g rp

A n n u a lR e p o r t 1998of the CGIARSystem-wide GeneticResourcesProgramme

The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Researc h(CGIAR) is an informal association of 58 public and private sectormembers from countries worldwide and is co-sponsored by the Foodand Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the UnitedNations Development Programme (UNDP), the United NationsE n v i ronment Programme (UNEP) and the World Bank. It supports anetwork of 16 international agricultural re s e a rch Centres, located in12 developing and 3 developed countries. The mission of the CGIARis to contribute to food security and poverty eradication in developingcountries through re s e a rch, partnership, capacity-building, and policys u p p o rt. The CGIAR promotes sustainable agricultural developmentbased on the environmentally sound management of naturalre s o u rc e s .

The CGIAR System-wide Genetic Resources Programme ( S G R P )p romotes collaboration among the genetic re s o u rces pro g r a m m e sand related activities of the 16 Centres of the CGIAR: CIAT, CIFOR,C I M M Y T, CIP, ICARDA, ICLARM, ICRAF, ICRISAT, IFPRI, IITA, ILRI,IPGRI, IRRI, ISNAR, IWMI, WARDA*. IPGRI is the Convening Centreand the Inter- C e n t re Working Group on Genetic Resources (ICWG-GR), with re p resentatives from all Centres and FAO, is the SteeringCommittee. The SGRP contributes to the global eff o rt to conserv eagricultural, fore s t ry and aquatic genetic re s o u rces and pro m o t e stheir use in ways that are consistent with the Convention on BiologicalD i v e r s i t y. The SGRP seeks to advance re s e a rch on policies,strategies and technologies for genetic re s o u rces, and to pro v i d ei n f o rmation, advice and training to national pro g r a m m e s .

The I n t e rnational Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) is anautonomous international scientific organization, supported by theConsultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).I P G R I ’s mandate is to advance the conservation and use of geneticdiversity for the well-being of present and future generations. IPGRI’sh e a d q u a rters is based in Rome, Italy, with offices in another 14countries worldwide. It operates through three programmes: (1) thePlant Genetic Resources Programme, (2) the CGIAR GeneticR e s o u rces Support Programme, and (3) the International Network forthe Improvement of Banana and Plantain (INIBAP).

Cover photo: IPGRI/L. Sears

C i t a t i o n :SGRP. 1999. Annual Report 1998 of the CGIAR System-wideGenetic Resources Programme. International Plant GeneticResources Institute, Rome, Italy.

I S B N 9 2 - 9 0 4 3 - 4 1 7 - 1

I P G R IVia delle Sette Chiese 14200145 RomeItaly

© International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, 1999

* C I AT Centro Internacional deAgricultura Tropical, Cali, Colombia;CIFOR Center for Intern a t i o n a lF o re s t ry Research, Bogor, Indonesia;CIMMYT Centro Internacional deMejoramiento de MaÌz y Tr i g o ,Mexico D.F., Mexico; CIP CentroI n t e rnacional de la Papa, Lima, Peru ;ICARDA International Center forAgricultural Research in the DryA reas, Aleppo, Syrian Arab Republic;ICLARM International Center forLiving Aquatic Resourc e sManagement, Metro Manila,Philippines; ICRAF Intern a t i o n a lC e n t re for Research in Agro f o re s t ry,N a i robi, Kenya; ICRISATI n t e rnational Crops Research Institutefor the Semi-Arid Tro p i c s ,P a t a n c h e ru, India; IFPRII n t e rnational Food Policy Researc hInstitute, Washington DC, USA; IITAI n t e rnational Institute of Tro p i c a lA g r i c u l t u re, Ibadan, Nigeria; ILRII n t e rnational Livestock Researc hInstitute, Nairobi, Kenya; IPGRII n t e rnational Plant Genetic Resourc e sInstitute, Rome, Italy; IRRII n t e rnational Rice Research Institute,Los Baños, Philippines; ISNARI n t e rnational Service for NationalAgricultural Research, The Hague,Netherlands; IWMI Intern a t i o n a lWater Management Institute,Colombo, Sri Lanka; WARDA We s tAfrica Rice Development Association,Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire .

iii

of the CGIARSystem-wideGenetic ResourcesProgramme

A n n u a lR e p o r t 1998

F o re w o rd 1

The External Management and Pro g r a m m eReview of SGRP 2

Operation and Coordination of the System-wide Pro g r a m m e 3

R e p resentation and Contribution to Global Fora and Pro g r a m m e s 5

F o u rth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP4) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 5

First Session of the Interg o v e rnmental Technical Working G roup on Animal Genetic Resources for Food and A g r i c u l t u re 7

I n t e rnational Conference on Policies for Conservation and Sustainable Use of Aquatic Genetic Resourc e s 8

Contribution to the implementation of the Global Plan of Action for Plant Genetic Resourc e s 8

Assisting Farmers in Disaster Situations to Restore Agricultural Systems (GPA Priority Activity 3) 1 0

A plan of action for forest genetic re s o u rces in the Sahel 1 0

Policy Review and Form u l a t i o n 1 3A new standard Material Transfer Agreement for in trust

g e rm p l a s m 1 3Policies and pro c e d u res relating to the implementation

of the Centre / FAO Agreements governing the in trust plant g e rmplasm collections 1 5

I n f o rm a t i o n 1 7The CGIAR System-wide Information Network for Genetic

R e s o u rces (SINGER) 1 7The International Crop Information System (ICIS) 2 0

Tr a i n i n g 2 1Human Resources Development for the Managers of

Genetic Resources Pro g r a m m e s 2 1

I n t e r- C e n t re Collaboration 2 3I n t e r- C e n t re collaboration in the application of

c ry o p re s e rvation for long-term conservation of plant genetic re s o u rc e s 2 3

R e s e a rc h 2 5C o n s e rvation of forest genetic re s o u rces: impacts of forest

f r a g m e n t a t i o n 2 5Costing the Ex Situ C o n s e rvation of Genetic Resources:

Maize and Wheat at CIMMYT 2 6

Members of the ICWG-GR in 1998 3 0

SGRP Secretariat Staff in 1998 3 2

SGRP Reports and Publications in 1998 3 2

Financial Report 3 3

A b b reviations and Acro n y m s 3 4

C e n t re Addre s s e s 3 6

C o n t e n t s

1During 1998, the Technical Advisory Committee of the CGIAR( TAC) commissioned the first External Programme andManagement Review of the System-wide Genetic Resourc e sP rogramme. Under the leadership of Dr Jaap Hardon of theNetherlands, the team of five reviewers looked in-depth into awide range of programmatic, managerial and govern a n c eissues. They provided a detailed analysis of the pro g ress of thep rogramme to date and made a total of 18 recommendations. Abrief summary of the main findings of the review is given in thisre p o rt, and the full document is available on request from theSGRP Secretariat. We would like to re c o rd our thanks to TA Cfor organizing this re v i e w, and to the Review Panel for their hardwork and helpful suggestions. Action has already been taken toimplement the main recommendations of the re v i e w.

This is the first SGRP Annual Report to concentrateexclusively on the collaborative elements of the Programme anddoes not attempt to cover individual Centre activities. Details ofC e n t res’ own activities on genetic re s o u rces are to be found intheir respective annual re p o rt s .

This year, the SGRP was heavily involved with FAO inf u rthering regional and global programmes on plant and fore s tgenetic re s o u rces, and in re p resenting the CGIAR at a numberof fora, including the fourth meeting of the Conference of theP a rties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. We embarkedon the further development of the System-wide Inform a t i o nNetwork for Genetic Resources (SINGER) and launched a newcooperative initiative on genetic re s o u rces training. Wo r kcontinued to develop common polices and practices formanaging genetic re s o u rces and to further collaborativere s e a rch in key strategic areas. As this re p o rt shows, theactivities of the SGRP in 1998 demonstrate significant pro g re s st o w a rds more effective System-wide cooperation and gre a t e rimpact in the CGIAR’s contribution to the global geneticre s o u rces eff o rt .

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank thevarious donors who have so generously supported thep rogramme in 1998. In part i c u l a r, we would like to mention theE u ropean Union, Japan, the Netherlands and the World Bankwho supported the range of coordination and collaborativeactivities undertaken by the programme, and Switzerland andAustralia who provided support specifically to the developmentof information systems.

Joel Cohen G e o ff rey HawtinC h a i r, ICWG-GR P rogramme Leader

F o r e w o r d

The EPMR Panel convened in January and completed its workin August. The review re p o rt was presented to the CGIAR atI n t e rnational Centres Week in October. The Panel examined therelevance, effectiveness and efficiency of SGRP and itsaccomplishments in the four years since its establishment.

In part i c u l a r, the Panel examined whether SGRP was meetingits chief goal of achieving greater coherence among the Centre sin terms of their strategies for managing genetic re s o u rces andtheir positions on policy issues of relevance to the globalc o n s e rvation eff o rt. The Panel concluded that while there hadbeen good pro g ress on this front, there was still a long way togo before the CGIAR would be in a position to meet globalexpectations. It recommended that SGRP continue, andp roposed strengthening the Pro g r a m m e ’s operations andsharpening its focus still further to ensure more eff e c t i v eSystem-wide cooperation and a greater impact in the CGIAR’scontribution to the global eff o rt .

The EPMR advised the addition of a new govern a n c es t ru c t u re for SGRP to enable more authoritative decision-making, particularly with re g a rd to policy and strategic issues. Anumber of options were suggested for this govern a n c es t ru c t u re. These are now under discussion by the CGIAR.

The review also recommended that SGRP assign priority toits objectives and activities, in order to achieve greater focus inthe areas most critical for system-wide cooperation: policy,re p resentation, information, public awareness and training. TheCGIAR has a commitment, under the terms of the 1994A g reements between the Centres and FAO, to meet cert a i nobligations with re g a rd to the in trust collections of plant geneticre s o u rces and this commitment will be a major factor in guidingthe definition of SGRP’s priorities.

The Review observed that the CGIAR system has not yetd e t e rmined the role that it should play in the global geneticre s o u rces eff o rt, including the nature of its relationships withother stakeholders and networks. This observation led the Panelto propose a dialogue, both within the CGIAR and with otherstakeholders, on its role in genetic re s o u rces conserv a t i o ng l o b a l l y, and specifically with re g a rd to plant genetic re s o u rc e sfor food and agriculture. The Review also made clearrecommendations concerning the need to assess thee ffectiveness of the networks in which Centres participate and toclarify the aims of Centre conservation pro g r a m m e s .

