Annual Report In te rn at io na l P la nt G en et ic R es ou rc es In st itu te 2001 Foreword 1 Selected highlights of 2001 2 The International Treaty: a new beginning 5 The Global Conservation Trust 7 Diversity added to the resource management equation 9 Crop diversity helps farmers in desert-prone areas 10 Casting a plant genetic resources network across the Pacific 12 Geographical information systems and plant genetic resources 14 Keeping the cradle of agriculture secure for the future 18 Plantain production transferred to a higher plane 20 Geneflow Junior targets youth for a better tomorrow 22 A window on Europe’s ex situ plant genetic resources 24 Sweet partnership helps safe- guard world’s cocoa supply 26 People, forests and trees in South America 28 Making the most of the Musa sequence 30 Selected publications 32 Financial support 32 Establishment Agreement 33 Financial report 33 IPGRI’s professional staff 36 IPGRI’s projects 39 IPGRI’s Board of Trustees 40An nu al Re po rt 20 01 Contents Partnership and partners IPGRI’s modus operandi is based firmly on working with others, leveraging our funds and abilities so that we not only achieve results, but also help to build capacity in those we work with and for. So strong and plentiful are these links, however, that to list them all in every case would make for a very long and dry document. In the following stories some have been mentioned by name while others have not, but we would like to take this opportunity to thank them all. IPGRI depends on partnerships and partners to get the job done. Cover: From the poster commemorating the move to IPGRI’s new headquarters in Maccarese. Artwork by Guida Joseph. IPGRI is a Future Harvest Center supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) It has been a year of momentous change for the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute. After what seems like years of waiting, planning and worrying, we finally moved into our splendid new headquarters building in Maccarese, just outside Rome. Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, President of the Italian Republic, formally opened the building in July 2001, and the occasion presented an opportunity to forge links with our new community. In October we hosted a Scientific Inauguration, which Italian Life Senator and Nobel Laureate Rita Levi-Montalcini graciously opened. The day was well-attended by IPGRI’s many partners in Italian research organizations, who enjoyed a wide range of presentations focused jointly on Italy’s and IPGRI’s contributions to research on plant genetic resources. The occasion also marked the inauguration of IPGRI’s conference facilities funded by the Government of Japan. On the international stage, in November the member countries of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) adopted by consensus the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. This ended a long series of negotiations during which IPGRI was a key source of impartial advice on technical matters. The year also saw the Directors of the Future Harvest Centers give their support to a campaign managed by IPGRI in collaboration with FAO and others to create sound long-term financing for the world’s collections of important crop diversity. IPGRI is proud to have been entrusted by the Centre Directors of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) with the task of coordinating the participation of the CGIAR in two events that offer a great opportunity to put our messages before a global audience. FAO postponed its 2nd World Food Summit, originally scheduled for October 2001, but we look forward to useful and substantive discussions when it does take place in June 2002. The United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development will descend on Johannesburg in August 2002. A follow up to the Rio Conference of 1992, which gave birth to the Convention on Biological Diversity, there will be one important difference. Thanks in good measure to the efforts of the CGIAR, agriculture will be firmly on the agenda, a recognition that it is one of the most important contributors to social and economic development, the alleviation of poverty, protection of the environment and improved human health. Geoffrey Hawtin Marcio de Miranda Santos Director General Board Chair Foreword Fo re w or d Scientists searching for genetic resources have made good use of new tools to tell them where to look. In South America, peanuts are particularly threatened by climate change because their seeds move little more than a metre a year. FloraMap is a computer program that, in concert with a model of climate change, told explorers which areas were most vulnerable. In a similar vein, African scientists are using geographic information systems and molecular markers to detail the diversity of wild rice in East and southern Africa. They found clear linkages between the amount of diversity and the variability of the environment, with most diversity in less extreme environments. The work also recommended places where wild rice species ought to be growing but which had not so far been explored. A small-scale trial proved that these suggestions were accurate. Brazil and Argentina are the focus for an investigation into the sustainable use of forest genetic resources, timber and non-timber. Supported by the German government, the project has made great strides in such key areas as understanding how the tenure over resources of different stakeholders contributes to better forest management in Acre province in Brazil. Studies of the sustainable use of Araucaria forests in Chile have also indicated specific avenues to explore to boost the sustainable use of forests elsewhere. Drylands and deserts remain crucial environments for the wise use of genetic resources. In the desert margins of Africa, IPGRI has been working with national partners and others to understand how genetic diversity can help to keep the deserts at bay while providing a better living for the people. This work is partly funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). In Mali and Zimbabwe farmers have enthusiastically adopted new varieties made available to them at seed fairs. It will take years of informal trials under the very variable conditions of their farms before the people permanently adopt these varieties, but research has shown that they already appreciate the value of diversity in coping with adverse environments. Selected highlights of 2001 H igh lig ht s Improving conservation strategies and technologies Understanding the extent and distribution of diversity; supporting collecting of genetic resources; improving ex situ and in situ conservation and developing integrated approaches Increasing the use of plant genetic resources Improving methods of using ex situ conserved germplasm; supporting conservation through use; supporting increased use of diversity in production Managing and communicating information Improving germplasm documentation; supporting SINGER and the Musa germplasm information system; providing technical information; increasing public awareness Addressing socioeconomic and policy issues Determining links between diversity and socioeconomic factors; meeting gender concerns and increasing participation; valuing genetic resources; supporting improved policy-making IPGRI’s strategic choices IPGRI’s work is organized into 20 Projects, each reflecting one or more of the eight strategic choices identified in our document Diversity for Development. All have delivered exciting results during the year; from them we have selected a few as worthy of special note. In West Asia, IPGRI is working with ICARDA (the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas) to coordinate a project funded by the Global Environment Facility of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP-GEF), to investigate the conservation and sustainable use of dryland agricultural biodiversity. Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority and Syria are each undertaking national efforts. Halfway through the project it is clear that making more use of existing genetic resources—in several different ways— contributes to their conservation. Nurseries that supply wild fruit trees for use as rootstocks, for example, give value to and thus protect the trees that provide the seeds. The European Union is funding the European Plant Genetic Resources Information InfraStructure (EPGRIS), a project to support the development of national inventories of ex situ plant genetic resources. IPGRI’s regional office for Europe is coordinating the development of an Internet window onto the national inventories. This searchable catalogue, called Eurisco—Greek for ‘I find’—is based on the SINGER model developed by the System-wide Genetic Resources Programme (SGRP). It will enable anybody to consult the national plant genetic resources inventories of Europe. SGRP itself has continued to move forward, notably with efforts to encourage managers of natural resources to integrate genetic resources into their planning. A meeting on Integrated Natural Resource Management, held in Cali (Colombia), followed earlier meetings in Bilderberg (Netherlands) and Penang (Malaysia). One measure of the Cali meeting’s success was that 80 of the 100 participants had not been at the previous gatherings, an indication of growing interest in integrated natural resource management. Its principles are now being applied to topics as diverse as climate change, water management, agricultural biodiversity and nutrient management. INIBAP, IPGRI’s International Network for the Improvement 2001 3Annual Report Conserving and using specific crops Supporting work on Musa (through the INIBAP programme), coconut and cacao; improving conservation of neglected and underused species; conserving wild relatives of crops Conserving and using forest genetic resources Conserving intraspecific diversity through sustainable use; supporting network development; improving ex situ conservation techniques Working with networks Supporting established regional, crop and thematic networks and helping to develop new ones to strengthen international collaboration Strengthening national systems Supporting improved germplasm management strategies and technologies; providing training and assistance in capacity-building; giving advice and information on policy An important goal is to enable farmers on marginal lands, like this woman in the Amazon, to improve their livelihoods in a sustainable fashion. D. Williams/IPGRI 4 2001Annual Report of Banana and Plantain, scored a scientific and journalistic coup when its Director announced the launch of a global consortium to decode the genetic instructions of the banana. Scientists in 11 countries will work to read the banana’s genes, an effort that holds out great hope for the millions of people in the tropics who depend on bananas and plantains for food and income. Pests and diseases are a constant threat, but bananas are very hard to breed. Knowing more about the structure and function of the banana’s genetic make-up will make it easier to improve the crop. Improvement of a different kind is available now thanks to a series of training workshops organized by INIBAP throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. The workshops expose smallholder farmers to simple but effective technologies that they can use to grow more plantains of better quality. For example, a high-density plantation gives higher yields on less land, more than compensating for the additional labour involved. And good management reduces the effects of fungal diseases. A group of farmers from Africa joined one of the workshops, building strong contacts between disparate regions linked only by their preference for plantains. IPGRI’s global cocoa project aims to safeguard a crop that provides income for millions of small-scale farmers and pleasure to billions of users. Now in its third year, the project is reporting significant achievements. For example, there are now field trials of different cocoa varieties in several countries and researchers are using these to assess the resistance of the trees to parasites and diseases. Efforts to find new varieties that combine good productivity and cocoa-bean quality with resistance to pests and diseases are also beginning to show positive results. Geneflow, IPGRI’s publication about genetic resources, continues to gain praise and awards. This year, however, we decided to take a new approach and create Geneflow Junior especially for children. A copy accompanied each copy of Geneflow sent out to our normal mailing list of policy-makers, donors, educators, NGOs and journalists, with a request to pass it on to children and discuss it with them. To judge by the feedback we received, Geneflow Junior satisfies children’s hunger for information about plant diversity. Educators from around the world requested bulk copies and told us how useful they found the magazine. We hope to produce more issues in future if resources can be found. A plant collector examines a specimen of Mimosa pygra in the Pouti region of Mali. The shrub is used for animal fodder and as a medicinal plant. I. DeBoreghyi/ IPGRI Wild cacao growing in Colombia. Wild material is a valuable source of resistance to pests and diseases. L. Lopez The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture was adopted by consensus of the member states of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on 3 November 2001. It represents a significant effort to open up access to plant genetic resources for food and agriculture and ensure that benefits are shared equitably. By agreeing to share their resources through the creation of a multilateral system for the exchange of plant genetic resources governments have created a new system for the common good of humanity. IPGRI played an important part in the treaty negotiations (see box below). The Treaty envisages a multilateral system to facilitate access to key genetic resources with minimal procedural and administrative costs. Initially it applies to 35 crops and some 80 forages that are under the control of member governments. The listed species cover most of the crops that the Future Harvest Centers hold in trust for humanity; exceptions include Glycine (soybean), Arachis (peanut) and some tropical forages. Thus the Treaty includes practically all