The Thirteenth Regular Session of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA) met at the headquarters of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome, Italy from 18 to 22 July 2011. Over 200 participants attended the session, including governments and relational trustees such as intergovernmental, non-governmental organizations and international agricultural research centers. The Commission discussed and negotiated matters specifically relevant to biological diversity for food and agriculture and concluded with : i) the adoption of the draft updated Global Plan of Action known as Second Global Plan of Action , ii) the establishment of the Ad Hoc Technical Working Group on Access and Benefit-sharing (ABS) for genetic resources for food and agriculture and iii) the adoption of a roadmap or a work programme for climate change and Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.
Regarding the adoption of the Second Global Plan of Action, it is to be noted that the delegates considered it as a high priority issue. After a long process of negotiations, the Commission finalized the draft updated Global Plan of Action and decided to submit it to the FAO Council for approval at its forthcoming meeting in November 2011. The Second Global Plan of Action, a key milestone in the CGRFA Multi-year Programme of Work (MYPOW), consists of sections on: implementation of the Global Plan of Action, rationale for the Second Global Plan of Action, aims and strategies of the Global Plan of Action, structure and organization of the Global Plan of Action, implementation and financing of the Second Global Plan of Action. The updated Global Plan of Action has 18 priority activity areas. For pragmatic and presentational purposes, these are organized into four main groups. The first group deals with In Situ Conservation and Management; the second with Ex Situ Conservation; the third with Sustainable Use; and the fourth with Building Sustainable Institutional and Human. An assessment of the achievements, gaps, financial and other needs for the implementation of the Second Global Plan of Action will be provided at the CGRFA-15.
Furthermore, the Commission decided to establish the Ad Hoc Technical Working Group on Access and Benefit- Sharing (ABS) for genetic resources for food and agriculture. The Ad Hoc Technical Working Group is entrusted with the task of identifying relevant distinctive features of the GRFA sectors and sub-sectors. Also, it is mandated to develop draft mechanisms, for inclusion in access and benefit-sharing policies, including legislation and regulatory requirements that accommodate the features of GRFA. Additionally, the Ad Hoc Technical Working Group undertakes the research for possible modalities of addressing ABS for GRFA, taking into account the full range of options, including those presented in the Nagoya Protocol. The acts of the Ad Hoc Technical Working Group are expected to be in line with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Nagoya Protocol.
Moreover, the meeting emphasized the need to adopt a roadmap or a work programme on climate change and GRFA in the context of food crisis and climate change and decided that the base of this roadmap will contain elements on: strategies and policies, tools and technologies, forging partnerships, and monitoring progress.
Finally , the Commission addressed an amount of challenging issues such as biotechnologies for CGRFA Conservation, cooperation with the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources (TPGR), aquatic genetic resources, forest genetic resources, animal genetic resources , micro-organism genetic resources, targets and indicators, MYPOW implementation: human and financial resources, MYPOW review, cooperation with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) , cooperation between CGRFA and other instruments and organizations , status and profile of the Commission.
Source: IISD Reporting Services, FAO
For further information:
http://www.iisd.ca/vol09/enb09556e.html
http://www.fao.org/docrep/meeting/022/mb336e.pdf
http://www.fao.org/docrep/meeting/022/mb068e.pdf
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MEPIELAN Centre
MEPIELAN Centre is an international research, training and educational centre established by Professor Evangelos Raftopoulos at the Panteion University of Athens in 2008.
Before its establishment as a University Centre, MEPIELAN operated as a successful international research, training and informational programme (2002-2007) under the scientific direction of Professor Evangelos Raftopoulos and the aegis of the Panteion University of Athens, supported by the Mediterranean Action Plan/UNEP and the Greek Ministry of the Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works.
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