The Review Panel was deeply concerned by Centre re p o rt sof funding constraints, resulting in delays in implementing therecommendations of the 1995 SGRP-commissioned review ofC e n t re genebank operations. It strongly recommended that highpriority be given to ensuring safety-duplication of thecollections and appropriate standards in their management andto quantifying the costs of operations. The Panel called on theCGIAR to make funds available to enable the Centres toimplement fully the recommendations of the 1995 re v i e w.

The ExternalM a n a g e m e n t

a n dP r o g r a m m e

Review of SGRP

E v e ry five years, the CGIARreviews each of its 16member Centres. SGRP wasthe first System-widep rogramme to beestablished and, in 1998, thefirst to undergo the samep rocess, an extern a lp rogramme andmanagement re v i e w(EPMR). SGRP wasestablished in 1994, as aresult of a review thatanalyzed the role of theCGIAR in the post-UNCEDe n v i ronment. That re v i e wconcluded that the CGIARneeded a more unified,t r a n s p a rent andaccountable geneticre s o u rces eff o rt in order toplay a more effective role inthe emerging global eff o rt .

The International Centre for Research in Agro f o re s t ry (ICRAF)hosted the 8t h annual meeting of the Inter- C e n t re Wo r k i n gG roup on Genetic Resources (ICWG-GR) in January. Themeeting addressed a number of strategic areas for furt h e r i n gthe programme of work of SGRP:

• policy form u l a t i o n• i n f o rmation management• p a rtnerships and external re l a t i o n s• the global system for conserv a t i o n• ecosystem-based management of genetic re s o u rc e s• c a p a c i t y - s t rengthening and institutional issues• understanding diversity• biotechnology and biosafety.The meeting drew up the annual work plan. A new phase in

the development of the CGIAR System-wide Inform a t i o nNetwork for Genetic Resources (SINGER) and a System-wideinitiative on training for managers of genetic re s o u rc e sp rogrammes were launched. It was agreed to review Centrepolicies in managing the in trust plant collections and tou n d e rtake pre p a r a t o ry work on operational frameworks for aglobal genebank system and the applications of genomicre s e a rch to genebank management. In addition, collaborativeactivities on the application of cry o p re s e rvation re s e a rch and onf o rest and animal genetic re s o u rces conservation were initiated.

The SGRP Secretariat, hosted by IPGRI, supports the workof the ICWG-GR in its function as Steering Committee of SGRP.It also discharges IPGRI’s responsibilities as convening Centreand coordinates the support from IPGRI on policy and publica w a reness for SGRP. In 1998, a new project leader for SINGERjoined the staff of the Secre t a r i a t .

33Operation and

C o o r d i n a t i o nof the System-

w i d eP r o g r a m m e

12

3

4

5

6, 1 3

7, 11

1 CIAT Centro Internacionalde AgriculturaTropicalApdo. Aereo 6713Cali Colombia

2 CIFOR Center forInternationalForestry ResearchJalan CIFORSitu Gede,

SindangbarangBogor, Barat 16680Indonesia

3 CIMMYT Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y TrigoLisboa 27 Apdo. Postal 6-64106600 Mexico, DFMexico

4 CIP Centro Internacionalde la PapaApdo. 1558 Lima 12Peru

5 ICARDAInternational Centerfor AgriculturalResearch in the DryAreasPO Box 5466AleppoSyrian Arab Republic

6 ICLARMInternational Centerfor Living AquaticResourcesManagementMC PO Box 26310718 Makati CityPhilippines

7 ICRAFInternational Centrefor Research inAgroforestryUnited Nations Ave. PO Box 30677 NairobiKenya

8 ICRISATInternational CropsResearch Institutefor the Semi-AridTropicsPatancheru 502 324Andhra PradeshI n d i a

9 IFPRIInternational FoodPolicy ResearchInstitute2033 K St NWWashington, DC20006USA

10 IITA InternationalInstitute of TropicalAgriculturePMB 5320IbadanNigeria

11 ILRI InternationalLivestock ResearchInstitutePO Box 30709NairobiKenya

12 IPGRIInternational PlantGenetic ResourcesInstituteVia delle Sette

Chiese 14200145 RomeItaly

8

9

1 0

1 2

1 4

1 51 6

The Centres of the SGRP

13 IRRI InternationalRice ResearchInstituteMCPO Box 31271271 Makati CityPhilippines

14 ISNARInternationalService for NationalAgriculturalResearchLaan van Nieuw

Oost Indië2593 BM The HagueThe Netherlands

15 IWMIInternational WaterManagementInstitutePO Box 2075ColomboSri Lanka

16 WARDA WestAfrica RiceDevelopmentAssociation01 BP 2551BouakéCôte d’Ivoire

5F o u rth Meeting of theC o n f e rence of theP a rties (COP4) to theConvention onBiological Diversity( C B D )

The fourth meeting of theC o n f e rence of the Part i e s(COP4) took place from 4 to15 May in Bratislava, SlovakRepublic, preceded by the10th Global BiodiversityF o rum. The CGIAR delegation

to both meetings compriseds t a ff from the Intern a t i o n a lCenter for Living AquaticR e s o u rces Management(ICLARM) and IPGRI, withe x p e rtise on aquaticbiodiversity and geneticre s o u rces policy. Inland waterecosystems and geneticre s o u rces access and benefit-sharing issues were majoritems on the agendas of bothm e e t i n g s .

The CGIAR delegationd e l i v e red and distributed astatement to the COP. Itfocused on the CGIAR’s workon aquatic biodiversity and onthe ex situ collections of plantgenetic re s o u rces held in tru s tby the Centres under theauspices of FAO. A seminar

on the management of plantgenetic re s o u rces by theCGIAR provided theo p p o rtunity to clarify thestatus of the collections, thep rovisions of the FA OA g reements on access andintellectual pro p e rty rights(IPR), and the issues that hadled to the CGIAR’s call for av o l u n t a ry moratorium on IPRclaims on germ p l a s mdesignated under the FA OA g reements, just prior to the

COP meeting. A paperp re p a red on behalf of SGRP,by IPGRI, entitled “Sharing then o n - m o n e t a ry benefits ofagricultural biodiversity”, wasincluded among the off i c i a lCOP information documents.It was noted by a number ofdelegates as a usefuldocument in raisinga w a reness of the issues inattributing benefits in the caseof domesticated species andof the range of benefits, otherthan financial, that can bederived through the openexchange of agriculturalgenetic re s o u rc e s .

R e p r e s e n t a t i o nand Contribution

to Global Foraand Programmes

It has been widelyrecognized, not least by theC o n f e rence of the Part i e s(COP) to the Convention onBiological Diversity (CBD),that the CGIAR has a criticalrole to play in thedevelopment of globalp rogrammes for thec o n s e rvation and use ofc rop, fore s t ry, livestock andaquatic genetic re s o u rc e s .

SGRP coordinates there p resentation of the CGIARand its contributions toi n t e rnational fora and globalp rogrammes concern i n gagricultural, forest andaquatic genetic re s o u rc e s .Key fora are those of theCBD and the FA OCommission on GeneticR e s o u rces for Food andA g r i c u l t u re (CGRFA). TheP ro g r a m m e ’s contributionsto these and other re l e v a n tp rogrammes and fora in1998 are detailed on thefollowing pages.

Lake Nakuru dried up bysevere drought, Kenya.IPGRI/I. de Borhegyi

The CGIAR booth in theexhibition area drew manydelegations for informaldiscussion with the CGIARstaff. The booth featuredposters and publications onaquatic genetic resources andon SGRP, and a computerallowed access to CGIAR websites.

The Center forI n t e rnational Fore s t ryR e s e a rch (CIFOR), ICLARMand the CGIAR System as awhole, are recognized by theCOP as important partners inthe implementation of itswork programmes on fore s tb i o d i v e r s i t y, aquaticecosystems (marine andcoastal, and inland) andagricultural biodiversity,re s p e c t i v e l y.

For SGRP, coordinating as t rong CGIAR contribution tothe work programme onagricultural biodiversity –which covers crop, livestockand agro f o re s t ry geneticre s o u rces – is of part i c u l a ri m p o rtance. It facilitated thep a rticipation of scientists fro mCIP (Centro Internacional de laPapa) and ICRAF (Intern a t i o n a lC e n t re for Research inA g ro f o re s t ry), together withIPGRI, in a workshop inNovember organized by FA Oand the CBD Secretariat onthe development of the CBDagricultural biodiversityp rogramme. In its activities,SGRP is attempting torespond to the emphasis onan ecosystem approach andbiodiversity assessment

a re now the subject of a CBDp rogramme of work to whichICLARM is contributing itse x p e rtise on aquaticb i o d i v e r s i t y. For SGRP, intere s tlies in the strategies forc o n s e rving and managing thegenetic re s o u rces of the inter-related aquatic and agriculturalp roduction components ofsuch ecosystems.

Lake Tonle Sap in centralCambodia and its uniquerelationship with the Mekongriver to which it is linked by theriver Tonle Sap, has a specialand fascinating role in thea g r i c u l t u re and fisheries of thec o u n t ry. When the Mekongswells in the rainy season, itsdelta cannot handle thee n o rmous volume of water andthe floodwaters back-up,reversing the flow of the To n l eSap river and causing the laketo increase in size, thre e f o l d .This phenomenon pro v i d e si rrigation and fresh, fertile siltfor rice cultivation, and floodedf o rest habitats for aquatic lifethat enrich the lake’s fishre s o u rces.

Inland waterecosystems

Confluence of the Mekongand Tonle Sap rivers at PhnomPenh, Cambodia.IPGRI/J. Toll

methods, contained in all ofthe CBD sectoral workp rogrammes. In thedevelopment of SINGER,close contact with pro g ress inthe CBD Clearing HouseMechanism (CHM), ati n t e rnational and nationallevels, is also import a n t .