the crops on which humanity depends for its food supply. The Treaty invites all holders of plant genetic resources on the list to join the multilateral system. The list itself can be changed with the consensus of the parties to the Treaty. The International Treaty: a new beginning Raphaël Sauvé, an IPGRI intern supported by the Quebec Ministry of International Relations, investigated IPGRI’s role in the negotiation of the new International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. The results show that through the provision of timely and relevant technical input, linked directly to its realm of expertise, IPGRI was able to support and influence policy-makers in the negotiations. Political neutrality and reliability were seen as crucial to IPGRI’s influence. The Sauvé study used a research method from the political sciences that gathers findings from three perspectives to come up with a robust assessment of influence. The methodology captures the point of view of the actors trying to exert influence; in this case, members of IPGRI staff involved in the negotiations. This viewpoint was compared with the perspective of the participants in the treaty negotiations. And finally the researcher’s own analysis and synthesis was added to resolve any conflicts between IPGRI’s and the participants’ perceptions and to bring theoretical and academic information into the analysis. On some topics, for example the inclusion of the multilateral system in the International Treaty, IPGRI viewed itself as highly influential but delegates disagreed. They saw IPGRI as supporting a concept that was largely introduced by others. In other cases, for example the scope of the multilateral system and its development into a workable, rational system, IPGRI and the participants agreed that IPGRI had indeed been influential. Sauvé found that respondents were unanimous in declaring that IPGRI had improved the general understanding of the issues being dealt with in the negotiations and that it shed light on the nature of the interlinkages between issues, especially those between access and benefit sharing. IPGRI was most influential when it concentrated on clarifying technical issues that were not fully understood by the negotiators. Further information j.watts@cgiar.org Assessing impact on policy Bringing seven years of negotiation to a close, the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture puts the conservation and use of crop diversity on a sound international legal footing. Th e Int er na tio na lT re at y: a ne w b eg inn ing 6The multilateral system is intended to be efficient, effective and transparent. It aims to ease access not only to plant genetic resources for food and agriculture but also to information about those resources, and to share fairly and equitably any benefits that may arise from the use of those resources. Those benefits go beyond the merely financial to include information exchange, access to technology, and transfer of technology. The Treaty envisages a mechanism for sharing benefits whereby the ‘owners’ of a commercialized product that incorporates material obtained from the multilateral system will pay a royalty into a specially designated fund. The payment is mandatory if the product is not available for further research and breeding as a result of the application of measures to protect intellectual property. It is voluntary when the product can be freely used for breeding and research. The details of the level of royalties, the organization and governance of the fund, and disbursements from it have yet to be agreed. However, the Treaty clearly envisages that benefits will flow primarily to farmers in developing countries who conserve and use crop diversity. The existing ex situ collections held in trust by the Future Harvest Centers under the terms of agreements signed with FAO in 1994 are directly addressed in the Treaty, which invites the Centers to enter into new agreements with the Treaty’s Governing Body. New Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs), which accompany materials sent out by the centres and establish conditions for their use, will need to be drafted and agreed. The Future Harvest Centers are already working with FAO to draft these agreements. 2001Annual Report Forty countries must ratify the Treaty for it to come into force. The Future Harvest Centers will conclude new agreements with the Governing Body of the Treaty. New Material Transfer Agreements to be used by all parties, including the Future Harvest Centers, must be drawn up and agreed. Special Material Transfer Agreements will also be needed for materials held by Future Harvest Centers that are not on the list of crops included in the multilateral system. Financial instruments and mechanisms will be needed to support the implementation of the Treaty and in particular for benefit sharing. Further information c.fowler@cgiar.org Progress on ratification can be monitored at www.fao.org/ag/cgrfa/ITsign.htm Next steps Wild finger millet, one of the listed species, from the Kinari Forest in Kenya. I. DeBoreghyi/IPGRI The Global Conservation Trust is a mechanism for implementing important goals of the Global Plan of Action and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Its mission is to conserve key collections of plant genetic resources over the long term so that they remain freely available to improve crops for the benefit of all people. The Trust will do this by raising an endowment of US$260 million and using the income to finance, in perpetuity, plant collections that meet certain eligibility criteria and internationally agreed standards of management. The Trust will also support collection managers in their efforts to reach those standards. The idea of a Trust first arose from an external review of the genebanks of the Future Harvest Centers. The System-wide Genetic Resources Programme (SGRP) organized the review and carried it out jointly with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The review, published by IPGRI, made many recommendations. Lack of funds, however, has hampered the efforts of genebanks to put the recommendations into action in a timely fashion. In response, SGRP developed a coherent plan to upgrade the genebanks and asked the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) to study the costs of conservation at the Future Harvest Centers. Meanwhile, nearly five years after the adoption of the FAO’s Global Plan of Action for the Conservation and Sustainable Utilisation of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, it was clear that many countries were struggling to meet their commitments to implement the Plan. Particularly worrisome was the perilous state of many of the world’s important collections of crucial crop diversity. Without a stable and secure funding base, and increased capacity to provide conservation services, national genebanks were in great danger of losing their collections and, with them, innumerable potential answers to the challenges of food security that face individual nations and the entire world. This impending genebank crisis prompted IPGRI to join with the other Future Harvest Centers and invite professional fundraisers to examine the feasibility of establishing an endowment that would supply a sustainable source of financial support. The result is the campaign for the Global Conservation Trust, which the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) endorsed at its May 2001 meeting in Durban, South Africa. The campaign, led by IPGRI on behalf of the SGRP and the CGIAR System, aims to create an Th e G lob al C on se rv at ion Tr us t The Global Conservation Trust IPGRI is leading a campaign to provide perpetual funding for vital collections of crop diversity around the world. The Trust will apply four broad criteria to decide whether to support any given collection. These will be further refined over the coming months. Importance Is it useful or potentially useful for food security and sustainable agriculture? Long-term conservation Will it support the ex situ conservation of its resources for the long term according to internationally agreed standards? Availability Are the collection’s holdings and information available to all to promote their greater use? Efficiency and effectiveness Is the collection part of a rational and efficient, economically effective and sustainable global system? Criteria of eligibility 8endowment that will provide a permanent source of funding for key collections of crop diversity. Income from the Trust will sustain the management of the collections held by the Future Harvest Centers and will support other collections as they strive to meet the standards of management that would enable them to become eligible for long-term financing from the endowment. The partnership to lead the campaign has been forged between the Future Harvest Centers and FAO, and with important support from the World Bank and the Global Forum for Agricultural Research. The Trust will draw on support from both the public and the private sectors. The expectation is to be able formally to launch the campaign at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, scheduled for August 2002 in Johannesburg. The success of the campaign will have far-reaching impacts. The Trust would not only help the Future Harvest Centers and national genetic resources programmes to meet their global commitments but also enable them to join with national, international and other organizations to put in place the efficient and effective global system of collections called for in the Global Plan of Action and now in the new International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Further information r.raymond@cgiar.org 2001Annual Report Seeds drying under the watchful eye of a technician before being placed in the CIAT genebank in Cali, Colombia, for long-term storage. CIAT Integrated Natural Resource Management is about the need to balance the competing interests of individuals and society in the multiple uses of any natural resource. Historically, natural resource management tended to focus on a package of physical and biological entities such as soil, water and individual species within ecosystems. The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) began to examine how best to integrate other factors, such as human livelihoods, into natural resource management in 1999 with a meeting in Bilderberg, Netherlands. This process has continued in a series of meetings. The most recent was held at CIAT, the Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical in Cali, Colombia. At that meeting the CGIAR’s System-wide Genetic Resources Programme (SGRP), for which IPGRI provides the secretariat, co-organized a session about agricultural biodiversity, to encourage resource managers to add genetic diversity to the package that is INRM. The question naturally arose of just what constitutes agricultural biodiversity, and the participants decided to use the Convention on Biological Diversity’s definition (see box). While agricultural biodiversity encompasses all species important for the productivity and functioning of agricultural systems and the livelihoods of agricultural communities, the group agreed that it is useful to divide it into two types: planned and associated. Planned diversity is the component that is generally managed by the people that use it, for example the range of crops and varieties that farmers grow and tend. It is usually directly productive and functional, which includes having cultural or religious significance. Associated diversity is mainly functional; it provides ecosystem services. It includes such things as pollinator insects and the micro-organisms in the soil, which provide fertility. Both, of course, are important, but it may be easier to exert influence to improve the resilience and productivity of an agricultural system through the area in which people normally intervene, that is, planned agricultural biodiversity. Furthermore, because agricultural biodiversity and interventions to manage it can both have a significant influence on agricultural ecosystems and the livelihoods of the people who depend on them, the participants agreed that the management and improvement of agricultural biodiversity must become a fundamental component of INRM. Jane Toll, SGRP Coordinator, said “this opens up some exciting opportunities for people interested in genetic resources and INRM to get together”. She and many others are looking forward to INRM 2002, which will take place in Aleppo, Syria and be hosted by the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). Further information j.toll@cgiar.org Diversity added to the resourcemanagement equation The Convention on Biological Diversity states that agricultural biological diversity includes all components of biological diversity of relevance to food and agriculture. This includes: • Genetic resources of harvested crop varieties, livestock breeds, fish species and non- domesticated (‘wild’) resources within field, forest, rangeland and aquatic ecosystems. • Biological diversity that provides ecological services such as nutrient cycling, pest and disease regulation, pollination, maintenance of local wildlife, watershed protection, erosion control, climate regulation and carbon sequestration. What is agricultural biodiversity? Int eg ra te d na tu ra l re so ur ce m an ag em en t The CGIAR Inter-Centre Task Force on Integrated Natural Resource Management continues to develop a holistic understanding of agro- ecological systems. Drought is a fact of life in the arid and semi-arid areas of sub-Saharan Africa. An IPGRI project in Mali and Zimbabwe is discovering how genetic resources can improve people’s livelihoods and their ability to cope with encroaching deserts. The project is a collaboration that involves the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), IPGRI, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Most importantly, there is a full partnership with the host countries’ national organizations. These encompass plant genetic resources institutions, breeders, extension services, universities, NGOs working with communities and, of course, the people in the villages that are the focus of the project. The programme concentrates on research that will result in action. Its aim is to develop techniques to stem