatei ndust r
ies
andi ndivi
dual st oful f
ilt
hecommonr esponsi bili
tytomai ntaint hewor ld'splantgenet i
cdiversit
y
(Esquinas- Alcazar ,1989) .Todat e,122count ri
eshav eei therj oinedt heCommi ssion( 102),have
agreedt oadher et ot heInternat ional Under t
aki ng( 90)ort akenbot hst eps.Inshor t
, theabov e
aspect ssaf eguar dt heconser vat i
onanduseofbi ol ogical diver sit
y, i
npl antgenes, genot y
pes
andgenepool s;atmol ecular,popul ation, speciesandecosy stem l evel.

FAOcommi
ssi
ononpl
antgenet
icr
esour
ces

Ther ol
eoft heI nt ernational Commi ssiononPl antGenet i
cResour cesi stoser veasauni que
i
nter gov ernment al bodyt hatmoni torst hei mpl ement ati
onoft heUnder taking, andensur est he
compr ehensi venessandef fi
ciencyoft hegl obal system i nf ullcoor di
nat ionwi thot hernat ional ,
regional andi nt ernat i
onal organi sati
onsi nvolv ed.Si ncet heest ablishmentoft heCommi ssioni n
Nov ember1983, anddur ingt hedebat esi ni tsf irsttwomeet ings( Mar ch1985andMar ch1987) ,
whichwer eat tendedbot hbymemberandnon- membercount riesoft heCommi ssion( thel atter
asobser ver s) ,themaj orr eser vat i
onsr ai sedbysomecount ri
est ot heFAOUnder takingand
Commi ssionhav ebeeni nr egar dt o:(i)t hecompat ibili
tyoft heUnder takingwi thexi sti
ng
nati
onal lawsr elatedt oPl antBr eeder s' Ri ghtsf ormanydev elopedcount ri
esandt or estriction
ofexchangeofcer tai
nspeci esi nsomedev el opi ngcount ries;(ii
)thepossi bl
eov erlapbet ween
theCommi ssi onandot heror gani sationsdeal ingwi thpl antgenet icresour ces.Apar tfrom Pl ant
Breeder s' ri
ght s, Far mer s' ri
ght shav eal sobeenr ecogni sed.TheI nternat i
onal Under taking
recogni sest her i
ght sofbot hpl antbr eeder sandf armer st obenef itfrom t heircont ri
butionst o
theimpr ov ementofagr iculture.Theadopt i
onofPl antBr eeder s'ri
ght shasencour agedt he
devel opment ,mar ketingandwi despr eaduseofi mpr ov edcr opv ariet
iesbuti thasbeenpar tl
y
responsi blef orr educt ioni nt hepool ofcr opger mpl asm conser vedbygr ower s.Theef f
ect sof
theadopt ionofFar mer s' ri
ght sar enoty etev identbutshoul dr esultini mpr ov edf undi ngf orand
appr eciationofpl antgenet i
cr esour ces.TheI nt ernational Commi ssiononPGRwi l
l havet he
responsi bilityt opr ovi
deacont i
nui ngsci ent i
ficandt echni calcont ributiont othedi scussi ons
anddebat esont heset opi csandensur et hati nf ormat i
onoft hehi ghestst andar di sr eadily
availableasabasi sfort hef ormul ationofnat ional andi nternat i
onal pol i
ciesonger mpl asm
availabilit
yandexchange( FAO, 1989b) .

I
nter
nat
ionalagr
eement
s/codeofconduct

TheCommissi
onconsideredthedevel
opmentofi
nter
nat
ional
agr
eement
sfort
heconser
vat
ion
anduseofpl
antgenet
icresources.

Inthi
scont ext
,itr
ecommendedt hatt
heSecr et
ari
at,i
ncooperat
ionwi t
ht heWor ki
ngGroup,
shoulddraftacodeofconductforint
ernat
ionalcol
lect
orsofgermplasm asal socoverthe
conserv
ationanduseofPGR; anddev el
opacodeofconductf orbiotechnologyasitaff
ects
conser
vat
ionanduseofpl
antgenet
icr
esour
ces.