First Session of theI n t e rg o v e rn m e n t a lTechnical Wo r k i n gG roup on AnimalGenetic Resources forFood and Agriculture

The CGIAR was re p re s e n t e dat the First Session of theI n t e rg o v e rnmental Te c h n i c a lWorking Group on AnimalGenetic Resources by staff ofthe International LivestockR e s e a rch Institute (ILRI), theI n t e rnational Center forAgricultural Research in theD ry Areas (ICARDA) andIPGRI. The Working Gro u p ,which re p o rts to the FA OCommission, reviewed thedevelopment of the GlobalStrategy for the Management

of Farm Animal GeneticR e s o u rces, which was initiatedby FAO, and maderecommendations to go beforethe next regular session of theC G R FA, for the preparation ofa Report on the State of theWo r l d ’s Animal GeneticR e s o u rces, on thes t rengthening of FA O ’s leadrole and on the country andregional stru c t u res forimplementing the GlobalS t r a t e g y.

The meeting provided theo p p o rtunity to examine thecontribution that individualC e n t res and SGRP can maketo furthering the GlobalS t r a t e g y. The work ICARDA isinitiating with support fro mSGRP – on thecharacterization of localb reeds of small ruminants inthe West Asia and North Africa( WANA) region – will beclosely coordinated with thenational partners and workplan of the Global Strategy.Other areas of collaborationa re database links betweenthe ILRI system and SINGERto the Domestic AnimalDiversity Information System(DAD-IS) at FAO, which is ap r i m a ry component of theGlobal Strategy, and also inCGIAR contributions to thep reparation of the State of theWorld Report .

7

Raising pigs. Floating fishingvillage, Lake Tonle Sap,Cambodia.IPGRI/J. Toll

I n t e rn a t i o n a lC o n f e rence on Policiesfor Conservation andSustainable Use ofAquatic GeneticR e s o u rc e s

Following a re c o m m e n d a t i o nof the SGRP consultation onFish Genetic Resources in1995 (SGRP Annual Report1995), ICLARM, in associationwith FAO, organized in April ani n t e rnational conference titled“ To w a rds Policies forC o n s e rvation and SustainableUse of Aquatic GeneticR e s o u rces“ at the BellagioC o n f e rence and Study Centerof the Rockefeller Foundation,I t a l y. IPGRI staff also attendedthe Conference, makingcontributions in the areas ofpolicy and public aware n e s s .The meeting proposed aseries of actions to stre n g t h e neducation, inform a t i o n -sharing, institutionals t ru c t u res, policies anda p p roaches for implementingthe objectives of the CBD inrelation to aquatic geneticre s o u rces. Follow-up activitiesa re underway betweenICLARM and FAO to developp roposals for a global strategy

for aquatic animal geneticre s o u rces, and in particular forthe development of an aquaticanimal diversity inform a t i o nsystem. These developmentswill guide SGRP’s future workin this are a .

Contribution to theimplementation of theGlobal Plan of Actionfor Plant GeneticR e s o u rc e s

The landmark 1996I n t e rnational Te c h n i c a lC o n f e rence in Leipzig adoptedthe Global Plan of Action( G PA), a mandate for thec o n s e rvation and sustainableuse of plant genetic re s o u rc e sfor food and agriculture. Asp a rt of SGRP’s continuingcommitment to the GlobalPlan, the Programme co-s p o n s o red with FAO a seriesof regional meetings to assessthe status of implementationof the GPA at the local,national and regional levelsand to identify strategies tos t rengthen implementationa c t i v i t i e s .

On behalf of SGRP, IPGRIhelped FAO to org a n i z emeetings in the following

Elders explaining theindigenous names of cropvarieties to younger membersof the community.IPGRI/P. Quek

Nile and Mozambique tilapiaintroduced to West Sumatrafor fisheries and aquaculturedevelopment. The speciessurvives well in West Sumatrawhere volcanic activity andpollution adversely affectnative species. The marketprice for tilapia is not as highas for native fishes.IPGRI/D. Bartley

regions: Asia and Pacific;Central and West Asia andN o rth Africa; East andS o u t h e rn Africa; West andCentral Africa; Latin Americaand the Caribbean.

The meetings broughttogether representatives fromgovernment, NGO, regionaland international institutions,including FAO and CGIAR.They focused on three majorthemes and came to thefollowing general conclusions:

National pro g r a m m e s ,strategies and policies• Each country should have

a strategy for plant geneticre s o u rces conserv a t i o nand use and form anational committee withb road stakeholderi n v o l v e m e n t

• Countries should re c o g n i z ethe importance of raisinga w a reness of geneticre s o u rces issues

• Countries should institutedisaster re c o v e ryp rogrammes for farm e r s .

Community PGRFAm a n a g e m e n t• The meetings re c o n f i rm e d

the important role off a rmers, local communitiesand NGOs in conserv a t i o nand sustainable use ofplant genetic re s o u rc e sand the need to enlist theirp a rt i c i p a t i o n

• Documentation of localand indigenous knowledgeshould be stre n g t h e n e d

• The public should be madea w a re of the importance ofgenetic diversity andv a r i a b i l i t y.

Regional and intern a t i o n a lc o l l a b o r a t i o n• Regional projects should

be launched in

collaboration with nationalp ro g r a m m e s

• G e rmplasm exchangeshould be facilitatedt h rough cro p - s p e c i f i cnetworks that extenda c ross re g i o n s

• Existing genetic re s o u rc e snetworks and org a n i z a t i o n sshould be encouraged tocollaborate with othergeopolitical groups and theprivate sector

• Documentation eff o rt sshould be integrated andtake advantage ofe l e c t ronic networking andi n f o rmation technologysystems like SINGER.

The meetings also re p o rt e dunique developments andinitiatives taking place in therespective regions. The LatinAmerica and the Caribbeang roup agreed on activities thatwill improve re g i o n a lcooperation. The Network onGenetic Resources for We s tand Central Africa(GRENEWEC) wasestablished. The Asia and thePacific group pro p o s e dplacing national ex situcollections under a re g i o n a lcollection agreement. Thecountries in Central and We s tAsia and North Africae x p ressed willingness to shareresponsibilities for their ex situcollections. Repatriation ofg e rmplasm at local andnational levels was ani m p o rtant issue for East andS o u t h e rn Africa.

In many countries sometype of strategy forc o n s e rvation and sustainableuse of plant genetic re s o u rc e sfor food and agriculture hadbeen set in place, but fulle ffectiveness of the GPA waslacking. Regions identifiedsimilar constraints such as lack

9

of secure funding base, publica w a reness, qualified humanre s o u rces and coord i n a t i o nbetween stakeholders. Thep a rticipants noted that thechallenges of fullimplementation demandintegrated eff o rts from thevarious stakeholders. Initiativesto secure funding will re q u i redesigning clear, competitivep rojects that are attractive todonors and include manyb e n e f i c i a ry stakeholders.P a rtnerships with the privatesector will also contribute toc reating more publica w a reness and fundingpossibilities. SGRP and FA Ocan help with publica w a reness eff o rts that willencourage policy-makers toc reate frameworks for theequitable management ofP G R FA. SGRP can helpdevelop human re s o u rc e scapabilities and expertise. TheP rogramme can also pro m o t ecloser collaboration betweenthe Centres and re g i o n a le ff o rts for better coord i n a t i o nthat extends to the inter-regional level.

The re p o rts of themeetings are available at< h t t p : / / w e b . i c p p g r. f a o . o rg /i m p l e n g . h t m > .

Assisting Farmers inDisaster Situations toR e s t o re AgriculturalSystems (GPA PriorityActivity 3)

The International Cro p sR e s e a rch Institute for theSemi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT )re p resented SGRP in ani n t e rnational workshop at FA Oh e a d q u a rters in November,which brought together aidagencies and agriculturalre s e a rch and development

o rganizations, to address apriority GPA activity: thedevelopment of institutionala g reements and capacities toassist farmers in disastersituations to re s t o reagricultural systems. Scientistsf rom CIAT (CentroI n t e rnacional de AgriculturaTropical), IITA (Intern a t i o n a lInstitute of Tropical Agriculture )and IPGRI were also involvedin the meeting. The essentialrole of genebanks, inventoriesof local crop geneticre s o u rces, mechanisms forp ro c u rement, multiplicationand distribution of quality seedof adapted varieties, andh a rmonization of seedregulations, were among therecommendations. Intern a l l y,SGRP is considering how itcan ensure a coord i n a t e dSystem contribution to thisa c t i v i t y, and its role withrespect to minor cro p s .

A plan of action forf o rest geneticre s o u rces in the Sahel

Fifteen nations in the Sahelregion of Africa agreed top re p a re a subregional plan ofaction for the conserv a t i o n ,management, sustainable useand enhancement of fore s tgenetic re s o u rces, marking ani m p o rtant step toward a globalplan of action. SGRP pro v i d e ds u p p o rt to the org a n i z a t i o nand preparation of theworkshop, as part of itscommitment to thedevelopment of regional andglobal programmes for fore s tgenetic re s o u rc e s .

The delegates met inSeptember at a workshopo rganized by FAO incollaboration with IPGRI andI C R A F. In addition to the 15

1 0

c o u n t ry delegations, FA O ,IPGRI and ICRAF, andre p resentatives of six part n e ragencies attended the“ Workshop on theC o n s e rvation, Management,Sustainable Utilization andEnhancement of Fore s tGenetic Resources in Dry -Zone Sub-Saharan Africa,”hosted by the Centre Nationaldes Semences Fore s t i è re s ,Burkina Faso.

The 15 countries thatp a rticipated in the workshopw e re Benin, Burkina Faso,C a m e roon, Chad, Côted ’ I v o i re, Eritrea, The Gambia,Guinea, Kenya, Mali,Mauritania, Niger, Senegal,Sudan and Togo. The part n e ragencies that part i c i p a t e dincluded FAO, IPGRI, ICRAF,CIRAD-Forêt, Danida Fore s tSeed Centre, IRAD-Camero o n(Institut de la Recherc h eagricole pour ledéveloppement), IUCN andthe International Union ofF o re s t ry Researc hO rganizations (IUFRO).

In preparation for theworkshop, countries wereassisted with the task ofassessing the status of theirf o rest genetic re s o u rc e s .National re p o rts from 12countries outlined key issuesand priority species, withrecommendations foro v e rcoming constraints. Adraft synthesis of the 12national re p o rts was pre p a re d .