the genetic erosion caused by drought and desertification in the drylands of Africa. A key element is to identify things that can be done in concert with the community that would help to sustain and improve traditional production and seed supply systems. A key objective is to make sure that farmers have access to the planting material they prefer, which otherwise might be wiped out by droughts. Diversity plays a complex role in the strategies farmers adopt to cope with drought and desertification. According to Mikkel Grum, the project coordinator, “farmers are unlikely to conserve diversity only because of the public goods it may confer”. That is, they won’t keep varieties just because that would be useful for society as a whole. They must derive some private benefit if they are to bother with on-farm conservation. To assess what these benefits might be, the project worked with eight villages in Mali and four in Zimbabwe. In both countries, surprising unanimity emerged. Farmers use diversity to prepare for unpredictability, and especially fluctuations in rainfall. Almost every farmer mentioned this. Making use of variations in the landscape was another key reason for holding on to diversity. Farmers said that differences in the availability of water, for example in valley bottoms as opposed to uplands, was a major factor that required the use of several varieties and determined which variety they would grow where. Finally, farmers use diversity to satisfy different needs. For example, the farmers in Tsholotsho, Zimbabwe, say that some sorghums are good for porridge, others for beer. Some have stalks that are good to chew, yet others are good for fodder. Some varieties are maintained specifically for markets. Crop diversity helps farmers in desert-prone areas Desert margins are among the most fragile and threatened environments on Earth. Better use of biodiversity can help the people who live there to survive. At the edge of the Sahel the wise use of diversity can help to make livelihoods more sustainable. UNEP C ro p div er sit y he lps fa rm er s in de se rt- pr on e ar ea s Understanding how and why farmers use diversity is an important starting point, but the project is also trying to discover how to promote the conservation, management and use of genetic resources. One valuable technique uses the seed fair, pioneered in Zimbabwe in the early 1990s. These are events, organized by the local community, often with the help of IPGRI and NGOs, at which farmers bring samples of the varieties they grow, to display and to swap. The emphasis is on diversity, not perfection or abundance, with prizes for the most diverse displays rather than the finest crops. Seed fairs are an ideal opportunity for farmers to share seed, information and experience, often across communities. The project brought seed fairs to Mali and measured their impact. Diversity in farmers’ fields definitely increased after seed fairs; four out of ten farmers interviewed had tried new material they obtained at a fair and would continue to assess it. The project also discovered the importance of gender at seed fairs. Men gave seed only to other men, while women gave it to other women and to men. A simple way to increase the effectiveness of the seed fair as an exchange mechanism may be to encourage more women to attend. The project also discovered that one difficulty with seed fairs is that the name a farmer gives to a variety might be an imperfect piece of information. In Zimbabwe, a detailed look at the connection between a farmer’s name for a variety and its characteristics suggested that while two or three clearly defined traits are indeed associated with a particular name, other traits vary considerably from farmer to farmer even though they may be using the same name. Furthermore, there was no good link between the number of sorghum names found in a region and the actual genetic diversity as measured by researchers. In Mali likewise, farmers were not always aware that two varieties with the same name could be quite distinct. The implications of this for the exchange of information, experience and seed itself are still being studied. While seed fairs will help to conserve and disseminate diversity, varieties are nevertheless being lost. The project has studied the impact of this loss and, as ever, it is the response to unforeseen events that proves the worth of diversity. In Mali, for example, plunging prices for cotton in 2000 led many farmers to abandon the crop in 2001. They might want to plant sorghum instead, but 70% of the farmers’ names for sorghum varieties previously grown in that area have vanished, and with them an unknown number of actual varieties. This severely limits farmers’ options. In Zimbabwe, the deepening economic crisis has put not only new stocks of hybrid maize seed but also the fertilizer and pesticides it needs beyond the reach of smallholders. Because they no longer have the pearl millet and sorghum varieties they used to grow, many are now planting second and third generation saved seed from hybrid maize, with predictable and devastating declines in yield. Further information m.grum@cgiar.org 2001 11Annual Report Gathering information about the way people store seeds in Mali so that the most effective ideas can be shared across the continent. M. Grum/IPGRI The project has looked at the ways farmers select and store their seeds for the next growing season. The nature of the containers, whether they are sealed, and whether substances are added to protect the seeds from humidity and pests and diseases, all vary from site to site. Project partners are testing the various methods at different sites, with a view to disseminating best practice throughout the region. Safer seed storage Consider an area that extends across roughly 30 million km2—bigger than Canada, India and China combined. Now consider the fact that it is not one country, but 22 countries and territories dotted across the vast Pacific Ocean and that each of the countries itself often consists of hundreds of islands and atolls. Imagine how difficult, and how expensive, this makes collecting, conserving and using crop diversity across the region. The way forward, as the countries themselves have realized, is to create well- connected networks with shared responsibilities and resources. For example TaroGen, in which IPGRI is a full partner, has carried out several activities to conserve and use taro (Colocasia esculenta), a vitally important crop across the Pacific. Most notable, perhaps, has been an effort to breed varieties resistant to leaf blight. This has involved innovative approaches, such as Taro Breeders Clubs, where students at the University of the South Pacific and breeders work with farmers to create and assess new lines. In 2001 the breeding programme released nine new varieties resistant to leaf blight, an exceptional achievement in the space of just three years and one that is contributing to revitalizing the taro industry in blight-affected Samoa. TaroGen has also organized diversity fairs to increase community awareness about improved varieties and the benefits of taro diversity, and is exploring new forms of conservation, for example cryopreservation, seed storage and on-farm conservation. In addition to TaroGen, IPGRI is associated with other crop networks in the Pacific, such as COGENT for coconuts and INIBAP for banana and plantain. Now, thanks to funding from the New Zealand Overseas Development Administration (NZODA) and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), there is PAPGREN, a regional network for Casting a plant genetic resourcesnetwork across the Pacific An ambitious new project to unite the plant genetic resources activities of the disparate and scattered nations of the Pacific has made great strides. Taro grows right across the Pacific. Here, in West Sumatra, it is a key crop in the home garden. I. DeBoreghyi/IPGRI C as tin g a ne tw or k ac ro ss th e Pa cif ic conservation, management and use of agricultural plant genetic resources of all the local crops used by people in the Pacific. The FAO Global Plan of Action for the Conservation and Sustainable Utilisation of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture specifically called for this kind of network to be established in the Pacific region. PAPGREN project partners from 10 countries met in Suva, Fiji, in September 2001 to identify and prioritize the new network’s activities. A crucial start has been made in formulating conservation strategies. For example, TaroGen investigated the value of on-farm conservation of taro in Fiji, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands and concluded that it is an important strategy for the region. The network has invited IPGRI to share its expertise in on-farm conservation to develop these activities further. A full-time adviser has been hired, and one of his first tasks will be to travel around the region and help countries as they establish national plant genetic resources committees. A start has also been made on documenting the collections already available in the region. Another priority was to start the development of an appropriate policy framework for access to genetic resources of traditional crops. Much of the agriculture in Pacific island countries, even for export, is based on the use of traditional varieties of important staple crops. These cannot be ‘registered’ under any existing mechanism for the protection of intellectual property rights, which has given rise to a fear among Pacific countries that they will somehow ‘lose out’ if they donate this material to the Regional Germplasm Centre of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community in Suva for conservation. The issues surrounding intellectual property protection need to be elucidated and disentangled and set within the context of commonality that characterizes so many activities in the region. IPGRI’s policy specialists have advised the network on the terms of reference for a consultant to report on intellectual property rights on plant genetic resources and how the Pacific island countries and territories might apply them to meet their needs. Further information LuigiG@spc.int PAPGREN, the Pacific Agricultural Plant Genetic Resources Network, is operated by the Crop Improvement Service of the Agriculture Programme of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community www.spc.int/cis TaroGen is at www.users.bigpond.net.au/grahame/ 2001 13Annual Report Training partners to work with taro diversity in the field is an important aspect of TaroGen’s work. D. Hunter In the search for disease-resistant taro it would be easy to lose sight of the fact that, as a food, the varieties must taste good too. D. Hunter Geographical information systems and plant genetic resources Computers speed the search for wild rice Dionysious Kiambi, a researcher at IPGRI’s sub-Saharan Africa office in Nairobi, has successfully applied geographical information systems to an investigation of the five species of wild rice (Oryza) that grow in eastern and southern Africa. A detailed look at where existing accessions of Oryza were collected revealed that the collection is probably incomplete. It does not cover all the areas where wild rice might be growing, and it does not adequately represent the diversity available in the wild. It is important to sample and save as much of that diversity as possible, but patches of wild Oryza are difficult and expensive to find. So Kiambi and his colleagues used FloraMap, a computer program developed by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) to narrow the search area. They extracted latitude and longitude from field observations, herbarium specimens and passport data of genebank accessions, more than 700 in all, and looked at those data in the light of the topological details and the climatic information from 7000 meteorological stations whose data are stored in FloraMap. The analysis revealed what might have been expected: the five species occupy different niches. Some grow in a much narrower range of altitudes than others. Oryza brachyantha, for example, has been found only between about 900 and 1400 metres above sea level, while O. longistaminata grows anywhere between about 40 and 2100 metres. The same It is a truism that plants grow best where conditions suit them. So it should be easier to find a particular species if you look in places that enjoy the correct combination of environmental variables, such as rainfall, temperature, soil type and so on. The problem is that it can take years of study to work out what those ideal conditions might be for any given species, and each species will have different requirements. There is, however, another way, one that is starting to make a difference to the conservation of plant genetic resources. The new method starts from the assumption that the conditions where plants have already been found are a good guide to where else they may be found. We know where many existing genebank accessions were originally collected. The same applies to herbarium specimens, the preserved remains that plant scientists use to study the classification and distribution of species. Geographical information systems, which integrate data from different places on Earth, make it possible to turn the simple information recorded when samples are collected into a prediction of the conditions that the species prefers and a suggestion of where else to search for it. Two stories show how geographical information systems are helping to protect plant genetic diversity. Trudging through faraway fields remains the best way to locate plant diversity, but high technology is showing scientists the best places to start the search. G eo gr ap hic al inf or m at ion s ys te m s goes for rainfall. O. eichingeri is adapted to wet regions, averaging 1275 mm per year, while O. longistaminata prefers drier areas, 996 mm per year, and O. barthii, with a similar average of 1004 mm per year, tolerates a wide range of rainfall. O. punctata and O. barthii grow at higher average temperatures than the other three, which may be associated with growing at lower altitudes. What is important about these results is not that the species occupy different niches; ecologists would have predicted that. It is that the software puts limits on the environmental conditions associated with each species. It is not designed to mimic reality exactly, which would require far more data to do effectively, but to assist decision-makers to set priorities on areas for conservation or exploration. 