FAO/
IBPGR/
IARCscol
labor
ati
on
TheI ARCsandI BPGRr ecognisetheimpor t
anceofcollaborati
onandconsul tat
ionwi
thFAOon
al
l aspectsofplantgeneticresour
cesact i
viti
es.I
tisf
urtherrecognisedthatFAOandtheFAO
Commi ssionareprobabl
yi nabetterposit
ionthanIBPGRandI ARCst oaddressanumberof
i
ssuesofapol it
icalnat
ure,manyofwhi chr equi
regovernmentallegisl
ati
on.Somespecifi
c
areasf orcoll
aborati
onare( v
anSloten1989; 1990a,b;andt herecentl
ysignedMemor andum of
Under standi
ngbet weentheIBPGRandt heFAO) :

1.TheCommi ssionistocontinuetofoll
ow-uponthef
reeav
ail
abi
l
ityofger
mpl asm andt
he
supportofal
lIARCstot hej
ointFAO/I BPGReffor
tont
hedevel
opmentofguideli
nesfort
hesaf
e
tr
ansferofger
mpl asm ofspecifi
ccrops.

2.Theestabli
shmentofanor ganisational fr
amewor kforpl
antgeneti
cresourceswor katthe
nati
onaland,i
frequi
red,attheregional l
ev el
.TheI BPGRandIARCshav eforsomet ime
recogni
sedtheneedf ornat
ionalcommi ttees, programmesandcoor di
nator
s, t
hroughwhichand
withwhom theycanwor k.I
tisbelievedt hati tshouldbetheresponsi
bil
i
tyoftheCommi ssiont
o
encouragethecount
riestoestabli
sht hisst ructure.

3.Itisrecognisedt hatinanumberofcountr
iesthedev el
opmentofnationalpr
ogr
ammes
requirestechnicalassistancef
ori
nsti
tut
ionbuil
ding.TheIBPGRandt heIARCscanpr
ovi
det
he
scientif
icinputsinjoini
ngFAOandt heCommi ssi
oni nmobili
zi
ngthesef unds.

4.I
nt heset t
ing-upofcropnetworks,
theCommi ssi
onshouldbei nv
olvedinobtaini
ngt he
agreement sforthedesignat
ionsofCentrest
oholdbasecollect
ions.Thetechnicalaspectsof
coordinati
ngt henetworksandfil
l
ingthegapsincoll
ecti
ngandchar act
eri
zati
oncanbe
undertakenbyI BPGR/IARCsandt hecol
labor
ati
nginsti
tut
es.

5.Safet
ydupli
cat
ionofbasecoll
ect
ionsi
npermafr
ostcoul
dbeanot
herar
eaf
orcol
l
abor
ati
on
betweentheCommi ssi
on,
theIARCsandIBPGR.

6.Thedesi
gnati
onofi
 n-
sit
u reser
vesisanat i
onalresponsi
bil
i
ty;
theCommissi
onshoul
dfoll
ow
thi
supwiththeGover
nment sconcerned.IBPGRandI ARCscanadviseont
hetechni
cal
aspects
ofthei
denti
fi
cat
ionandmanagementoft heseareas.

7.National
capabil
it
yinger
mplasm ev
aluat
ionandplantbr
eedi
ngi
ndevel
opi
ngcount
ri
es
requi
resstrengt
heni
ngandthi
sisseenasamaj ort
askoftheCommissi
onandt
heFAO.