A regional training course,held prior to the workshop,o ff e red instruction on thec o n s e rvation and sustainableuse of forest geneticre s o u rces. Organized by IPGRIin collaboration with FA O ,Danida Forest Seed Centreand CIRAD-Forêt and others,the course emphasized theneed for country-driven actionat the national and re g i o n a llevels. Part i c i p a n t srecommended that IPGRI, incollaboration with othero rganizations, develop aregional programme for fore s tgenetic re s o u rces in Sub-Saharan Africa (SAFORGEN).The regional pro g r a m m e

11

Northern Niger – Borderingthe Tenere desert.IPGRI/J. Toll

would initially include fournetworks: fruit and food tre especies, fodder tree species,African timber and woodspecies, and African non-timber forest pro d u c t s .

Delegations pre s e n t e dtheir national re p o rts anddiscussed the draft synthesisre p o rt during the workshop.They began to pre p a re as u b regional plan of actionfocused on three objectives:i m p roved management anduse of forest geneticre s o u rces (re s o u rc eassessment, conserv a t i o nand sustainable use);i n c reased availability ofsuperior germplasm (supply,selection and impro v e m e n t ) ;and enhanced institutional

capacity (aware n e s s - b u i l d i n g ,training, institution-s t rengthening). Delegatess t rongly endorsed IPGRI’se ff o rts to establishSAFORGEN, recognizing thatonce operational, it would bea useful platform forimplementing activities of thes u b regional action plan.

In 1999 FAO, incollaboration with IPGRI andI C R A F, will finalize and publishthe synthesis re p o rt on thestate of forest geneticre s o u rces in the Sahel, andthe subregional Plan of Actionp re p a red at the workshop. Asrecommended by theworkshop, FAO, together withthe partner organizations, willp romote the implementation ofthe regional plan of actiont h rough appro p r i a t emechanisms and encouragethe organization of similaraction-oriented, country - d r i v e nworkshops in other regions ofA f r i c a .

1 2

Pulling fronds from Borassusaethiopicumfor fibre. The treeis also used as a source ofsugar, medicine and buildingmaterial.IPGRI/I. deBorhegyi

The Centres hold more than5 0 0 000 accessions of plantgenetic re s o u rces in tru s t(known as ‘designatedg e rmplasm’) for thei n t e rnational community undera g reements signed betweenthe Centres and FAO in 1994.The development andimplementation of appro p r i a t eand consistent System-widepolicies and practices foradministering these collectionsin accordance with the term sof the FAO Agreements arepriorities for SGRP.

In 1998, SGRP conducteda review of the MaterialTransfer Agreements (MTA s )that the Centres use to bindrecipients of designatedg e rmplasm to the terms of theFAO Agreements andrequested that IPGRI developa standard MTA with theadvice of FAO. IPGRI was alsorequested to consult with FA Oon a number of technical andmanagement issues relating tothe implementation of the FA OA g reements, and to re v i e wC e n t re practices on thedesignation of in tru s t

g e rmplasm and on theacquisition of plant geneticre s o u rc e s .

During the year, a gre a tdeal of public attentionc e n t red on the MTAs, inp a rticular concerning theirp rohibition against theapplication of intellectualp ro p e rty rights on designatedg e rmplasm. Led by IPGRI,SGRP and individual Centre sinvestigated a number ofalleged violations of MTAs inthis re g a rd. In May, theCGIAR released a statementdescribing the actions thatC e n t res would take whenthey had reason to believethat an MTA had beenviolated. The statement hasnow been formally agre e dwith FA O .

A new standardMaterial Tr a n s f e rA g reement for in tru s tg e rm p l a s m

The new MTA bindsrecipients to certain term sand conditions on acceptingthe germplasm samples,without requiring a signatureor further action by therecipient. It has been form a l l ya p p roved by FAO and, atI n t e rnational Centres We e k ,the CGIAR approved theSystem-wide implementationof this standard MTA (seeBox on page 14).

In consultation with FA O ,SGRP developed a series ofsteps that Centres must followin using the new MTA; thesewill go before the ICWG-GR atits Annual Meeting in January1999 for endorsement andimplementation. The new MTAwill be presented to the FA OCommission on GeneticR e s o u rces for Food

13Policy review

a n df o r m u l a t i o n

A key task for SGRP is toreview and recommendgenetic resources policiesfor System-wide adoptionthat are in harmony withinternational agreements.This involves formulatingpolicy instruments andinternal guidelines for theCentres to use for theacquisition, management,use and transfer ofagricultural geneticresources, including forestand aquatic resources, andmonitoring theirimplementation.

Collecting crop geneticresources. IPGRI/ICRISAT/Niger mission.IPGRI

1 4

The material containedh e rein is being furn i s h e dby [Centre] under thefollowing conditions:

D e s i g n a t e dG e rm p l a s m

[ C e n t re] is making thematerial described in theattached list available as partof its policy of maximizing theutilization of genetic materialfor re s e a rch. The materialwas either developed by[ C e n t re]; or was acquire dprior to the entry into force ofthe Convention on BiologicalDiversity; or if it was acquire dafter the entering into force ofthe Convention on BiologicalD i v e r s i t y, it was obtained withthe understanding that itcould be made fre e l yavailable for any agriculturalre s e a rch or bre e d i n gp u r p o s e s .

The material is held in tru s tunder the terms of ana g reement between [Centre ]and FAO, and the re c i p i e n thas no rights to obtainIntellectual Pro p e rty Rights(IPR) on the germplasm orrelated inform a t i o n .

The recipient may re p ro d u c ethe seed and use the materialfor agricultural re s e a rch andb reeding purposes and maydistribute it to other part i e sp rovided the recipient is alsowilling to accept theconditions of this agre e m e n t * .

The recipient, there f o re ,h e reby agrees not to claimownership over theg e rmplasm to be re c e i v e d ,nor to seek IPR over thatg e rmplasm or re l a t e di n f o rmation. He/She furt h e ra g rees to ensure that anysubsequent person orinstitution to whom he/shemay make samples of theg e rmplasm available, is

bound by the samep rovision and undertakes topass on the sameobligations to futurerecipients of the germ p l a s m .

[ C e n t re] makes now a rranties as to the safetyor title of the material, nor asto the accuracy orc o rrectness of any passportor other data provided withthe material. Neither does itmake any warranties as tothe quality, availability, orpurity (genetic ormechanical) of the materialbeing furnished. Thep h y t o s a n i t a ry condition ofthe material is warr a n t e donly as described in theattached phytosanitaryc e rtificate. The re c i p i e n tassumes full re s p o n s i b i l i t yfor complying with therecipient nation’sq u a r a n t i n e / b i o s a f e t yregulations and rules as toi m p o rt or release of geneticm a t e r i a l .

Upon request, [Centre] willf u rnish information that maybe available in addition towhatever is furnished withthe seed. Recipients arerequested to furnish [Centre ]p e rf o rmance data collectedduring evaluations.

The material is suppliede x p ressly conditional onacceptance of the terms ofthis agreement. There c i p i e n t ’s acceptance ofthe material constitutesacceptance of the terms ofthis agre e m e n t .

M a t e r i a lT r a n s f e r

Agreement ( M TA )

* This does not prevent therecipient from releasing orre p roducing the seed forpurposes of making itd i rectly available to farm e r sor consumers for cultivation,p rovided that the otherconditions set out in the MTAa re complied with.

15A g r i c u l t u re for endorsement,at its 8th Session in April1999. At this time, off i c i a ltranslations of the MTA in allUN languages will bea v a i l a b l e .

Policies andp ro c e d u res relating tothe implementation ofthe Centre / FA OA g reements govern i n gthe in trust plantg e rmplasm collections

FAO and SGRP reached acommon understanding on anumber of pro c e d u res thatC e n t res must follow under theA g reements (for examplewhen they become aware ofviolations of their MTAs, asdescribed above). These havebeen formally approved byFAO and are contained in the“Second Joint Statement ofFAO and the CGIAR Centre s

on the Agreements PlacingCGIAR Germplasm CollectionsUnder the Auspices of FA O . ”The major points of thisstatement are summarized inthe Box on page 16.

Also in 1998, SGRPdeveloped guidelines for

designating germplasm underthe FAO Agreements and foracquiring it in conformity withthe requirements of the CBD.These internal and practicalguides will help SGRP toensure that Centre practicesare appropriate andconsistent. The guidelines forthe designation of germplasmin trust were accepted forSystem-wide use by theCGIAR at ICW98. Theguidelines for the acquisitionof plant genetic resources willbe reviewed by the ICWG-GRat its Annual Meeting inJanuary 1999.

In vitro conservation:technician checks cultures.IPGRI

1 6

of FAO and the CGIARC e n t res on the

A g reements placingCGIAR germ p l a s m

collections under theauspices of FA O

The Statement addre s s e stwo issues: enforcement ofthe MTA for the transfer ofdesignated germplasm, andmanagement pro c e d u re sfor the distribution anddesignation of germ p l a s m .In summary, the mainpoints of the Statementa re :

1. Actions to enforce theM TAIt is understood that theC e n t res cannot guaranteethat recipients of germ p l a s mwill abide by the MTA, but itis agreed that the Centre swill voluntarily take thefollowing actions in re s p o n s eto a perceived violation oftheir MTA s :

• clarify the situation withthe recipient of theg e rmplasm, notifying themof the possible violationand requesting them torenounce or desist inclaiming IPR on thedesignated germ p l a s m

• notify the re g u l a t o ry bodyin the country where thepossible violation haso c c u rred, bringing to theirattention that the grantingof IPR may have beeni n a p p ro p r i a t e

• notify the FA OCommission on GeneticR e s o u rces for Food andA g r i c u l t u re of the possiblev i o l a t i o n .

The Centres will urge that noIPR be sought fordesignated germ p l a s mdistributed prior to itsdesignation under the FA OA g re e m e n t s .

2. Pro c e d u res indistributing anddesignating germ p l a s mC e n t res make samples ofdesignated germ p l a s mavailable to users for thepurpose of scientificre s e a rch, plant breeding orgenetic re s o u rc ec o n s e rvation, withoutrestriction (Article 9: FA OA g reements). It isunderstood that thisu n d e rtaking extends only toreasonable requests forthese specific purposes andthat sound managementpractices as well as practicaland biological constraintsmay make it inappropriate ord i fficult for Centres top rovide germplasm. Centre sa re not obligated:

• to distribute samples thatcould pose risks for thes p read of pests andd i s e a s e s

• to supply quantities whichexceed basicre q u i rements for thepurposes stated underA rticle 9

• to guarantee theimmediate or cost-fre eavailability of alldesignated germplasm, forexample, where stocks are

limited or the supply ofmaterial is constrained (asmay be in the case of wild,woody and vegetativelyp ropagated species).