2001 15Annual Report The basic use of geographical information systems to locate diversity combines climate and collection data to map the distribution of species. In a further study, however, Kiambi and his colleagues added genetic information to the mix. They analysed the genetic make-up of all the samples of Oryza longistaminata and calculated how genetic diversity was distributed across the ground. An area of Tanzania had the highest diversity, that is the populations were most unlike one another, while one in Madagascar was a very close second. It would seem that efforts to conserve diversity in situ should consider concentrating on these two areas. Other areas, for example in Mozambique and Namibia, score highly on a different measure of diversity, known as allelic richness. This asks how many different versions of the same gene exist in the individuals that make up the population, and suggests that these places should be sampled more intensively for ex situ conservation, to capture as much diversity as possible. The two approaches are not, of course, mutually exclusive but reflect a shift of emphasis between protection in the landscape and conservation in genebanks. This kind of information can also help guide decisions about strategies to conserve diversity in genebanks. In Namibia and Mozambique, for example, populations of O. longistaminata are not very distinct, but each individual is rich in different alleles. It would be best to collect more individuals from the same population but fewer different populations. In Zambia, by contrast, the individuals that constitute a population are similar to one another, but the populations differ considerably. Here it would be better to sample fewer individuals from each of many different populations. Having identified a likely location with the computer programmes, Dr Kiambi (left) and colleagues worked with farmers there to successfully find samples of Oryza punctata. D. Kiambi/IPGRI Diversity mapped in detail 16 The model has already proved its worth in a small- scale trial. Kiambi asked the software to reveal places that ought to contain particular species but that had not, so far, yielded any collections. The maps predicted that the countryside around Vanga, a coastal town in Kenya almost on the border with Tanzania, ought to be a good place to look for O. punctata. With the help of local farmers, researchers did indeed find sparse patches growing in small-scale rice paddies. Further information d.kiambi@cgiar.org Peanut conservation moves into the 21st century Peanuts have a problem; they can’t move far or fast. The 69 species of the genus Arachis bury their seeds below ground. So unlike plants whose seeds are dispersed by wind, water or animals they can move only about a metre a year. That makes peanut species particularly vulnerable to sudden environmental shifts, such as climate change, that affect the ecological niche they occupy. They are fussy about where they live, and unlikely to evolve quickly enough to keep up with climate change. Doomed if they stay put, they don’t have the option to leave. And that could ultimately threaten the future of the domestic peanut, 35 million tonnes of which are grown each year. Scientists at IPGRI’s regional office for the Americas worked with colleagues at the Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, using CIAT’s computer program FloraMap to ask how climate change might affect the survival of wild peanut species. A model of climate change generated data for South America’s predicted climate in 2055. This went 2001Annual Report IPGRI’s Innovation Fund supported a ground-breaking study that brought together old records and modern techniques to peer into the future. Oryza longistaminata, a wild relative of rice, growing by a streamside in coastal Kenya. D. Kiambi/IPGRI The results of the FloraMap study on Arachis point to the need for similar studies on other important food crops. A start has been made, with a concept note drawing together the combined expertise of CIAT, CIMMYT, CIP, ICRISAT and IPGRI and the national programmes of Latin American countries. The project would extend the peanut study to the wild relatives of other important crops such as red peppers, potatoes, sweet potatoes, other Andean roots and tubers, beans, forages and cassava. Beyond peanuts into FloraMap along with geographical details gleaned from a database of 2175 records of collected specimens of wild peanut (maintained by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics). The team was looking for overlaps, where the known range of peanuts today shared a good area with the range that the computer predicted for 50 years on. “For three of the 18 species we studied the overlap was considerable,” said Dr David Williams, senior scientist at IPGRI’s regional office for the Americas. “These species will probably survive.” Another four are more threatened; the model predicts that the area in which they would be able to survive will fragment and shrink, making survival much less certain. “The truly alarming discovery,” Williams added, “was that for 11 species the predicted range did not overlap their current range at all. Without our help, they will almost certainly die out.” The analysis suggests several strategies to ameliorate the problems. Species whose natural range is most threatened should be the highest priority for ex situ conservation. At the same time, areas that might represent potential refuges should be ear-marked as sites for in situ conservation. Threatened hotspots of diversity that are currently under- represented in ex situ genebanks need to be targeted for collection. Finally, it was possible to identify new areas that will become suitable for peanut species in the future. Researchers could move populations to these destinations, overcoming the peanuts’ own lack of mobility and thus promoting long-term conservation. Further information d.williams@cgiar.org FloraMap has a Web site at www.floramap-ciat.org 2001 17Annual Report Wild Arachis species are essential for breeding. For example, a new variety released in 1999 is highly resistant to the root-knot nematodes that currently plague production. The new variety, COAN, incorporates germplasm from three wild relatives, A. cardenasii, A. diogoi and A. batizocoi. But the wild germplasm is not well represented in collections. There are just 17 conserved accessions of A. cardenasii, five for A. diogoi and 12 for A. batizocoi. This is a clear demonstration that wild relatives must be conserved so that breeders can respond to the ever-changing attacks of pests and diseases and needs of farmers and consumers. Ironically, the three species that went into COAN are among those least likely to survive climate change. Peanuts for the future A cultivated peanut, top, dwarfs the most recently discovered wild peanut, Arachis williamsii. Both are from Bolivia, believed to be the centre of origin of the peanut. CIAT The Near East Project—Conservation and Sustainable Use of Dryland Agrobiodiversity in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the Palestinian Authority, to give the project its full name—is a mould-breaking attempt to underwrite the future of crop diversity in an entire region. The four collaborating countries can justly claim to cover one of the cradles of agriculture, where many of the annual crops and trees on which farming depends were domesticated thousands of years ago. The project is funded to the tune of US$8.1 million by the Global Environment Facility through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP-GEF). National agricultural research systems in the four countries are responsible for local components of the project, while IPGRI’s Regional Group for Central and West Asia and North Africa and the Damascus-based Arab Center for Studies of the Arid Zones and Dry Lands (ACSAD) are making their particular expertise available. IPGRI is also responsible for the project’s public awareness activities, and has trained project participants to engage with locally important audiences. The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) is responsible for regional coordination. The project focuses on 16 target crops of worldwide importance and their wild relatives, including cereals such as wheat and barley, forages such as clover, and trees such as olive, pistachio and fig. The collaborators in each country have identified two target areas for in-depth study, one dry and one with more water. At all the sites, local farmers are working with the project teams to conserve and manage plant diversity on their farms and in field genebanks, and passing on their acquired knowledge and skills. The project is collecting traditional knowledge about diversity, and helping the farmers to find new ways to use diversity to improve their livelihoods. Rather than simply saving samples in field genebanks, however, the project is trying to integrate the management of all natural resources. So, for example, grafting improved varieties of fruit trees onto wild seedlings that are adapted to local conditions can save water and make better use of thin, poor soils. Nurseries have been established to supply seedlings, and their demand for seeds to grow helps to preserve the entire ecosystem where the wild parent plants live. Quite apart from being a centre of diversity for the target species, the region is also important because the harsh physical and biological environment has exerted evolutionary pressure on the local varieties. As a result of this and human selection they now possess characteristics, such as resistance to drought or heat tolerance, which will be valuable to breeders around the world. Each of the four countries is working on its own and in partnerships across the region to implement the Keeping the cradle of agriculturesecure for the future Four countries are working together to add value to diversity and thereby strengthen the virtuous circle that unites conservation and use. Azarola, Crataegus azarolus, is a wild fruit tree. J. Cherfas/IPGRI Ke ep ing th e cr ad le of a gr icu ltu re s ec ur e project. For example, Syria’s Directorate of Scientific Agricultural Research has given high priority to characterizing and evaluating local grape diversity. More than 200 accessions have been collected in a field genebank and examined. At Sweida, one of the target sites, farmers now prefer local landraces of grape, saying that they provide a much more reliable source of income than the apple orchards that were inappropriately promoted some years ago. The Lebanese component of the project has been working with four villages on the slopes that embrace the Beqaa Valley. Several projects are in place to improve the livelihoods of the people in these remote villages. In one, the people rely on raising sheep for market. Farmers there are working with rangeland experts to boost the productivity of the pastures by managing grazing more effectively. In another village, the project is working with beekeepers to produce a direct income from honey and indirect benefits to the ecosystem as a result of improved pollination. In the Palestinian Authority, despite local political difficulties, the project has been working with the Ministry of Agriculture and the UNDP Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People to establish water-harvesting systems. Making more effective use of the little rain that does fall is a key focus of the whole Near East project, with different techniques used in different places according to the prevailing landforms. In the Palestine Authority, as elsewhere, farmer workshops to discuss the management of water resources have been a valuable activity. In Jordan at Ajloun, the farmers have planted seedlings of medicinal plants alongside water-harvesting structures, thus boosting their income, protecting the water-harvesting walls, and safeguarding the local herb diversity. The project has also worked with the Jordanian Environment Society, a national NGO, and the Municipality of Amman to create a field genebank of old varieties of fruit trees that are threatened by urbanization. Olives, almonds, apples, figs, pomegranate and carob, and their wild relatives, grow alongside underused species such as azarola thorn, sumach and jujube. The collection will not only protect these important resources, but will also be a source of seedlings to be used in municipal landscape management, such as roadside plantings, and for home gardens. “The Near East Project is working for the farmers, for us and for agricultural biodiversity,” says Dr Wafa Khoury, leader of the project team in Lebanon. “Thanks to training from IPGRI, we are better at getting the message out to the people, and as a result they have the chance of a better life and will preserve the local diversity.” Further information icarda-jordan@cgiar.org The project Web site is at www.icarda.cgiar.org/Gef/Gef.html In the hills of western Syria men work together to thresh their crop of oats. The project is helping communities to harvest water more effectively, boosting the harvest. J. Cherfas/IPGRI Plantains are an important staple food and cash crop in the wet lowlands on both sides of the Atlantic. In Central America and the Caribbean, however, average yields can be almost three times higher than in West and Central Africa. The big difference between the two regions is that in Africa farmers still use an essentially traditional technology, while in Central America a minor revolution has transformed plantain production. The prime mover of the revolution is Dr Sylvio Belalcázar, formerly a researcher with CORPOICA, the Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecauria. He has studied the entire plantain production process from how to prepare plantations to sorting the fruit. As a result of adopting his techniques, which are simple and relatively easy to implement, plantations in Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic routinely deliver yields almost four times the national average, at little or no extra cost to the farmer. The International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain (INIBAP) has already