Ot
heri
nter
nat
ional
/regi
onalor
gani
sat
ions
Besidest heCGIARnet workandt heFAO, therearesev er
alothercentresi nvolv
edinPGR
acti
vit
ies.TheAsi anVeget ableResear chandDev elopmentCent re(AVRDC, Taiwan)has
perf
ormedpar all
el acti
vi
ti
esast hoseoft heIARCs.TheI nter
nat i
onalDev el
opmentResearch
Centre( I
DRC)isal soact i
vel
yengagedi nPGRut i
li
sationandconser vation-bamboosand
rat
tans, banana,oilseeds,small
ermi l
lets;t
heInternati
onalJuteOr ganisat i
on(IJO)i
npromoting
coll
ection,uti
li
sati
onandconser vati
onofj uteandkenafgenet icresources; theJapanese
Int
ernationalCooper ati
onAgency( JICA) ;
theGermanAgencyf orTechni calCooperat
ion(GTZ);
USAI Dandot herassi stanceagenci esincr eat ingconser vationf aci l
ities.Ther ei san
Internat ional Net wor kfort heImpr ovementofBananaandPl antain( I
NI BAP, France) ,the
Commonweal thSci entif
icandI ndust r
ialResear chOr ganisat i
on( CSI RO, Australia);wel l
establ ishedcount r
ycent res,suchast heNat i
onal PlantGer mplasm Sy stem, USDA( USA) ,and
theN. I.Vav i
lovAl l-
UnionSci ent i
ficResear chI nstituteofPl antI ndust ry /VIR(USSR) ; i
nAf rica,
the
PlantGenet i
cResour cesCent re/Et hi
opia( PGRC/ E);inLat i
nAmer ica, CENARGEN, Embr apa
(Brazi l
) ;
inEastAsi a,theI nsti
tuteofCr opGer mpl asm Resour cesundert heChi neseAcademyof
Agr i
cul tur alSci ences( CAAS) ,Bei j
ing;inSout h-EastAsi a,theNat ional PlantGenet i
cResour ces
Labor ator y,Uni v ersi
tyoft hePhi l
i
ppi nesatLosBaños, Phil
ippines; andi nSout hAsi a, t
he
Nat i
onal Bur eauofPl antGenet icResour ces( NBPGR) , NewDel hi,Indi a.Lat ely,the
Commonweal thSci enceCounci l
(CSC) ,
UK, hasal soexhi bitedmuchconcer nandi nt erestinthi
s
discipl i
ne, conf inedt olesserknownpl ants/traditional usef ulplant s-pl ant sofet hnobot ani
cal
i
nt erest( Par oda  etal.,
 1988; Har ri
sandKapoor ,
1990) .Theobj ectiv esoft hese
cent res/ or gani sat i
onsmayv arybr oadlydependi ngonnat i
onal /regi onal /int
ernat ional mandat e
but ,byandl ar ge, thePGRact i
viti
escar r
iedoutbyt hem ar ecompl ement ary,
wi themphasi son
conser vat ionandut il
isati
onofpl antgenet icweal th.Mor er ecent ly,muchconcer nont hese
act i
vitieshasbeenhi ghlighted, bothgl obal l
yandnat ionally,bysev er al NGOs( Non-
Gov er nment al Or gani
sations) /
v oluntaryor gani sat i
onssuchasRAFI ,KENGRA, GRAI N,andi n
India, theChi pkomov ement .

Bi
odi
ver
sit
y

Bot
ani
cgar
densandpl
antgenet
icr
esour
cesconser
vat
ion

Biologi caldiversit
yisbasict obot hecological andf oodsecur i
ty.Sustai
nableadv ancesi n
biological productivit
ywi l
lnotbepossi blewi thoutaccesst obi ological
diversity(Swami nat han,
1989) .Thus, safeguardi
ngt hisendowmentofnat ureisofpar amounti mpor tancet ohuman
wel f
ar e.Itsconser vati
onisnowr eceivi
ngmor eandmor eattention.SeveralUni t
edNat ions
agenci eshav ebecomei nvol vedinthisfieldincludingtheFAO, UnitedNat i
onsEnv i
ronment
Progr amme( UNEP) ,andt heUni tedNat i
onsEducat i
onal,Scienti
ficandCul turalOrganisation
(UNESCO) .Manynon- gover nment alorganisationsar einvol
v edint hediscussionsont he
conser vati
onofbi odiversityaswel l
,bothatt hegl obalandt henat i
onal l
evel.Atthegl obal l
ev el
,
thisincl udesor ganisati
ons, suchast heWor l
dWi deFundf orNat ure(WWF) ,theInter
nat i
onal
Unionf orConser v
ationofNat ureandNat uralResour ces(IUCN) ,theWor ldResour cesInst i
tute
(WRI ),andmanyot hers( v
anSl oten,1990a; IBPGR, 1990b) .