When a Centre cannot fullyor immediately meet arequest, the Centre willi n f o rm the requestor of thereasons and discuss plansfor the supply of them a t e r i a l s .

It is understood that thestatus of germplasm as“designated” becomese ffective immediately uponthe Centre determining thatit is designating andmanaging the germ p l a s munder the terms of the FA OA g reements. Asmanagement andi n f o rmation systems impro v eand as genomic inform a t i o nabout accessions becomesavailable, Centres willupdate the list of germ p l a s mc o v e red by the FA OA g reements. FAO will benotified if there are cases ofan accession losing viability,the duplicate designation ofan accession, or an error inan accession’s re g i s t r a t i o nn u m b e r. In compliance withA rticle 2 of the Agre e m e n t s ,additional designations willbe consolidated intoupdated lists, which will bep rovided to FAO every twoyears, or more fre q u e n t l y, asa p p ro p r i a t e .

Second jointS t a t e m e n t

17The CGIAR System-wide Inform a t i o nNetwork for GeneticR e s o u rces (SINGER)

The System-wide Inform a t i o nNetwork for Genetic Resourc e s(SINGER) entered into asecond phase of developmentin 1998 that will enable it tobetter contribute to the globali n f o rmation exchange ongenetic re s o u rces. The newagenda seeks to transformSINGER into a gateway to thefull range of genetic re s o u rc e srelated information availablewithin the CGIAR and linkSINGER with the inform a t i o nsystems of other org a n i z a t i o n s .

SINGER links the geneticre s o u rces information systemsof the individual Centres of theCGIAR around the world,allowing them to be accessedand searched collectively.

SINGER contains key data onthe identity, sourc e ,characteristics and transfersto users of more than half amillion individual accessions ofc rop, forage and agro f o re s t rygenetic re s o u rces held in theC e n t re genebanks. In 1997 itbecame available on the Wo r l dWide Web (WWW) and on CD-ROM (SGRP Annual Report1997, page 9).

The continued stro n gs u p p o rt of Switzerland andassistance from other donorsto SGRP (European Union,Japan and The Netherlands),has made possible SINGER’si m p rovement and furt h e rd e v e l o p m e n t .

O b j e c t i v e sThe planning for the furt h e rdevelopment of SINGER wasu n d e rtaken at a meeting heldf rom 9 to 14 November 1998,hosted by FAO. The 60p a rticipants included thegenetic re s o u rces andi n f o rmation specialists fro mthe CGIAR Centres ande x p e rts from developing anddeveloped country institutions,the private sector, NGOc o m m u n i t y, FAO and theClearing House Mechanism(CHM) of the CBD.

The meeting addressed thefour principal objectives forthe new direction of SINGER:• to increase the awareness,

use and user-responsiveness of SINGER

• to expand SINGER toinclude the full range ofdata available on the plantg e rmplasm collections aswell as CGIAR databasesrelated to forest, livestockand aquatic geneticre s o u rc e s

• to link to databases andi n f o rmation systems outsideof the CGIAR

I n f o r m a t i o n

1 8• to contribute to the

development of globalgenetic re s o u rc e si n f o rmation systems.Based on the

recommendations made at themeeting, the project teamoutlined and prioritized thetechnical improvements andtasks necessary for SINGERto achieve its objectives.Highest priority will be given toactions that increase thequality and quantity of dataavailable on the plant geneticre s o u rces collections, and toi m p rovements to SINGER’suser access and queryfunctions. Ensuring access tocomplete and re l i a b l ep a s s p o rt, characterization andevaluation data on the plantg e rmplasm collections, andi m p rovement of the user-i n t e rface, are critical steps toi n c reasing the use andusability of SINGER and ap re requisite to forging linkswith national and intern a t i o n a li n f o rmation systems.

Plan of ActionF u t u re development will focuson SINGER’s role as an entrypoint to the genetic re s o u rc e sdatabases available within theCGIAR and as a facilitator oftheir diffusion and links withcollaborators’ databases. In itstechnical stru c t u re, SINGERwill head toward becoming ahighly flexible platform thatcan accommodate theindependent stru c t u re of thecomponent Centre databaseswith minimum re q u i re m e n t sfor standardization to enablea c ross-database searc h e s .Retaining the autonomy indesign and management ofthe individual databasesaccessible through SINGER iscritical for ensuring thesustainability of SINGER. By

reducing its compatibilityre q u i rements, SINGER willfacilitate creating links tocollaborators’ inform a t i o ns y s t e m s .

A software package – a“tool kit” – that provides aflexible means of publishingdatabases on the WWW andCD-ROM will be developed.The “tool kit” will be used todesign a more user- f r i e n d l yi n t e rface for SINGER that ishighly responsive in its queryfunctions to the specific needsof the user. Graphic andmapping capabilities will allowthe user an overview of thecontents of SINGER and helpthe user to better targ e tq u e r i e s .

Using the “tool kit”developed by the SGRPSINGER project, Centres willbe able to publish theirindividual databases on theWWW and CD-ROM bothindependently and thro u g hSINGER. Thus, the full rangeof accession-level data will beavailable on thecharacterization and evaluationof the plant germ p l a s mcollections, as well as accessto Centre databases related tof o rest, aquatic and livestockgenetic re s o u rces, such asDAGRID (the ILRI DomesticAnimal Genetic Resourc e sI n f o rmation Database) andFishBase (the Intern a t i o n a lBiological Database on Fish,managed by ICLARM). LinkingSINGER to an initiative led byCIMMYT (Centro Intern a c i o n a lde Mejoramiento de Maíz yTrigo) “The International Cro pI n f o rmation System” (ICIS)which assembles inform a t i o non the pedigrees andp e rf o rmance of impro v e dgermplasm lines, is the focusof a special project (see page20).

In meeting SINGER’s goalto contribute to the globalexchange of genetic re s o u rc e si n f o rmation, data quality andcommon standards for dataexchange are vital. Inp a rt i c u l a r, importance will begiven to improving thecompleteness and accuracy ofthe data relating to the identityand geographical source ofthe plant germ p l a s mcollections. This will helpestablish accession-level linkswith national and otherdatabases and provide userswith additional indicators ofthe value of the germ p l a s msamples through associationwith Geographic Inform a t i o nSystems. The SINGER pro j e c twill collaborate with FAO andother organizations to developand promote common datas t a n d a rds to ensurecompatibility between nationaland international inform a t i o nsystems. For example, toh a rmonize the taxonomy ituses with that of othersystems, SINGER will useauthoritative taxonomicre f e rences such as Species2 0 0 0 .

Pilot studies to explore thefeasibility for links to national

p rogramme databases andthose of regional networks willbe launched. SINGER willdevelop links to FAO Wo r l dI n f o rmation and Early Wa rn i n gSystem (WIEWS) and theClearing House Mechanism ofthe CBD.

In addition, initiatives willbe made to raise aware n e s sand proficiency among keyuser groups of SINGER.Existing CGIAR trainingp rogrammes will integrate theapplication of SINGERs t ru c t u re and tools andguidance on standards andp rotocols for data exchangeinto their curr i c u l a .

P ro g re s sBy the end of the year, workhad started on developing the“tool kit” for SINGER. Also,action had been initiated toupgrade the capacity of theSINGER data-deliverymechanism, institute a policyfor the operation of SINGERand address critical needs indata quality and standards. Anewly improved SINGERu s e r – i n t e rface will be re l e a s e don the WWW in mid-1999.C e n t re databases on thecharacterization andevaluation of the plantg e rmplasm collections willp ro g ressively come on-lineduring the latter part of they e a r. These developments arep reparing the way for SINGERto provide access to a widerrange of genetic re s o u rc e si n f o rmation available withinthe CGIAR, and to pro m o t elinks with national and othergenetic re s o u rces inform a t i o ns y s t e m s .

19

S I N G E Ra gateway to CGIAR genetic re s o u rces i n f o rm a t i o n

SINGER

D a t a b a s eCentre

Linkages at the system-wide levelusing common data standard s

Queries at the system-wide level

Queries at the crop-specific level

The International Cro pI n f o rmation System( I C I S )

The International Cro pI n f o rmation System (ICIS) is adata management system forintegrating independents o u rces of perf o rmance dataand related information on cro pvarieties and lines. Its core isthe management of pedigre e sand the unique identification ofthe germplasm components.Databases are beingestablished for rice, cowpeaand other major crops withinthe mandates of CGIARC e n t res, following the model ofC I M M Y T ’s International WheatI n f o rmation System (IWIS).

ICIS is an inter- C e n t reinitiative, led by CIMMYT.Since 1996, SGRP hasp rovided funds to assist thedevelopment of ICIS, inrecognition of its potentialvalue to crop breeders and tofacilitating the use of geneticre s o u rces in conjunction withSINGER (SGRP AnnualR e p o rts 1996 and 1997).

In 1998, SGRP support e dthe further development of ICISby helping to secure a grantf rom Australia for a pro j e c taimed at improving the ICISdata management modulesand developing connectionswith SINGER and other geneticre s o u rces information systems(e.g. GRIN, the GeneticR e s o u rces Information Networkof the US National Germ p l a s mR e s o u rces Pro g r a m ) .

During the year, pro g re s swas made to improve keyfunctions of ICIS in managingand displaying crop pedigre e s .I m p rovements reduced theq u e ry response time fordisplaying genealogicald e n d rograms. The function fors e a rching for descendants

within multiple pedigrees wasf u rther developed andsuccessfully tested on theICIS wheat, rice, maize andbarley databases. Furt h e rwork is planned to provide anoption for users to limit searc hresults to released cultivars.

I m p rovements were madeto the module that managesand verifies perf o rm a n c e -related data obtained fro mmultiple sources. In addition top roviding data on traits, themodule can supportbibliographic information onre c o rds from the institutionsthat run trials.

A prototype module wasdeveloped for importing dataon genetic re s o u rces samplesinto ICIS. It was tested on IRRIrice collection data available inSINGER. In addition, links withGRIN were established for1 8 000 rice accessions.F u rther work will beconducted to establish a two-way connection between ICISand SINGER that will allow theassociation of re c o rds ongenetic re s o u rces with thep e d i g rees of crop varietiesand lines.