sponsored many training courses in which Dr Belalcázar shared his techniques with thousands of farmers, technicians and researchers in Central America. In April 2001, INIBAP and MUSACO (the Musa research network for Central and West Africa) helped spread the revolution across the Atlantic by sending a group from West and Central Africa to take part in a training course and visit plantain producers in the field. The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) helped fund the visit, and the Centro para el Desarrollo Agropecuaria y Forestal (CEDAF) provided logistical support. Two farmers, four scientists and two extension workers from Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire travelled to the Dominican Republic to hear at first hand about the new approaches to plantain production. The key change is to plant at double or triple the density of traditional plantations. This gives higher yields at little extra cost, while at the same time Plantain production transferred to a higher plane • Plant at high densities, 2500–5000 plants per hectare. • Select uniform planting materials. • Arrange rows for maximum sunlight and minimum wind damage. • Apply chemical inputs at critical stages in the development of the crop. • Regularly remove damaged leaves. • Treat the crop as an annual and re-plant after each harvest. Elements of the banana revolution Farmers from Central and West Africa visited Latin America to learn first-hand about simple technologies that can double their harvest of plantains and bananas. Moise Kwa, from the Cameroon banana research institute, is introduced to his Costa Rican hosts, watched by Dr Silvio Belalcázar. D. Mowbray/Baobab Productions Pl an ta in pr od uc tio n on a hig he r p lan e releasing land for other crops or conservation. Armed with this background information the visitors then called on Sr Patricio Hernandez, a plantain grower in Espallat province. He regularly harvests 110 000 fingers of plantain per hectare per year. African farmers generally harvest roughly half that amount. As can be imagined, discussions among the visitors and their host were lively and interesting. The group then flew to Costa Rica to see how farmers and their marketing co-operative have adapted to the new techniques pioneered by Dr Belalcázar. The visitors heard that the weight of the average bunch had almost doubled, from around 10 kg to around 18 kg, and that as a result incomes had risen sharply. The African farmers were particularly impressed by the size of the plantains and the weight of the bunches, which were considerably better than they were used to at home. Fired by what they had witnessed and learned about improving the production and yield of plantains, the participants agreed that they would like to see elements of Dr Belalcázar’s approach adopted in West and Central Africa. To that end they agreed to draft a proposal to look for donor funding to conduct participatory trials with farmers in West and Central Africa. INIBAP will supply initial planting materials, especially of new varieties, coordinate the trials and help look for funding. These regional trials will ensure that the new technologies work under the different physical and social conditions of Africa. They will also be used to discover which varieties are best and to adapt the management and fertilizer regimes. The farmers were so enthusiastic, however, that each decided, in collaboration with his compatriots, to establish an experimental high-density plantain plot even before funds are available for a regional project. INIBAP is providing seed money for these demonstration plots in Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire. The researchers and extension workers from Benin, Guinea and Ghana plan to contact farmers in their own countries and arrange similar demonstrations. The clear expectation is that the new techniques, suitably amended for the African environment, will promote food security and boost family incomes. Further information inibap@camnet.cm INIBAP’s programme in Africa is a joint effort with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Ibadan, Nigeria A high-density plantain plantation in Nicaragua. M. Bedford/Baobab Productions One of IPGRI’s strategic choices is to increase public awareness about crop diversity and the important role it can play in human development. To that end we produce several different kinds of publication, each aimed at one or more of the many different publics that make up society. Last year, encouraged by the excellent reception given to a series of posters we developed for schoolchildren, we decided to create a special edition of Geneflow, which would introduce tomorrow’s decision-makers to the crucial role that agricultural biodiversity plays in all our lives. Geneflow Junior is modelled closely on Geneflow, our successful magazine for donors and decision-makers. But in addition to the usual well-illustrated articles it also includes games, activities and puzzles for young children. One puzzle that faced IPGRI was how to get Geneflow Junior out to a representative sample of schoolchildren around the world. While we enjoy contact with many schools in many countries, we wanted to try a more targeted approach, getting the magazine into the hands of children who might already be somewhat acquainted with the messages in order to reinforce their understanding of the issues surrounding agricultural biodiversity. So, we bundled Geneflow Junior in with the grown- ups’ Geneflow and sent it to the donors, policy-makers, national partners and journalists that make up Geneflow’s public. We asked them to pass it to children—their own or someone else’s—and to try and discuss the contents with them and, if possible, let us have feedback. “The outcome was surprisingly gratifying and global in scope,” said Ruth Raymond, IPGRI’s Public Awareness Officer. “We have had lots of requests from teachers and others for multiple copies. Someone in Zambia saw a copy in the library of a research institute and asked for more copies for the primary school on the research station, which is run for children of employees. In Papua New Guinea, a teacher said it helped persuade the class that the loss of landraces and farmer varieties of traditional crops really was important; ‘after Geneflow Junior targets youth for a better tomorrow A new magazine takes the message of Diversity for Development to the next generation of decision–makers. Geneflow Junior took the message of diversity for development to a new audience. Cover artwork by J. Northway, design F. Ferraiuolo and P. Tazza For the answer, see inside! Why do we need so many different kinds? How many kinds of maize can you count in this picture? Je nn ife r N or th w ay JuniorGeneflow G en ef low J un ior ta rg et s yo ut h all, they read it in a magazine’. A librarian in Sierre Leone gave it to his son and wrote that ‘he was inspired to know more of his environment’. A research scientist in Honduras reported that his son found the magazine useful in his homework. The magazine was well received in the developed world too.” While it clearly met a need, this pilot activity also identified several issues that need to be addressed. One is the question of language. The Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology in India asked if they could translate it into Oriya, the local language. “Of course we gave permission,” Raymond said. But many other schools asked simply whether Geneflow Junior was available in other languages. “It is not,” Raymond explained, “at least for now, but IPGRI is acutely conscious of the need to take the message to as many people as possible and is actively investigating options for translation.” The other issue is the sustainability of the effort. Funds for this pilot project came from IPGRI’s core budget but if Geneflow Junior is to join Geneflow as an eagerly anticipated annual event we will need to secure long-term support. Further information r.raymond@cgiar.org 2001 23Annual Report “My name is Chèrif Mamadou Lamine Sène, teacher at the Mancadiang Bignona School. I am the activities coordinator. We have tried to include botanical diversity in the programme in order to illustrate the importance of producing crops of good quality and to improve crop production. I would like to highlight that the students themselves came to the conclusion that this crop diversity can eradicate hunger, poverty and allow us to diversify our nutrition. “In the name of the Mancadiang Bignona School, all our congratulations to Ruth D. Raymond and to your institute IPGRI.” “Making information available to genetic resources workers is the first step to developing appropriate conservation strategies,” said Brigitte Laliberté of the Regional Office for Europe at IPGRI. Laliberté is working on the development of EURISCO, a searchable catalogue of the ex situ holdings of plant genetic resources in all European countries. That could represent more than a million accessions across the continent, roughly 15% of total worldwide holdings. The European Cooperative Programme for Crop Genetic Resources Networks (ECP/GR), which is hosted by IPGRI, has long supported the work of European national programmes for plant genetic resources, in particular encouraging the documentation of crop collections in Europe. Today, information is available on more than 40 European Central Crop Databases. Recognizing the importance of this kind of information, the European Commission recently committed funds to speed the creation of national inventories and a single Internet window from which to search them. The search engine is called EURISCO, which stands for European Internet Search Catalogue and conveniently means ‘I find’ in ancient Greek. It is one of the outputs of EPGRIS, the European Plant Genetic Resources Information InfraStructure, a three-year concerted action, funded by the European Commission, to make information on every European country’s national inventory of ex situ plant genetic resources easily available. Although some countries already have such a national inventory, many do not. Funding from EPGRIS will help them to develop their national systems, thus helping them to meet their obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity. The project, developed following an initiative of the Documentation and Information Network of ECP/GR, is not restricted to members of either the European Union or ECP/GR. At present 41 countries, including many in Eastern Europe and the independent states of the former Soviet Union, have nominated a focal point to take part in EPGRIS. IPGRI is giving many of the countries whose economies are developing or in transition financial and technical support as needed while they develop their national inventories. IPGRI is coordinating the development of EURISCO through its Regional Office for Europe. It is modelled closely on SINGER, the information exchange network developed by the System-wide Genetic Resources Programme, which is based at IPGRI. For the centralized search engine to work, partners have to agree on A window on Europe’s ex situplant genetic resources Knowledge is power, and the European Commission is helping to empower all those with an interest in Europe’s crop diversity. Bringing countries together in a network enables those with well-developed systems to help others to catch up.A w ind ow o n Eu ro pe ’s pla nt g en et ic re so ur ce s standards for data transfer, integrity checking and so on, to ensure that it is easy to upload and update the central searchable catalogue. At IPGRI, SINGER staff contracted to EPGRIS have made a start on the design of the database and functionality of its search engine. They are using existing data from national inventories of the project partners in order to test and refine EURISCO. One important aspect of the project that extends the scope of the original proposal is that it sets out a methodology and procedures that provide an excellent basis for future co- operation in other regions. Already, another application for European support, to fund the in situ conservation of crop relatives, has mentioned EPGRIS as a model and, outside Europe, EPGRIS is being looked at as a useful approach for building regional databases of crop diversity. Fostering collaboration of the kind needed to agree standards and methodologies is indeed one of the key benefits of the effort, according to Samy Gaiji, SINGER project leader. “Together, SINGER, EURISCO and other partners will bring us closer to the critical mass we need to put in place the global information system that the new International Treaty [on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture] calls for.” Further information l.maggioni@cgiar.org See also www.ecpgr.cgiar.org/epgris SINGER is at www.singer.cgiar.org 2001 25Annual Report These countries have nominated EPGRIS focal points for their national inventories of plant genetic resources: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia (FYR), Malta, Moldova, Netherlands, Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden), Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Yugoslavia (FR). Project Partners In addition to creating a catalogue of European plant genetic resources, EPGRIS is increasingly being seen as a model for other regional networks. IPGRI There’s a lot of loose talk by people who think they are addicted to chocolate, who depend on it to get through the day. But the people who really depend on chocolate are those who grow the cacao trees that supply the raw material, the cocoa beans. At one time, huge plantations were the order of the day. Now five or six million smallholder farmers, each with about 1000 trees on one or two hectares, supply almost seven out of every eight beans on the market. Unfortunately, that supply is under threat. Pests and diseases take up to a third of the crop each year, and for most small growers the cost of chemical protection makes it unaffordable. Losses can be huge. Before witches’ broom (see box opposite) arrived in Bahia in the 1980s this Brazilian state exported some 400 000 tonnes of cocoa beans a year. Today the figure is below 130 000 tonnes. As a result, many farmers are abandoning cacao, and that threatens the diversity on which future breeding efforts depend. Brazil is a vital reservoir of biodiversity but if cacao production there vanishes, pressure