Mostoftheor ganisationsment i
onedherear econcernedaboutspeci
eslossrat
hert hanthe
l
ossofdiversi
tywi thinspecies.Nevert
heless,t
hereisamov ementbytheseorganisationsto
l
ookbelowt hespeci eslevelaswell,asshowni nthe'Bot
anicGardensSt
rategy'
discussed
bel
ow.Agl obalUNConf er
enceont heEnv i
ronmentandDev el
opmentwillbehel
di nBr azi
li
n
June1992,andbi odiversit
ywi l
lpl
ayacent ralr
oleinthedebat
es.

Bot
ani
cgar
densandpl
antgenet
icr
esour
cesconser
vat
ion

I
nar ecentdocumentpreparedbytheWWFandIUCN-BGCS( 1989),
ithasbeenpointedoutt
hat
asmanyas60, 000plantspeci
esmaybeindangerofexti
nct
ionorseriousgeneti
cerosi
on
dur
ingthenext30to40y ears.Thus,
mul
ti
-pr
ongedeffor
tsarerequi
redtohaltsuchspeci
es
exti
ncti
onandpr omotethei
rconser vat
ion,
studyandutili
sati
on.Thebotanicalgardenshav
eto
playapivot
alrol
einthiscontextwiththetr
ipl
epurposeofconser vat
ion,propagati
onandpubl
ic
awareness.Thei
rrolei
nthel astfewcenturi
esascentresofplantcoll
ection,i
ntr
oducti
onand
dist
ri
buti
onofmat eri
alaswel lasseatsofacti
veresearchinsystemati
candeconomi cbot
any
hasbeenwel lr
eali
sedalloverthewor l
d.

Ther
eareabout1500botani
cgardensandar
boretaint
hewor l
d,andthesear
eplay
ingt
hei
rrole
i
nachievi
ngconser
vati
onofplantl
if
e-wil
dspecies,
cul
ti
v at
edtypesandasseedsi
ngenebanks.
Thethr
eemainobject
ivesoft
heliv
ingr
esour
cesconservati
onareto:

(
a)mai
ntai
nessent
ial
ecol
ogi
cal
processesandl
i
fesuppor
tsy
stems,

(b)preservegenet
icdiv
ersit
y,and(c)ensuret
hattheuti
l
isat
ionofspeciesandecosystem i
s
sustainabl
e(WWF- I
UCN-BGCS, 1989).Curr
ent
ly,
theIUCNBot ani
cGardensConservat
ion
Secretari
at(BGCS)isoperat
ingfrom KewGarden,Ri
chmond, UK.

TheBot ani
cGardensConserv
ati
onStrat
egypr
ovidesar
ati
onalefort
hei
nvol
vementofbot
ani
c
gardensinconser
vati
on,andgiv
espoli
cygui
danceonhowthiscanbeachi
evedandthe
urgencyofthi
stask.I
trecommendsthat:

1.Eachi
ndi
vidualgar
denclari
fi
esit
scommitmenttoconservat
ioninaMissi
onStatementand
adoptsmor
epr of
essi
onalstandar
dsofmanagementtoachieveit
sMi ssi
ononconserv
ati
on,
document
ati
onandexchangeofi nf
ormat
iononplantspeci
esheld.