F u rther information on thedevelopments in ICIS isavailable at< h t t p : / / w w w. c g i a r. o rg / i c i s > .

2 0

Human Resourc e sDevelopment for theManagers of GeneticR e s o u rc e sP ro g r a m m e s

SGRP is developing ac o o rdinated approach withinthe CGIAR for support i n ghuman re s o u rc e sdevelopment in the area ofgenetic re s o u rces. In 1998, itlaunched an initiative fori n t e r- C e n t re collaboration inthe development andp rovision of training formanagers of geneticre s o u rces programmes. Thefocus on pro g r a m m emanagement was selected togive greater attention topolicy and institutional issuesin the training of nationalp rogramme leaders and forits relevance to all sectors ofgenetic re s o u rces activity,including crop, fore s t ,livestock and aquatic geneticre s o u rc e s .

The initiative is being ledby the International Service forNational Agricultural Researc h(ISNAR), following the modelused for developing theISNAR training courseManaging Biotechnology in aTime of Tr a n s i t i o n . The overallobjective of the project is toi m p rove the eff i c i e n c y,e ffectiveness andsustainability of nationalgenetic re s o u rc e sp rogrammes by stre n g t h e n i n gthe capacity of nationalp rogramme leaders to managetheir programmes, andconduct re s e a rch and re l a t e dt r a i n i n g .

Work began by pre p a r i n gand conducting a survey ofthe existing geneticre s o u rces trainingo p p o rtunities and re s o u rc e savailable within the CGIAR.

Based on the survey findings,the project determ i n e dpossible future trainingobjectives and areas and, bythe end of 1998, was in thep rocess of analyzing therelevance of existing trainingmaterials and definingpossible curricula on geneticre s o u rces pro g r a m m em a n a g e m e n t .

The questionnaire fors u rveying CGIAR geneticre s o u rces training activitieswas designed by ISNAR andIPGRI. Responses fro mC I M M Y T, CIP, ICLARM,ICARDA, IITA, ILRI, IPGRIand IRRI have beenanalyzed. These show thatC e n t res are involved ingenetic re s o u rc e - re l a t e dhuman re s o u rc e sdevelopment, mainly thro u g hthe provision of short trainingcourses. They have trainingstrategies and most areusing informal means ofassessing the training needsof national partners ande x t e rnal trainers. Although allof the Centres curre n t l yevaluate their trainingactivities, only three do post-training follow-up or impactassessment of their trainingactivities. All of the Centre shave training materials andsome have developed coursem o d u l e s .

Most of the existing Centretraining courses and materialsa re mainly technical incontent. Topics related togenetic re s o u rces policy andmanagement are lessp rominent. The most commonpolicy and management-related areas include: theimplications to managers ofbiodiversity and geneticre s o u rces issues; geneticre s o u rces communication andi n f o rmation; analysis of the

21T r a i n i n g

Training national programmestaff, Beltsville, USA.IPGRI

re s o u rces available forre s e a rch; enviro n m e n t a lresponsibility and biosafety.Managing intellectual pro p e rt yrights, priority-setting,negotiation skills andmanaging human re s o u rc e sdevelopment for geneticre s o u rces were included intraining activities of one or twoC e n t re s .

The next phase of thep roject will be to design andconduct an assessment ofnational programme trainingneeds to gather feedback onthe appropriateness of thep roposed content of thetraining module.

Existing training needsassessments have beenconsulted. These include asurvey of degree-level trainingneeds among national geneticresources programmes in theAsia and Pacific regionconducted by IPGRI in 1995,and assessments of NARSresearch management trainingneeds undertaken by IWMI(the International WaterManagement Institute) andISNAR. Based on these and

the results of the Centresurvey, the objectives forfuture training for leaders ofgenetic resourcesprogrammes were identified.They include: developing andimplementing policies forgenetic resourcesconservation and use atnational and institutional level;defining and practisingleadership and managementof a genetic resourcesconservation and researchprogramme; and identifyingand applying new technicalknowledge and skills ingenetic resourcesconservation and research.

T h ree possible curricula fora training module on themanagement of a geneticre s o u rces programme havebeen defined. Followingincorporation of thesuggestions of the ICWG-GR,a final set of test curricula willbe developed for the trainingneeds assessment exercise toobtain the feedback of NARSand other partners on thea p p ropriateness of thep roposed content.

2 2

Technical training in seedprocessing and testingmethods, ICRISAT SahelianCenter, Niger.IPGRI

I n t e r- C e n t recollaboration in theapplication ofc ry o p re s e rvation forl o n g - t e rmc o n s e rvation of plantgenetic re s o u rc e s

Cryopreservation, the storageof biological material at ultra-low temperatures (in liquidnitrogen at –196°C) iscurrently the only solution forsafe and cost-effective long-term conservation ofvegetatively propagated cropsand recalcitrant-seededspecies (species whose seedsare sensitive to drying and

cannot be conserved byorthodox seed storagemethods). Today,cryopreservation protocolshave been established formore than 200 different plantspecies. However, thedevelopment of thetechnology is much moreadvanced for vegetativelypropagated crops, from whichthe apices or shoot tips canbe frozen, than forrecalcitrant-seeded species.Furthermore, although thereare now a number of crops forwhich cryopreservationtechniques exist, systematicapplication of these methodsand experimentation ongermplasm collections islimited.

Cryopreservation isimportant to CGIAR Centresholding internationalcollections of major foodcrops that are vegetativelypropagated: CentroInternacional de la Papa (CIP)for potato, sweet potato andAndean root and tuber crops,Centro Internacional deAgricultura Tropical (CIAT) forcassava, International Instituteof Tropical Agriculture (IITA)for cassava and yam andIPGRI/International Networkfor the Improvement ofBanana and Plantain (INIBAP)for Musa. In view of the directrelevance of cryopreservationto these Centres and itspotential value to nationalgenetic resourcesprogrammes, SGRP ispromoting greater inter-Centrecollaboration to further thisstrategic area of conservationresearch.

The CGIAR Centres havemade an importantcontribution to thedevelopment ofcryopreservation protocols for

23I n t e r - C e n t r e

C o l l a b o r a t i o n

Re-warming of cryopreservedtissue after removal from thecryotank.IPGRI

tropical species, and inparticular for the crops theyconserve. Each Centre hasstarted to establishcryopreserved collectionsand/or to perform extensiveexperiments on differentspecies and genotypes of thecrops they hold. However, inthe case of sweet potato,more work is needed beforecryopreservation can beroutinely applied to thegermplasm collections, and

work on the Andean root andtuber crops is still in aresearch phase.

In 1998, SGRP providedfunds that allowed scientistsfrom CIP, CIAT, IITA andIPGRI/INIBAP to participate inan international workshop onthe cryopreservation oftropical plant germplasm inTsukuba, Japan, and toremain for an extra day toplan collaborative initiatives.IPGRI, which co-organized theworkshop with JIRCAS (JapanInternational Research Centerfor Agricultural Sciences),arranged this inter-Centremeeting.

At the inter-Centremeeting, the scientists agreedon an agenda for collaborative

work, focusing on thefollowing elements:• Further developing and

refining cryopreservationprotocols for root and tubercrops and Musa

• Testing protocols on a widerange and large quantity ofspecies and genotypes ofeach crop

• Establishing procedures foroptimal management ofcryopreserved collections

• Analyzing the costs ofcryopreservation andcollection managementprocedures

• Developing strategies tointegrate cryopreservationwith other methods ofconservation (field, in vitro,seed) in the most cost-effective manner to ensurepreservation of thegenepool of a given cropand its availability for use

• Establishing arrangementsbetween Centres and withNARS for the safety-duplication ofcryopreserved collections

• Networking within regions,between Centres andnational programmes toconcentrate on technologydevelopment, transfer andcapacity-building

• Coordinating links withinstitutes conductingfundamental research.

It was decided to developa joint proposal to forward theagenda. The Centres alsoagreed to communicate moreconsistently aboutcryopreservation and to seekopportunities to sharetechniques and expertise.

2 4

In vitro plants regeneratedfrom frozen meristem culturesof Musacultivars Bluggoe andWilliams, 4 months aftercryopreservation.IPGRI/INIBAP

C o n s e rvation of fore s tgenetic re s o u rc e s :impacts of fore s tf r a g m e n t a t i o n

D e f o restation fre q u e n t l yresults in the formation off o rest fragments set inu n f o rested, or less fore s t e d ,a reas. Many of the benefitsc o n f e rred by forests –ecological, social, economic –a re closely linked to theviability of these fore s t

fragments. An SGRP-s u p p o rted project isexamining the effects offragmentation on themaintenance of geneticdiversity in a forested area ofn o rt h e a s t e rn Costa Rica. Theresults of this re s e a rch willi n f o rm the design ofmanagement strategies forf o rest genetic re s o u rc e s .

The study, begun in 1996,is being carried out by theTropical Agronomic Centre forR e s e a rch and Education( C ATIE), with support from theCenter for Intern a t i o n a lF o re s t ry Research (CIFOR)and IPGRI. It is assessing theimpact of fragmentation onthe genetic diversity of tre especies present in thefragments. In part i c u l a r, thestudy is determining thec i rcumstances in which thelevels of geneflow betweenfragments are likely to bes u fficient to counteract theexpected effects offragmentation-induced geneticdrift for diff e rent tree speciesand types of fragment. In whatc i rcumstances fragmentationreduces outcrossing ratesshould become clear, as wellas the effects of suchd e c reases on populationv i a b i l i t y.

Reduced geneflow andi n c reased genetic drift areissues of great strategici m p o rtance, as they can leadd i rectly to the loss of geneticd i v e r s i t y. Decreased fitness,due to increased inbreeding infragments, will re d u c epopulation viability and maylead to extinction. Trees arethe predominant componentsof the physical and biologicale n v i ronment in which otherelements of forest biodiversitys u rvive and re p ro d u c e .T h e re f o re, the effects of

25

Deforestation.IPGRI

R e s e a r c h

fragmentation on the geneticdiversity of tree populationseventually affect species-leveland ecosystem-levelb i o d i v e r s i t y.