to cut down the remaining forest will increase as people struggle to make a living. When the forest goes, it will take with it the wild cocoa trees that carry the genetic resources the crop will need in future (not to mention other wild trees and plants whose genetic value is yet unknown). These threats to the growers jeopardize future supplies of the high-quality beans that chocolate eaters want. There is thus enormous incentive for growers, users and researchers to get together to everyone’s mutual benefit. Cocoa Germplasm Utilization and Conservation: a Global Approach is a project, managed by IPGRI, that unites stakeholders. It establishes a collaboration of the countries in Latin America that harbour the unique genetic diversity of the crop, those in West Africa and Southeast Asia that are the main growers of cocoa beans and the manufacturers in Europe and North America who turn the beans into a high- value product. National research institutes in 10 cocoa-growing countries and three international research institutions are taking part in a five-year initial project that is budgeted at almost US$10 million. The project is supported by the Common Fund for Commodities, the American Cocoa Research Institute, the Biscuit, Cake, Chocolate and Confectionary Alliance in the United Kingdom, as well as by CIRAD (the French scientific organization that specializes in tropical agriculture) and IPGRI. One element of the project is a series of trials comparing varieties of cacao. The ‘international clone trial’ compares a set of 20 accessions at 10 different sites around the world. Most of the clones come from the International Cocoa Germplasm Collection in Trinidad, a genebank supported by industry. The University of the West Indies, which curates the collection, is evaluating and characterizing each variety and distributing that information to the other partners. Another set of trials looks to compare promising local clones and hybrid varieties. There is, of course, a risk that this kind of international cooperation can actually hasten the spread of pests and diseases. So all the Sweet partnership helps safeguardworld’s cocoa supply The global cocoa project, managed by IPGRI, is a model of international cooperation and private–public partnership. More than halfway complete, it is time to take stock. In Cameroon, farmers have planted selected cacao clones to assess their resistance to black pod under working conditions. B. Eskes/IPGRI Sw ee t p ar tn er sh ip fo r w or ld’ s co co a su pp ly material transferred among project partners has passed through industry-funded quarantine facilities to ensure that it was clean and could meet guidelines for the safe transfer of germplasm established by IPGRI and FAO. At each site, and at laboratories in France and the United Kingdom, the clones are tested for their resistance to pests and diseases using standardized methods agreed by the partners. This makes it easy to compare results from different places. Other assays are still in development. Reading University in the United Kingdom and other partners are working on a better test to assess resistance to witches’ broom. For reasons currently unknown it is proving difficult to induce the symptoms of the disease, but the scientists are confident they can solve the problem. Weather has played havoc with the trials just as it does with farmers’ production fields. In Nigeria, drought caused one experimental plot to fail completely. And in Venezuela it was floods that prevented a trial being established on time. Partly as a result, the project decided to conduct some ad hoc work on the conditions under which young trees establish best, which will help researchers and farmers when they want to create new plantains. Another element of the project is to enhance the selection and breeding of new varieties. In Brazil, researchers studied a 10-hectare field and identified about 260 individual trees that seem to be less susceptible to witches’ broom. They have now grafted these selections onto mature trees to assess their production. Côte d’Ivoire has sent hybrids resistant to black pod to Cameroon where they are being tested under farmers’ conditions. In Papua New Guinea breeders crossed two clones that are both productive and resistant to black pod; seedlings are currently being assessed. In Ghana, workers have planted crosses selected for resistance to the Cacao Swollen Shoot Virus in an area where this disease is common. In Malaysia researchers are selecting crosses that contain more fat in the beans. Protecting cacao biodiversity is not, as such, an explicit activity of the global project. But almost everything the project does makes the future of cacao diversity more secure. For example, each participating institution must maintain and manage its collection if it is to take part in the project. The transfer of material from site to site is also helping it to survive. Preservation of wild cacao will be enhanced too, if production is secured. The rich world’s lust for chocolate is prodigious. The average European or American gets through around 2 kg a year. The work of IPGRI and our partners ensures not only that this need will be satisfied, but also that the smallholder farmers who really depend on cocoa ultimately will lead more secure, more fulfilled lives themselves. Further information b.eskes@cgiar.org 27 Three main fungal diseases attack cacao. Black pod rot is caused by two species of Phytophthora, P. palmivora and P. megakarya, which are difficult to distinguish in the field. Moniliophthora roreri causes frosty pod rot, which gets its name from the masses of spores that turn the surface of the pod white. And witches’ broom is the result of infection by Crinipellis perniciosa, which subverts the tree into sending up deformed shoots and flower clusters and also makes the pods unusable. Diseases of cacao “Supplies are fine for the short term. But if cocoa supplies do not increase, there could be serious problems five or six years from now.” John B. Lunde, M&M Mars, Inc. They call themselves Pehuenche, the people of the tree. The tree in question is Pehuen, known to scientists as Araucaria araucana and to gardeners as the Monkey Puzzle tree. It is at the centre of one of four ecosystems being studied in a collaborative and inter-disciplinary project that aims to improve the sustainability of the lives of local people who depend on the timber and non-timber natural resources of the forests of Brazil and Argentina, among them the Pehuenche. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung, BMZ). It aims to develop appropriate management practices that will support conservation efforts through an improved understanding of human impact on the genetic diversity and ecological processes of tree species in four selected ecosystems. These are the Araucaria araucana forests in southwest Argentina, Araucaria angustifolia (Parana pine) ecosystems in southern Brazil and northern Argentina, the Atlantic forests in southeastern Brazil, and Amazonian rainforests in northern Brazil, home to the first extractive reserves (see box). Local communities participate in the project at five locations. At each site, a local research institute conducts the research in collaboration with NGOs, governmental organizations and community representatives. These have been involved in designing and developing the project from the very beginning to ensure that the project outputs meet local needs while managing natural resources properly. All the target ecosystems are under threat. For example, the Parana pine forest once covered about 200 000 km2. The growth of human populations and their agriculture destroyed almost 195 000 km2. Although 5000 km2 is left, of that only about 1400 km2 (0.7% of the original area) can be People, forests and trees in South America IPGRI has been working with stakeholders from all strata of society to ensure that forests can continue to provide what local people need. Extractive reserves are conservation areas that permit the sustainable removal of natural resources. The first extractive reserve established in Brazil was in Acre state, where it is used by communities of seringueiros, traditional rubber tappers. The seringueiros harvest and extract natural non-timber resources, most notably latex from rubber trees and Brazil nuts. They also practice subsistence agriculture and small-scale livestock breeding. The goal of the reserve is to protect the lifestyle and culture of the rubber tappers at the same time as ensuring that the exuberant Amazon forest is not lost. Marie-Hélène Vachon, an IPGRI intern supported by the Quebec Ministry of International Relations, undertook an analysis of the laws and policies regulating the use of forest resources to ask whether the model of extractive reserves is in fact a valuable one to conserve genetic diversity and prevent deforestation. She surveyed existing legislation, developed a questionnaire, and travelled to Acre state to meet and work with key players, policy makers as well as people—such as the rubber tappers—whose lives are directly affected by the regulations. Vachon concluded that extractive reserves could indeed be workable and valuable. But she stresses that this is very much a work in progress: “Other IPGRI research will need to take this forward, to integrate the analysis of the legal framework and social perceptions with data about forest conservation.” Understanding extractive reserves Pe op le, fo re st s an d tre es in So ut h Am er ica considered primary forest. For reasons of space, this article can consider only two of the threatened ecosystems, the Monkey Puzzle forests of Brazil and Argentina, and the Parana pine of São Paolo. A. araucana is a typical species in southern South America and has long been commercially logged for its valuable timber. It also forms unique landscapes that attract tourists to protected areas. The species has special cultural importance for the Mapuche people of the area. They eat the seeds, which weigh 3–4 grams each, and use them to supplement the feed of their livestock. In some Mapuche communities, Araucaria seeds make up about 13% of their annual diet, and because they are collected in autumn are especially important as winter food. Regeneration by seed is probably the most important process that maintains or even increases the genetic diversity of the populations. Over-grazing by domestic livestock and introduced wild animals threatens this process because in autumn the animals eat the seeds as they fall and in spring they eat germinated seedlings. Looking at samples of faeces is the easiest way to find out which animals are most to blame. Preliminary results indicate that two introduced wild animals (red deer and boar) and cows do most damage. Seed remains were also found, though to a much lesser degree, in droppings from sheep and goats, but none were found in those of horses. This suggests that managing the different domestic animals and strong control of introduced wild animals will be needed to assure the natural regeneration of A. araucana in those sites where it is still possible for seeds to germinate and the seedlings to be recruited into the breeding populations. The project is working with the communities to develop these management strategies. Project scientists and field foresters looked at how much seed the local communities extract each year, and from that worked out that each tree probably produces seed only every three years. This may be because making so many large seeds exhausts the tree’s food reserves. Rain in spring, when pollination takes place, is also important. A wet spring presages a poor harvest 18 months later. Preliminary analysis of the data suggests that in a productive year the seeds taken by the local people should have no impact on regeneration but could be a limiting factor in other years. A change in the regulations that currently govern the seed harvest may be needed to take into account the variation in seed production from year to year. The second ecosystem, the Pontal do Paranapanema in São Paulo state, is also heavily deforested and fragmented. Many of the fragments are in places where landless farmers, often from other regions, have settled, and much of the land has been turned into pastures that are now degraded. One of the elements of the project there is to develop and implement agroforestry systems. By growing trees and crops together the project is working with the local people to develop an alternative land-use system that will harmonize the conservation and use of forest genetic resources. The local people specifically asked for medicinal plants to be among the agricultural crops planted between the trees, both for their own use and to provide an income. At the moment, the local communities have selected three pilot areas and have begun to plant. Further information w.amaral@cgiar.org 2001 29Annual Report A fruit tree has been cut down for fuelwood. Left to stand, it could provide an income, but people also need firewood. Resolving such dilemmas is one aim of the project. I. DeBoreghyi/IPGRI One of the delights of bananas and plantains is that they don’t contain any seeds. But while that makes them easy to eat, it also makes them very hard to breed. Indeed the Cavendish banana that is the mainstay of the export banana trade has been around, essentially unchanged, since a plant collector first sent it to Europe in 1826. Exports of banana, however, are trivial in the global scheme of things. India alone grows more bananas for local, domestic consumption than the entire world trade. And it is the local market, supplied almost exclusively by smallholder farmers, that desperately needs new varieties to fight the pests and diseases that assail the crop. The Global Musa Genomics Consortium is the latest response to that need. It arose from a meeting at the International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain (INIBAP) in April 2000 of the members of PROMUSA, the Global Programme for Musa Improvement. (Musa is the Latin name for bananas and plantains.) There, a consensus quickly emerged that studying the Musa sequence, and all it entails, offered a valuable way forward for efforts to improve bananas and plantains and that PROMUSA should host the consortium, which will be supported by a Secretariat provided by INIBAP. At the launch meeting