2.Prov
idest
hebasi
sforamorecoherentAccessi
onsPoli
cyt
hatt
akesaccountofconser
vat
ion
needsandwhatpl
antsar
ehel
dinotherbotani
cgardens.

3.For
 i
n-si
tu conservat
ion,
itoutl
inest
heroleofthegardeninhabi
tatev
aluat
ion,
rar
especi
es
monit
ori
ng, '
habitatgar
dening'andmanagingprotect
edareas.

4.Formanaged ex-
sit
u conser
vati
on,proposesstr
ictrul
esandproceduresforthe
establi
shmentofseedbanks,fi
eldgenebanksandot herger
mplasm col
lect
ions,andout
li
nes
met hodsofsampli
ngpopulati
onstomai nt
ainadequategeneti
cvari
ati
on.

I
tproposest
hatmaximum emphasi sbeputoncollabor
ati
onbet weengardensatanational
l
evelor,
whereappr
opriate,
regi
onallev
el.I
trecommendscollaborat
ionatint
ernat
ional
level
t
hroughtheI
UCNBot anicGardensConservati
onSecret
ari
at.

Dev
elopment
sinbi
otechnol
ogy
Thei mpactofbi otechnologyaf f
ectst heaccessi bi
lit
yofger mplasm.Ther ehasbeenanact ive
i
nterestint heuseofbi otechnologyf orger mplasm wor kforseveral y
ear s.
 I
n-vit
ro coll
ectingof
germpl asm andi tsconser vati
onundersl owgr owt hconditi
onsar eprov ingtobeusef ul
additi
onal technol ogi
esf orgeneticresour ceswor k.Cryopreservat
iont echniquesar ealsounder
activ
ei nvestigati
on.Anal ysesofspeci esr elat
ionshi psingenepool susi ngmol eculargenet i
c
techniqueshav epr ovi
dedusef ulresultst oguidecol l
ect
ingandut il
isationprogrammes.The
developmentofr eli
abl
eandsensi ti
vedi seasei ndexi ngproceduresusingant i
bodyt echniquesis
helpi
ngt hesaf et ransferofgermpl asm t hroughoutt heworld.Thus,itisnecessar ytoensur e
thatnewt echni quesar eadaptedf orwi derappl icationinplantgenet i
cr esourceswor k.A
pr
agmat
icappr
oachi
srequi
redal
ongsi
demor
econv
ent
ional
technol
ogi
es.

Gener
alconsi
der
ati
ons
Thei nter
nati
onalperspect
iveonPGRact ivi
ti
es,asthesearetaki
ngshapetoday ,i
shighl
i
ghted
abov e.Theli
nkagesandmandat esofdi
ffer
entorganisat
ionshavebeenref
lected.Iti
squit
e
evidentthatt
hepr obl
emsr elat
ingtomanagement ,useandconservati
onofplantgeneti
c
resourcesareofdiversenature-sci
enti
fi
c,techni
cal,l
egalandpoli
ti
cal
.

Safeguardingofcropgermplasm assumeshi ghpr iorit

y.Muchcol l
ecti
onshavebeenmadeand
storedingenebanks.Butinsideagri
culturalexperi
ment alst
at i
onsandgenebanksgenet ic
erosioncontinuesatanalarmingrate(Chang, 1987) .Thisispar t
icular
lysointr
opicalcount r
ies
wher ehightemper at
ureandhumi di
tyshor t
ent heper iodduringwhi chseedsremainv iableand
wher eaconsi der
ablenumberofaccessi onscanonl ybemai ntai
nedi nrat
herunsafefieldgene
banksatahi ghcost .Pr
eservat
ionisoftenhandi cappedbyl ackofadequat ecoldstorage
faci
lit
ies,meagersupportforgenebankoper ations, short
ageoft rainedpeopleordiscontinui
ty
oftheirservi
ceandpoorf i
nancialorotherincentives( Chang, 1987).Thesesit
uati
ons, which
hamperge