The study is concentratingon three species (A n a c a rd i u mexcelsum, Astro n i u mgraveolens, Plumeria ru b r a)which have diff e re n tcharacteristics, and possiblyd i ff e rent responses tofragmentation. Thecomparison across speciesp rovides valuable inform a t i o nto isolate the factors thatp redispose populations tofragmentation-induced driftand inbre e d i n g .

In 1998, work in the 350-k m2 zone focused its study ong e n e f l o w. The initial work oflocating, mapping andsampling the studypopulations (described in the1997 SGRP Annual Report )was expanded to locateadditional populations of thestudy species. Additional seedcollections were made of A .e x c e l s u m and P. ru b r a a n dnew aerial photographs, mapsand documents clarified theh i s t o ry of the study zone. Morethan 1000 individuale x p l a n a t o ry data values havenow been taken, mostly at thei n d i v i d u a l - t ree level: fragmentflowering indices, speciesdiversity indices, floweringplant densities, distance tofragment edge, matrix type,d e g ree of isolation, conspecificpopulation density, tre eflowering indices, etc. TheC ATIE nursery has established138 progenies of A. excelsumin order to examine therelationship betweenh e t e rozygosity and fitness.

Allozyme studies of A .e x c e l s u m have been initiated.Enzyme-extraction pro t o c o l sfor use with leaf material were

developed and trials weremade with diff e rent enzymesand running systems, re s u l t i n gin the final selection of twosystems [histidine/tris citrate,pH7.0; tris citrate(pH8.5)/lithium borate (pH8.1)].In addition, over 3000 leafsamples of A. excelsum h a v ebeen silica-dried forsubsequent DNA extractionand analysis.

Synthesis and publicationof the results of the study willbegin in mid-1999.

Costing the Ex SituC o n s e rvation ofGenetic Resourc e s :Maize and Wheat atC I M M Y T

The External Review of CGIARGenebank Operations,commissioned by SGRP in1995, recommended that costanalyses be conducted of theC e n t re genebank operations.In response, SGRPcommissioned theI n t e rnational Food PolicyR e s e a rch Institute (IFPRI) in1996 to undertake a study ofthe costs of operating agenebank and there b ydevelop a methodology tocost other genebanks as abasis for improving thee fficiency of their operationsand the CGIAR System as aw h o l e .

A pilot study wasconducted on the CIMMYTgenebank. A draft version wascompleted in 1998 andre p o rted in Pardey et al.(1998).* A revised version ofthe complete study will bepublished by IFPRI in 1999 inits “Environment andP roduction Te c h n o l o g yDivision Discussion Paper”s e r i e s .

2 6

* P a rd e y, P.G., B. Skovmand, S. Taba, M.E. Van Dusen and B.D. Wright. 1998. The Cost ofC o n s e rving Maize and WheatGenetic Resources Ex Situ.Chapter 3 in Farmers, GeneBanks and Crop Breeding (M. Smale, ed.). KluwerAcademic Publishers, Dord re c h t ,The Netherlands.

B a c k g ro u n dCIMMYT holds collections ofmaize, wheat and other small-grained cereals (barley, rye,triticale). In 1997 thecollections totaled 140000accessions, includinghandcars, cultivars, breedinglines and wild related species.The germplasm accessionsare stored as seed in a singlegenebank facility where theyare managed as two separatecollections: maize (17000accessions) and wheat(123 000 accessions,including barley, rye andtriticale). The two collectionsat CIMMYT provided theopportunity to compareconservation costs fordifferent types of crop: maizeis large-seeded, outcrossing,and has highly heterogeneousgermplasm, whereas wheatand the other cereal speciesare small-seeded, inbreeding,and typically homogeneous.

The study spanned theoperations involved inbuilding, conserving and

disseminating a germplasmcollection; specifically the safestorage of the material,regeneration of accessions,monitoring and maintainingseed health, datamanagement, safety-duplication, and the shipmentof samples to collaboratorsworldwide. The CIMMYTgenebank – a new facilityconstructed in 1996 –consists of a long-termstorage facility (–18°C) and amedium-term storage (–1°Cand 30% RH), plus ancillaryfacilities including a seed-drying room, seed processingand testing laboratories, andoffices.

The framework to estimatethe costs for the genebankoperations is borrowed fromproduction economics, inwhich outputs (in this case,services provided by thegenebank) are derived fromsome combinations of inputs.For example, inputs such aslabour, land, buildings, capitalequipment, energy and

27

The CIMMYT germplasm bankcontains nearly 20000 maizeseed accessions, most ofwhich are landraces from theAmericas - the centre of originfor this crop.CIMMYT/A.Maria Sánchez

acquired seeds are used toproduce outputs such asstored seeds and relevantdocumentation for distributionto national programmes andother users. In addition togenerating comprehensiveestimates of the total annualcosts of conserving wheatand maize genetic resourcesat CIMMYT, the studyinvestigated the economies ofsize, scale and scope in theoperations of a genebank.

Genebank costs werecategorized into variable(operational) and fixed(capital) costs as a basis fordistinguishing betweenaverage and marginal costs.The variable costs involvedexpenses that were oftensensitive to the scale of theoperation, such as the costsfor labour, electricity andchemicals. Capital costs arethose incurred on a periodic(greater than one year) basissuch as the costs forconstruction of the storagefacility and physical plant, andlaboratory and officeequipment.

Findings*The average and marginalcosts of conservation dependon differences in managementprotocols (e.g. whether or notthe accession is initiallyregenerated), the holdingperiod (whether seed is storedfor one more year or inperpetuity), the type ofaccession (whether a newaccession is introduced or anexisting accession is rolledover), and the capacity of thestorage facility. The collectionpresently stored in theCIMMYT genebank occupiesone-third of the facility’s totalcapacity. Thus the currentaverage costs per accession

for wheat (US$1.84) andmaize (US$13.59) are roughlythree times the estimatedcosts at full capacity (US$0.58and US$3.45, respectively),assuming no regeneration isrequired. New introductionsundergo seed health checks,the costs of which arepresently being calculated.

The cost of storage per serepresents only a fraction ofthe overall costs ofconserving the collections; thecosts incurred in regeneratingaccessions are a majoradditional expense.Regeneration is considerablymore costly for maize(US$123.59 per accession)than for wheat (US$2.04). Thisreflects the more costlymethods required to limitgenetic drift in the highlyheterogeneous andoutpollinating maizeaccessions, as well asdifferences in the growthhabits of the two crops.Depending on the protocol fora newly introduced accession,the average cost ofincorporating an accessioninto the genebank variesmarkedly. The average cost ofintroducing a new wheataccession is US$2.06 peraccession without initialregeneration, and US$4.24with regeneration.Comparable figures for maizeare US$16.69 and US$140.50,respectively. (It should benoted that these are lower-bound cost estimates;accounting for the costsincurred in checking thehealth of the seeds willincrease these figures.) As theCIMMYT genebank isoperating well below capacity,these average costs providean upper-bound estimate ofthe corresponding marginal

2 8

* The figures presented here areclose to, but not final, estimates.Some data elements are beingrechecked and the costs of seedhealth activities are yet to befinalized. Nonetheless it isanticipated that there will be littlechange to the main findings,although some of the import a n tdetail may vary.

cost (i.e. the cost of addingone more accession to thecollection).

The figures above refer tothe costs of conserving anaccession for one more year,with the notion that decisionstaken now can be revisitedthe following year. However,the costs of conservingaccessions in perpetuity arealso relevant, especially forthe CGIAR holdings that areheld in trust for futuregenerations. The cost of sucha guarantee obviouslydepends on the state of futuretechnology, input costs(including interest rates),storage capacity andregeneration intervals. In

present value terms, thelower-bound average cost ofconserving an accession forperpetuity is in the range ofUS$25 to US$75 for wheatand US$230 to US$500 formaize. The large spread inthese estimates reflects theimportance of assumeddifferences in the regenerationinterval and the discount rate.The comparatively large costinvolved in storing maize inperpetuity suggests thatconservation priorities shouldbe set to determine whattypes of genetic resourcesought to be added to orretained in the collection.Perhaps, for example, there isgreater value in conservingnew accessions of landracesand wild relatives rather thanrecently created breedinglines.

Next stepsThe methodology for costingseed genebank operations willbe further refined. Additionalwork is required on thecomparative costs of field,invitro and seed banks and ofmaintaining different speciesin different locations, underdifferent institutionalarrangements. Comparativeeconomic analyses of ex situconservation can help informdecision-making on theimplementation of appropriateconservation strategies andthe rational management ofgenebank collections. Thiswas emphasized in the GlobalPlan of Action for theConservation and SustainableUse of Plant GeneticResources for Food andAgriculture.

29

Seed collections in theCIMMYT germplasm bank (in this case, wheat) arecontinuously monitored forgermination capacity andregenerated when theirviability falls below acceptablelevels.CIMMYT/A.Maria Sánchez

3 0Dr Daniel DebouckHead, Genetic Resources Unit( C I AT )

Dr Tim Boyle (to May 1998)P roject Leader, Biodiversity and Genetic Resourc e s( C I F O R )

Dr John Tu rnbull (from June through October 1998)( C I F O R )

Dr John Poulsen (November 1998)Scientist, Research Division( C I F O R )

Dr Bent SkovmandSection Head, Wheat Germplasm Resourc e s( C I M M Y T )

Dr Wanda CollinsDeputy Director General for Researc h( C I P )

Dr Jan Va l k o u nHead, Genetic Resources Unit( I C A R D A )

Dr Roger PullinP rogram Leader, Biodiversity and Genetic Resources Pro g r a m( I C L A R M )

Dr Tony SimonsL e a d e r, Tree Domestication Pro g r a m( I C R A F )

Dr Paula Bramel-CoxActing Dire c t o r, Genetic Resources and Enhancement Pro g r a m( I C R I S AT )

Dr Phil Pard e yR e s e a rch Fellow( I F P R I )

Dr Nyat Quat NgHead, Genetic Resources Unit( I I TA )

Dr Jean HansonP roject Coord i n a t o r, Forage Genetic Resourc e s( I L R I )

Dr Masa IwanagaDeputy Director General (Pro g r a m m e s )( I P G R I )

Members of the ICWG-GR

in 1998

31Dr Mike JacksonHead, Genetic Resources Center( I R R I )