the consortium participants—who came from 11 countries—agreed a strategy, decided on the tasks that would be needed to achieve it, and distributed those tasks among themselves. They also adopted a set of rules that would govern their cooperation and bind anyone who joins the consortium in future. For example, all sequencing data will be placed in the public domain, and even commercially valuable discoveries, which may be patented, will be available to smallholder farmers in developing countries through a royalty-free licence. Information about the genes of Musa will help breeding efforts in many ways. Marker- assisted selection, as it is known, uses short stretches of DNA sequence to probe for the existence of known genes. With it, breeders will find it easier to choose the offspring of conventional crosses that carry the genes of interest. The sequencing effort will very quickly isolate many more marker sequences than currently exist, so the pay-off will be rapid. In the longer term, having isolated and investigated specific desirable genes, breeders will be able to use biotechnologies to put those genes into existing elite lines, thus avoiding the time- consuming need to reconstruct a good variety in a conventional breeding programme. The benefits will be enjoyed primarily by the smallholder farmers in developing countries. At present their harvests are in decline as a result of pests and diseases, most notably black Sigatoka. Although treatments are available, smallholders generally cannot afford them, so Making the most of the Musa sequence The Global Musa Genomics Consortium was launched in July 2001 to immediate scientific and popular acclaim. M ak ing th e m os t of th e M us a se qu en ce resistant bananas will be a boon. But consumers in the developed world will benefit too. Many plantations of export bananas are treated with agrochemicals up to 50 times a year. Resistant varieties will help to do away with a regime that uses up to 10 times more agrochemicals than intensively grown crops in industrialized countries and that can represent up to 27% of the cost of production. That will also make life healthier for the plantation workers. The consortium took pains to stress that the sequencing effort will not threaten the diversity of Musa. If anything, it will help to safeguard it. INIBAP already maintains a collection of some 1140 accessions at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, in Belgium. This collection is held in trust for the benefit of present and future generations. The tools developed by the consortium will make access to Musa’s diversity more efficient and help to ensure that the collection stays healthy, for example by making it easier to detect viral infections. Material developed for the sequencing effort, and new material from the wild, will be added to the collection. The consortium aims to raise an additional US$5 million per year to deliver on its promises. About half is the cost of the sequence itself, the rest pays for the tools to make good use of it in research programmes. This is a lot less than, for example, the human genome or the rice genome, reflecting lessons learned and efficiencies gained in those pioneering efforts. The consortium agreed that it “represents a most worthwhile and efficient expenditure of resources” that will “make a major contribution to developing country agriculture and the quality of life of the billion people reliant on banana.” Further information e.frison@cgiar.org Strategy for the Global Musa Genomics Consortium, a report of the meeting, is available from www.promusa.org/genomics/genomics.htm 2001 31Annual Report The University of Queensland, Brisbane, St Lucia, Australia Queensland University of Technology—QUT, Brisbane, Australia Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium Institute for Plant Biotechnology for Developing Countries (IPBO), Gent, Belgium Faculté Universitaire des Sciences Agronomiques, Gembloux, Belgium Université de Liège, Liège, Belgium Universidade Catolica de Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil CENARGEN/EMBRAPA, Brasilia, Brazil Institute of Experimental Botany, Olomouc, Czech Republic CIRAD-BIOTROP, Montpellier, France International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain (INIBAP), Montpellier, France CIRAD-FLHOR, Station de Neufchâteau, Guadeloupe, French West Indies Institut für Bioinformatik, Forschungszentrum für Umwelt und Gesundheit, Neuherberg, Germany Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore, India Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, A.C. Yucatán, Mexico CINVESTAV—Plant Biotechnology Unit, Irapuato, Mexico International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Nigeria University of Leicester, United Kingdom The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR), Rockville, MD, USA University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA International Laboratory for Tropical Agricultural Biotechnology (ILTAB), St Louis, MO, USA Consortium members ● IPGRI regional reports for sub-Saharan Africa (English and French), the Americas, and Asia, Pacific and Oceania ● The Mulino at Maccarese (English and Italian) ● Broadening the Genetic Base of Crop Production (with CABI and FAO) ● Managing Plant Genetic Diversity. Proceedings of the conference on Science and Technology for Managing Plant Genetic Diversity in the 21st Century (published by CABI) ● FAO/IPGRI PGR Newsletter, Nos. 124–127 (with FAO) ● Descriptor lists for Allium (English and Spanish) (with ECP/GR and AVRDC), Multicrop (with FAO), Oca (Spanish) (with CIP), Phaseolus lunatus (Portuguese) (with INIA and MADRP, Portugal), Phaseolus vulgaris (Portuguese) (with INIA and MADRP, Portugal) and groundnut (English and French) (with BAMNET and IITA) ● Bibliography on underutilized roots and tubers crops (PDF only) ● Plant Genetic Resources Bhutanese Perspective (with NBP, Bhutan) ● Conservation and Use of Native Tropical Fruit Species Biodiversity in Asia (with ADB) ● Report of a Network Coordinating Group on Cereals (with ECP/GR) ● Report of a Working Group on Barley—6th meeting (with ECP/GR) ● Report of a Working Group on Potato—1st meeting (with ECP/GR) ● In situ conservation of Populus nigra (with EUFORGEN) ● Mediterranean Oaks Network. Report of the 1st meeting (with EUFORGEN) ● Report of the first meeting of the Conifers Network (with EUFORGEN) ● Social Broadleaves Network. Report of the 3rd meeting (with EUFORGEN) ● Le Débat des semences. Volume 1. Solutions politiques pour les ressources génétiques: Un Brevet pour la vie revisité (with IDRC and Dag Hammarskjold Foundation) ● Siembra de Soluciones. Tomo 1. Alternativas políticas en materia de recursos genéticos (actualización de Gente, Plantas y Patentes) (with IDRC and Dag Hammarskjold Foundation) ● Seeding Solutions. Volume 2. Options for national laws governing control over genetic resources and biological innovation (with IDRC and Dag Hammarskjold Foundation) ● Plant genetic resources conservation and use in China (with ICGR-CAAS, China) ● Programme de resources génétiques forestières en Afrique au sud du Sahara (programme SAFORGEN) (with AfDB, CENPREBAF and UNEP) ● SGRP Annual Report 2000 ● Sharing the non-monetary benefits of agricultural biodiversity. Issues in Genetic Resources No. 5 Financial Support for the Research Agenda of IPGRI was provided in 2001 by: African Development Bank (AfDB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), Australia, Austria, Albania, Armenia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Centre de Cooperation Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Developpement (CIRAD), Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza, Costa Rica (CATIE), Common Fund for Commodities (CFC), Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, European Environmental Agency, European Commission, European Union, Finland, Fontagro, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), France, German Foundation for International Development (DSE), Germany, Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Instituto Colombiano para el Desarrollo de la Ciencia y la Tecnología (COLCIENCIAS), Inter- American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), International Development Research Centre (IDRC), International Foundation for Science (IFS), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Japan International Research Centre for Agricultural Science (JIRCAS), Korea, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, National Geographic Society, National Science Foundation (NSF), Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Programme on Participatory Research and Gender Analysis for Technology Development and Institutional Innovation (PRGA), Rockefeller Foundation, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, TBRI, Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), Technova, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations Environment Programme Global Environmental Facility (UNEP-GEF), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Vlaamse Vereiniging voor Ontwikkelingssamenwerking en Technische Bijstand (VVOB), World Bank, Yugoslavia. Selectedpublications Financial support The international status of IPGRI is conferred under an Establishment Agreement which, by December 2001, had been signed and ratified by the Governments of: Algeria, Australia, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chile, China, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Greece, Guinea, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Morocco, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Senegal, Slovakia, Sudan, Switzerland, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda and Ukraine. 33Financial report For the year ended 31 December 2001, in US dollars (000s) Unrestricted and Attributed Australia 236 Austria 50 Belgium 240 1 Canada 456 China 120 Denmark 474 France 217 2 Germany 188 India 75 Italy 1104 3 Japan 1047 Netherlands 1259 Norway 340 Philippines 29 4 Republic of Korea 50 South Africa 50 Sweden 349 Switzerland 465 Thailand 15 United Kingdom 0 5 USA 600 World Bank 2540 Subtotal 9904 Restricted Australia 78 Austria 25 ADB 408 AfDB 115 Belgium 948 Brazil 7 Canada 12 CATIE 30 CFC 1019 CICAD 127 CIRAD 88 COLCIENCIAS 4 CTA 60 Denmark 61 European Countries 562 European Environment Agency 10 European Union 1472 FAO 118 Finland 82 FONTAGRO 68 France 263 Germany 354 IDRC 265 IFAD 436 ISNAR 7 Italy 26 Japan 453 JIRCAS 4 Korea 141 Luxembourg 130 Multi-donors to Global Trust Campaign 494 Netherlands 498 New Zealand 93 Norway 53 NSF 14 Philippines 10 Portugal 204 PRGA 7 Quebec 88 Rockefeller Foundation 174 Spain 17 Sweden 81 Switzerland 795 TBRI 2 Technova 1 Uganda 301 United Kingdom/DFID 1069 UNDP 399 UNEP 288 USA 121 USDA 38 World Bank 98 VVOB 183 Subtotal 12 401 Total Grants 22 305 1 Belgium’s 1998 and 2001 unrestricted contributions of BF11 400 000 at year-end rate of exchange of BF45.7472=US$1.00. 2 France’s 2001 unrestricted contribution of FF1 612 500 at year-end rate of exchange of FF7.4389=US$1.00. 3 Italy’s 2001 unrestricted contribution of Euro 1 252 408 at year-end rate of exchange of Euro 1.134=US$1.00. 4 The Philippines’ 2000 and 2001 unrestricted contributions of PHP1 006 851.43 at year- end rate of exchange of PHP51.58=US$1.00. 5 UK funding in 2001 of GBP650 000 (US$939 413) attributed to specific projects is treated as restricted. Establishment agreement Financial report Continued Restricted projects Australia Taro Genetic Resources Conservation and Utilisation Project 12 Nematology–Vietnam 23 SINGER-ICIS 43 Subtotal 78 Austria Training Programme on Forest Genetic Resources in Eastern Europe 25 African Development Bank Plant Genetic Resources in Sub-Saharan Africa 115 Asian Development Bank Coconut Genetic Resources Network and Human Resources Strengthening in Asia and the Pacific Region (Phase II) 106 Conservation and Use of Native Tropical Fruit Species Biodiversity in Asia 302 Subtotal 408 Belgium Collaborative Musa Research—KUL 255 Gembloux—Musa Virus Diseases 147 INIBAP Transit Center—KUL 356 Musa Coordination in Africa 190 Subtotal 948 Brazil The Lusophone Project 7 CATIE Training in Black Sigatoka Management 30 CICAD Organic Banana Production—Bolivia 127 CIRAD Musa Publications 61 Musa Nematode Research 27 Subtotal 88 Canada Biodiversity and Distance Education 2 Developing Decision-making Strategies on Priorities for Conservation and Use of Forest Genetic Resources 10 Subtotal 12 CFC Cocoa Germplasm Utilization and Conservation 519 Coconut Germplasm Utilization and Conservation 185 Farmer Participatory Evaluation and Dissemination of Improved Musa Germplasm 315 Subtotal 1019 COLCIENCIAS Conservation and Use of Genetic Resources of Passiflora 4 CTA Information Services/Publications 25 West African Study Tour in Latin America and the Caribbean 31 Workshop on Enhancing the Contribution of fonio to Food Security 4 Subtotal 60 Denmark Danish Junior Professional Officer–Benin 3 Effective Conservation and Use of Intermediate and Recalcitrant Tropical Forest Tree Seed Phase II 58 Subtotal 61 European Countries ECP/GR—Phase VI 325 EUFORGEN—Phase II 237 Subtotal 562 European Environmental Agency Conservation of Forest and Crop Genetic Resources in Pan-Europe 10 European Union Global Forest Genetic Resources Strategies—ACP 25 Global Forest Genetic Resources Strategies—ACP 44 Global Forest Genetic Resources Strategies—Asia 109 Global Forest Genetic Resources Strategies—Latin America 36 Global Forest Genetic Resources Strategies—MEDA 20 Human and Policy Aspects of Plant Genetic Resources Conservation and Use—ACP 49 Locating and Monitoring Genetic Diversity—ACP 93 Locating and Monitoring Genetic Diversity—Asia 97 Locating and Monitoring Genetic Diversity—Latin America 132 Locating and Monitoring Genetic Diversity—MEDA 33 Promoting Sustainable Conservation and Use of Coconut Genetic Resources—ACP 44 Promoting Sustainable Conservation and Use of Coconut Genetic Resources—ACP 32 Promoting Sustainable Conservation and Use of Coconut Genetic Resources—Asia 56 Promoting Sustainable Conservation and Use of Coconut Genetic Resources—Latin America 44 Support to Plant Genetic Resources Programmes Programs and Regional Networks in SSA—ACP 111 Support to Plant Genetic Resources Programmes and Regional Networks in Asia, the Pacific and Oceania—ACP 29 Support to regional