Dr Joel Cohen (Chair)P rogram Dire c t o r, Information and New Te c h n o l o g i e s( I S N A R )

Dr Randolph BarkerSenior Advisor to the Director General( I W M I )

Dr Monty Jones (to 2 August 1998)Upland Rice Bre e d e r( WA R D A )

Dr Robert Guei (from 3 August 1998)INGER Coord i n a t o r( WA R D A )

Ex Officio MembersDr Murthi AnishettySenior Off i c e r, Plant Genetic Resourc e sSeed and Plant Genetic Resources Serv i c ePlant Production and Protection DivisionFood and Agriculture Organization of the United NationsVia delle Te rme di Caracalla00100 RomeI t a l y

Dr Geoff rey Hawtin, SGRP Programme LeaderD i rector General( I P G R I )

Ms Jane Toll Coordinator - SGRP( I P G R I )

Executive Committee MembersDr Joel Cohen, ISNARDr Jean Hanson, ILRIDr Tim Boyle, CIFOR (to 31 May 1998)Dr Tony Simons, ICRAF (f rom 1 June 1998)Ms Jane Toll, SGRP Coordinator (Secre t a ry of the Executive

C o m m i t t e e )Dr Geoff rey Hawtin, SGRP Programme Leader, IPGRI

3 2S e c retariat of the CGIAR System-wide Genetic Resourc e sP ro g r a m m e :c/o International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI)Via delle Sette Chiese, 14200145 RomeI t a l yTelephone: +39-06518921Fax: +39-065750309Email: ipgri@cgiar. o rg

Ms Jane To l lC o o rd i n a t o r, SGRP

M r. Samy Gaiji3

P roject Leader, SINGER

Ms Layla DaoudCommunications and Administration Assistant, SGRP

R e p o rt s

R e p o rt of the Eighth Meeting of the Inter- C e n t re Working Gro u pon Genetic Resources, held at the International Centre forR e s e a rch in Agro f o re s t ry (ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya, 7-13 January1 9 9 8 .

Annex to the Report of the Eighth Meeting of the Inter- C e n t reWorking Group on Genetic Resources, held at the Intern a t i o n a lC e n t re for Research in Agro f o re s t ry (ICRAF), Nairobi, Kenya, 7-13 January 1998

R e p o rt of the SINGER Planning and Consultation Meetings,held at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations (FAO) and at the International Plant Genetic Resourc e sInstitute, Rome, Italy, 9-14 November 1998

P u b l i c a t i o n s

S G R P. 1998. Annual Report 1997 of the CGIAR System-wideGenetic Resources Programme. International Plant GeneticR e s o u rces Institute, Rome, Italy.

SGRP S e c r e t a r i a t

s t a f fin 1998

3 F rom 15 June 1998.

SGRP reportsa n d

publications in 1998

33This re p o rt presents income and expenditures for coord i n a t i o nand collaborative activities within SGRP for the period 1 January1998 through to 31 December 1998.

1998 FUNDING

U S $Funds received or pledged during 1998E u ropean Union 5 1 0 8 0 0J a p a n 4 7 5 0 0Netherlands (DFL 5000 0 0 ) 2 5 4 9 8 4Switzerland (CHF 3000 0 0 ) 2 0 6 2 1 0Australia (A$1100 0 0 ) 6 5 8 7 3World Bank 1 1 0 4 2 0Total funds received or pledged during 1998 1 1 9 5 7 8 7Exchange Loss for 1996 and 1997 ( 6 4 7 3 4 )Funds available in 1998 1 1 3 1 0 5 3E x p e n d i t u res/commitments during 1998 9 6 7 7 3 9B a l a n c e $ 1 6 3 3 1 4

1998 EXPENDITURES/COMMITMENTS

I t e m Total expenses (US$)SGRP Coord i n a t i o n 1 9 9 7 5 4ICWG-GR Annual Meeting 6 7 1 5 3S I N G E R 2 4 4 9 5 5Public Aw a re n e s s 1 0 1 7 7Collaborative Activities 3 1 5 1 9 0Administrative Costs 1 3 0 5 1 0To t a l $ 9 6 7 7 3 9

F i n a n c i a lR e p o r t

3 4C AT I E C e n t ro Agronomico Tropical de Investigacion y

E n s e ñ a n z aC B D Convention on Biological DiversityC H M Clearing House MechanismC I AT C e n t ro Internacional de Agricultura Tro p i c a lC I F O R Center for International Fore s t ry Researc hC I M M Y T C e n t ro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y

Tr i g oC I P C e n t ro Internacional de la PapaC I R A D C e n t re de Coopération Internationale en

R e c h e rche Agronomique pour le DéveloppementC O P C o n f e rence of the Parties to the Convention on

Biological DiversityC G I A R Consultative Group on International Agricultural

R e s e a rc hC G R FA FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food

and AgricultureD A D - I S Domestic Animal Diversity Information SystemD A G R I D Domestic Animal Genetic Resources Inform a t i o n

D a t a b a s eD A N I D A Danish International Development AssistanceE P M R E x t e rnal Programme and Management ReviewFA O Food and Agriculture Organization of the United

N a t i o n sG PA Global Plan of Action for the Conservation and

Sustainable Utilization of Plant GeneticR e s o u rces for Food and Agriculture

G R E N E W E C Network of Genetic Resources for West andCentral Africa

G R I N G e rmplasm Resources Information Network,U S D A

I C A R D A I n t e rnational Center for Agricultural Research inthe Dry Are a s

I C I S I n t e rnational Crop Information SystemI C L A R M I n t e rnational Center for Living Aquatic Resourc e s

M a n a g e m e n tI C R A F I n t e rnational Centre for Research in Agro f o re s t ryI C R I S AT I n t e rnational Crops Research Institute for the

Semi-Arid Tro p i c sI C W I n t e rnational Centres We e kI C W G - G R I n t e r- C e n t re Working Group on Genetic

R e s o u rc e sI F P R I I n t e rnational Food Policy Research InstituteI I TA I n t e rnational Institute of Tropical AgricultureI L R I I n t e rnational Livestock Research InstituteI N I B A P I n t e rnational Network for the Improvement of

Banana and PlantainI P G R I I n t e rnational Plant Genetic Resources InstituteI P R Intellectual Pro p e rty RightsI R A D Institut de la re c h e rche agricole pour le

d é v e l o p p e m e n tI R R I I n t e rnational Rice Research InstituteI S N A R I n t e rnational Service for National Agricultural

R e s e a rc h

A b b r e v i a t i o n sand

a c r o n y m s

35I U C N I n t e rnational Union for Conservation of NatureI U F R O I n t e rnational Union of Fore s t ry Researc h

O rg a n i z a t i o n sI W I S I n t e rnational Wheat Information SystemI W M I I n t e rnational Water Management InstituteJ I R C A S Japan International Research Center for

Agricultural SciencesM TA Material Transfer Agre e m e n tN A R S National Agricultural Research SystemsN G O N o n - g o v e rnmental org a n i z a t i o nP G R FA Plant Genetic Resources for Food and AgricultureS A F O R G E N Regional network of forest genetic re s o u rces in

Sub-Saharan AfricaS G R P CGIAR System-wide Genetic Resourc e s

P ro g r a m m eS I N G E R CGIAR System-wide Information Network for

Genetic Resourc e sU S D A United States Department of AgricultureWA N A West Asia and North AfricaWA R D A West Africa Rice Development AssociationW I E W S World Information and Early Wa rning SystemW W W World Wide We b

3 6

C I ATC e n t ro Internacional de

Agricultura Tro p i c a lA p a rtado Aéreo 6713C a l iC o l o m b i aE-mail: ciat@cgiar. o rg

C I F O RCenter for International

F o re s t ry Research Jalan CIFORSitu Gede, SindangbarangB o g o r, Barat 16680I n d o n e s i aE-mail: cifor@cgiar. o rg

C I M M Y TC e n t ro Internacional de

Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo Lisboa 27A p a rtado Postal 6-64106600 Mexico, DFM e x i c oE-mail: cimmyt@cgiar. o rg

C I PC e n t ro Internacional de la

Papa A p a rtado 1558Lima 12P e ruE-mail: cip@cgiar. o rg

I C A R D AI n t e rnational Center for

Agricultural Research in the Dry Are a s

PO Box 5466A l e p p oSyrian Arab RepublicE-mail: icard a @ c g i a r. o rg

I C L A R MI n t e rnational Center for Living

Aquatic Resources M a n a g e m e n t

MC PO Box 2631Makati Central Post Off i c e0718 Makati CityP h i l i p p i n e sE-mail: iclarm @ c g i a r. o rg

I C R A FI n t e rnational Centre for

R e s e a rch in Agro f o re s t ryUnited Nations Av e n u ePO Box 30677N a i ro b iK e n y aE-mail: icraf@cgiar. o rg

I C R I S ATI n t e rnational Crops Research

Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics

P a t a n c h e ru 502 324Andhra PradeshI n d i aE-mail: icrisat@cgiar. o rg

I F P R II n t e rnational Food Policy

R e s e a rch Institute 2033 K Street NWWashington, DC 20006U S AE-mail: ifpri@cgiar. o rg

I I TAI n t e rnational Institute of

Tropical AgriculturePMB 5320I b a d a nN i g e r i aE-mail: iita@cgiar. o rg

I L R II n t e rnational Livestock

R e s e a rch InstitutePO Box 30709N a i ro b iK e n y aE-mail: ilri@cgiar. o rg

I P G R II n t e rnational Plant Genetic

R e s o u rces Institute Via delle Sette Chiese 14200145 RomeI t a l yE-mail: ipgri@cgiar. o rg

I R R II n t e rnational Rice Research

Institute MC PO Box 31271271 Makati CityP h i l i p p i n e sE-mail: irr i @ c g i a r. o rg

I S N A RI n t e rnational Service for

National Agricultural Researc hLaan van Nieuw Oost Indië2593 BM The HagueThe NetherlandsE-mail: isnar@cgiar. o rg

I W M II n t e rnational Water

Management Institute PO Box 2075C o l o m b oSri LankaE-mail: iwmi@cgiar. o rg

WA R D AWest Africa Rice Development

A s s o c i a t i o n01 BP 2551Bouaké 01Côte d’IvoireE-mail: ward a @ c g i a r. o rg

C e n t r ea d d r e s s e s