Musa programs—ACP 63 Support to regional Musa programs—ACP 88 Support to regional Musa programs—Asia 205 Support to regional Musa programs—Latin America 110 Subtotal 1420 European Commission BIOdiversity and Economics for CONservation (BioECON) 31 EPGRIS, European Plant Genetic Resources Information Infra-Structure 18 Gene-Mine 3 Subtotal 52 FAO Development of Improved Cryopreservation Methods for Plant Genetic Resources Conservation 5 Compilation of an Internet-based Plant Biotechnology Inventory within the EcoPort system 28 Conservation and Management of Forest Genetic Resources—a Practical Guide 2 International Training Programme: Conservation and Management of Forest Genetic Resources in Eastern Europe 3 Multilateral System within the Revised International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources 14 Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter 28 Seed and Plant Genetic Resources Services (AGPS) Preparation 2 Socio-economic and Gender-sensitive Indicators Development within the Area of Biodiversity and Natural Resource Management 24 Strengthening the Scientific Basis of In Situ Conservation of Agricultural Biodiversity in Peru 10 Suggested Crop Genepools for the Multilateral System and their Centres of Diversity/Origin 2 Subtotal 118 Finland Associate Expert—Malaysia 82 FONTAGRO Utilization of Papaya Genetic Resources for their Improvement and Promotion 68 France Coconut Genetic Resources Network 26 Commodity Chains Project 110 MGIS—Musa Germplasm Information System 4 Peri-urban Banana Production in West Africa 3 Research on Tropical Fruit 110 The Montpellier Biotech Platform 10 Subtotal 263 Germany Forest Genetic Resources in Brazil and Argentina 33 Home Gardens and In Situ Conservation 165 In Situ Conservation (Morocco component) 125 International Conference on Science and Technology for Managing Plant Genetic Diversity in the 21st Century 1 Patterns of Genetic Diversity and Genetic Erosion of Traditional Crops in Peru 26 Zschortau Workshop Proceedings (DSE) 4 Subtotal 354 IDRC Conserving Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Species 2 Crucible Meetings—Publications French and Spanish 29 Diversification of Coconut Products to Enhance Incomes of Coconut Farming Communities 8 In Situ Conservation of Agricultural Biodiversity Phase II 126 Musa In Situ Conservation 67 Organic Banana Workshop Proceedings 2 Symposium on Managing Biodiversity 31 Subtotal 265 2001 35Annual Report IFAD Enhancing the Contribution of Neglected and Underutilized Species to Food Security, and to Incomes of the Rural Poor 265 In Situ Conservation and Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources in Desert-Prone Areas of Africa 144 Sustainable Use of Coconut Genetic Resources in the Asia–Pacific Region 4 Workshop on Enlarging the Basis of Food Security 23 Subtotal 436 ISNAR Evaluation of Organizational Capacity Development 7 Italy Fellowship on Molecular Tools for Enhancing the Management of Crop Diversity 11 Forest Genetic Resources Research 15 Subtotal 26 Japan Associate Researcher–Ethnobotany 3 CGIAR Genetic Resources Support Program Policy Research and Coordination of the System-wide Genetic Resources Programme 100 Global Forestry Genetic Resources Strategies—Research on the Genetic Resources of Bamboo Rattan 200 Plant Genetic Program in Asia, the Pacific and Oceania 150 Subtotal 453 JIRCAS Japan Workshop Proceedings 4 Korea Associate Scientist 45 Associate Scientist Research Grant 13 Associate Scientist 45 Associate Scientist Research Grant 38 Subtotal 141 Luxembourg Genetic Resources of Broad-leaved Forest Tree Species in South-eastern Europe Phase II 130 Multi-donors to Global Trust Campaign* 494 Netherlands Conservation Strategies Research 38 Forest Genetic Resources Research—Americas 90 Forest Genetic Resources Research—CWANA 90 Home Gardens Research 45 In Situ Conservation in Burkina Faso and Nepal 235 Subtotal 498 New Zealand Pacific Plant Genetic Resources 93 Norway Policy Unit 53 NSF Banana Genomics Meeting 14 Philippines Philippine Musa Collection 10 Portugal The Lusophone Project 159 Improving Coconut Production in Mozambique 45 Subtotal 204 PRGA Farmers’ Domestication and Improvement of Yam in West Africa 7 Quebec Internship on Plant Genetic Resources Policy 12 Internship on Germplasm Conservation and Documentation 12 Internship on Nutrition 12 Internship on In Situ Conservation 12 Internship on Forestry Policy 8 Internship on Documentation 12 Internship on Production Systems 12 Internship on Impact of IPGRI’s Policy Work 12 Subtotal 88 Rockefeller Foundation East African Collecting Mission 15 International Undertaking 55 Musa Baseline Project 104 Subtotal 174 Spain Technology Transfer Project (Musa) 3 Training Programme 14 Subtotal 17 Sweden Genetic Resources Policy 65 Future Harvest Campaign 16 Subtotal 81 Switzerland CGIAR—PGR Policy Research Unit 119 In Situ Conservation of Agricultural Biodiversity Phase III 544 Research Rights to Plant Genetic Resources and Traditional Knowledge 14 SINGER Phase III 108 Workshop on Ethics and Equity in Conservation and Use of Genetic Resources for Sustainable Food Security 10 Subtotal 795 TBRI Regional Information System for Banana and Plantain for Asia and the Pacific 2 Technova Research on Sweet Potato 1 Uganda Musa Biotechnology for Uganda Project 301 UNDP-GEF Participatory Management of Date Palm Plant Genetic Resources in Oases of the Maghreb 399 UNEP/UNEP-GEF Community-Based Management of On-farm Plant Genetic Resources in Arid and Semiarid Areas of Sub-Saharan Africa 2 In Situ/On-farm Conservation of Agricultural Biodiversity in Central Asia 25 In Situ Conservation of Crop Wild Relatives through Enhanced Information Management and Field Application 255 SAFORGEN—Conservation Strategies for Priority Tree Species in Sub-Saharan Africa 6 Subtotal 288 United Kingdom/DFID Asia Small Grants 9 Improvement of In Vitro Techniques for Collecting and Exchange of Coconut Germplasm 84 Ex Situ Conservation Technologies and Strategies 195 Farmer Participatory Testing of Banana IPM Options for Sustainable Banana Production in Eastern Africa 89 Holdback Project R6110H (Cryopreservation Techniques for Plant Species India) 6 Human and Policy Dimensions of Genetic Resources 195 Plant Genetic Resources Programmes in Asia, the Pacific and Oceania 181 Plant Genetic Resources Programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa 238 Strengthening Musa Research in Asia, the Pacific, and the Caribbean 72 Subtotal 1069 USAID Empirical Studies with IFPRI 11 Musa Biotechnology for Uganda Project 35 Support to FHIA Breeding Programme 75 Subtotal 121 USDA In Situ Conservation of Wild Crop Relatives in Paraguay 5 Development/Testing of Geographical Information System for Locating Cultivated Plant Diversity 8 Documentation and Management of Plant Genetic Resources in Developing Countries 13 Collection of Germplasm in Bolivia and Guyana 12 Subtotal 38 VVOB Nematology in Costa Rica 50 Nematology in Vietnam 50 Technology Transfer in Uganda 50 Nematology in Cameroon 33 Subtotal 183 World Bank CGIAR Genetic Resources Policy Committee 39 Germplasm Conservation in Central Asia and the Caucasus 37 Intellectual Property Rights Audit 22 Subtotal 98 Total Restricted Grants 12 400.7 * Expenditure of the following pledged contributions: Each of the CGIAR Centres US$14 000; Brazil US$30 000; CGIAR Finance Committee US$200 000; Switzerland US$125 000; USAID US$300 000 OFFICE OF DIRECTOR GENERAL HAWTIN, Dr Geoffrey Director General FOWLER, Dr Cary Honorary Research Fellow, Senior Advisor KALM, Mr Tony* Fund-raising Counsel MALGRAND, Ms Karine* Fund-raising Assistant WATANABE, Dr Kazuo Honorary Research Fellow, IPGRI-Japan Liaison WATTS, Ms Jamie Impact Assessment and Evaluation Specialist WITHERS, Dr Lyndsey Assistant Director General SECRETARIAT OF THE CGIAR SYSTEM-WIDE GENETIC RESOURCES PROGRAMMES TOLL, Ms Jane Senior Scientist, SGRP Coordinator DAOUD, Ms Layla Communications and Administration Assistant GAIJI, Mr Samy Scientist, SINGER Project Leader SKOFIC, Mr Milko Database and Programmer Analyst OFFICE OF DEPUTY DIRECTOR GENERAL, PROGRAMME HOOGENDOORN, Deputy Director Dr Coosje General, Programmes THOMPSON, Dr Judith Scientific Assistant DOCUMENTATION, INFORMATION AND TRAINING GROUP GOLDBERG, Ms Elizabeth Group Director ALERCIA, Ms Adriana Germplasm Information Specialist CHERFAS, Dr Jeremy* Science Writer CISSOKHO, Ms Pascale Multimedia/Web Specialist DEARING, Ms Julia Anne** Scientist, Library and Information Services DREW, Ms Jennie* Editor GARRUCCIO, Ms Maria Library and Information Services Specialist METZ, Dr Thomas Scientist, Genetic Resources Information Systems Management NEATE, Mr Paul Senior Scientist, Head, Communications Services RAYMOND, Ms Ruth Senior Scientist, Public Awareness TAZZA, Ms Patrizia Design/Layout Specialist GENETIC RESOURCES SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY GROUP ENGELS, Dr Jan Group Director AMARAL, Dr Weber Scientist, Forest Genetic Resources BRAGDON, Ms Susan Senior Scientist, Law and Policy BROWN, Dr Tony Honorary Research Fellow, Genetic Diversity ENGELMANN, Dr Florent** Senior Scientist, In Vitro Conservation ENGELMANN, Dr Florent* Honorary Research Fellow, In Vitro Conservation EYZAGUIRRE, Dr Pablo Senior Scientist, Anthropology and Socioeconomics HALEWOOD, Mr Michael* Scientist, Legal Specialist HODGKIN, Dr Toby Principal Scientist, Genetic Diversity JARVIS, Dr Devra Scientist, In Situ Conservation MOORE, Dr Gerald Honorary Research Fellow, Law and Policy PETRI, Dr Leonardo** Associate Scientist, Forest Genetic Resources SAKALIAN, Dr Marieta Consultant, In Situ Conservation of Crop Wild Relatives SMALE, Dr Melinda* Senior Economist THORMANN, Ms Imke Scientific Assistant, Genebanks FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION GEERTS, Mr Koen Director Finance and Administration COUMBES, Mr Mark* Budget/Audit Officer HARMANN, Ms Karen Senior Accountant LUZON, Ms Josephine Finance Manager PAPINI, Ms Silvia Office Manager RASMUSSON, Ms Lotta Human Resources Manager TEMKOW, Mr Stephen** Budget/Audit Officer VALORI, Mr Dario Computer Services Manager SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA ATTA-KRAH, Dr Kwesi Regional Director DULLOO, Dr M. Ehsan Germplasm Conservation Scientist GRUM, Dr Mikkel Scientist, Genetic Diversity KAMAU, Mr Henry Scientist, Training/SADC Programme KERJE, Mr Torbjörn** Associate Scientist, Genetic Resources/SADC Programme KIAMBI, Dr Dionysious K. Scientist, Genetic Diversity IPGRI’sprofessional staff MAUNDU, Mr Patrick* Scientist, Ethnobotany MORIMOTO, Mr Yasuyuki* Associate Scientist, Cuburbitaceae MUKEMA, Mr Isaiah Documentation and Information Officer NDUNG’U-SKILTON, Associate Scientist, In Situ Ms Julia Conservation OBARA, Ms Anne Administrative Officer OBEL-LAWSON, Scientific Assistant Ms Elizabeth ZOUNGRANA, Dr Issiaka* Training Officer West and Central Africa VODOUHE, Dr S. Raymond Scientist/Coordinator, Genetic Diversity DOSSOU, Dr Bernadette Associate Scientist, In Situ Conservation (Burkina Faso) EYOG-MATIG, Dr Oscar Scientist, Forest Genetics Resources Coordinator SAFORGEN SANGARE, Honorary Research Fellow, Dr Abdourahamane Training AMERICAS LASTRA, Dr Ramón Regional Director AZURDIA, Dr Cesar* Honorary Research Fellow, Plant Genetic Resources BAENA, Ms Margarita Publications and Public Awareness Specialist CHAVEZ, Dr Jose Luis Conservation Specialist, In Situ Crop Genetic Resources COPPENS, Dr Geo Senior Scientist, Tropical Fruit DE VICENTE, Scientist, Plant Molecular Dr M. Carmen*** Genetics FRANCO, Mr Tito Documentation and Information Programme Specialist GUARINO, Mr Luigi Senior Scientist, Genetic Diversity HOOGENDIJK, Mr Michiel** Associate Scientist, Genetic Diversity Documentation and Assessment LEAL, Prof. Freddy** Honorary Research Fellow, Tropical Fruits MORALES, Dr Francisco Germplasm Health Specialist OCAMPO, Mr John Albero* Visiting Researcher, Passiflora SEGURA, Mr Sergio** Visiting Researcher, Passiflora Genetics VAN BREUGEL, Mr Paulo Associate Scientist, Forest Genetic Resources VAN DEN HURK, Ir Anke** Associate Scientist, Complementary Conservation Strategies WILLIAMS, Dr David E. Senior Scientist, Genetic Diversity ASIA, PACIFIC AND OCEANIA SAJISE, Dr Percy Regional Director BATUGAL, Dr Pons A. Senior Scientist, COGENT Coordinator CHIN, Prof. H.F. Honorary Research Fellow, Public Awareness CHO, Mr Eun-Gi** Associate Scientist, Citrus Cryopreservation HONG, Mr Lay Thong Specialist, Bamboo and Rattan and Forest Genetic Resources KOSKELA, Dr Jarkko Associate Scientist, Forest Genetic Resources Conservation and Use MOHAMED, Hj. Azhari Consultant QUEK, Dr Paul Scientist, Documentation/ Information RAO, Dr V. Ramanatha Senior Scientist, Genetic Diversity/Conservation SHAHARUDIN, Dr Saamin** Scientific Assistant SHALIZAHANIM, Communication Assistant Ms Shukor** STHAPIT, Dr Bhuwon Ratna Scientist, In Situ Crop Conservation Specialist WELLER, Mr Michael Administrative Officer YOUNG-JIN, Dr Kim* Associate Scientist, Citrus Cryopreservation East Asia ZHOU, Prof. Mingde Senior Scientist, East Asia Coordinator ZHANG, Mr Zongwen Associate Scientist, East Asia Associate Coordinator South Asia BHAG MAL, Dr Senior Scientist, South Asia Coordinator ARORA, Dr R.K. Honorary Research Fellow, Plant Genetic Resources MATHUR, Dr Prem. N. Associate Scientist, South Asia Associate Coordinator RAMAMANI, Ms Y.S. Scientific Officer (Tropical Fruits) SURENDRAKUMAR, Administrative Officer Mr Veluthattil* 2001 37Annual Report CENTRAL AND WEST ASIA AND NORTH AFRICA AYAD, Dr George Regional Director BAMMOUN, Ms Aicha* In Situ Conservation of Agricultural Biodiversity- National Professional Officer BARI, Mr Abdullah Associate Scientist, PGR Information/Data Management and Analysis Methodologies BAZUIN, Mr Tom Associate Scientist, Forestry Genetic Resources DE VICENTE, Scientist, Plant Molecular Dr M. Carmen*** Genetics DURAH, Dr Kheder Regional Network and Information Manager KHALIL, Mr Rami Public Awareness Officer HADJ HASSAN, Dr Adnan* Honorary Research Fellow, Technology Transfer LABIB, Mr Nabil** Regional Coordinator, UNDP-GEF Project MAMELLY, Mr Adib Finance and Administration Officer PADULOSI, Dr Stefano Senior Scientist, Integrated Conservation Methodologies and Use TURDIEVA, Dr Muhabbat Scientist, Forestry Genetic Resources, Central Asia and the Caucasus EUROPE TUROK, Dr Jozef Regional Director/ EUFORGEN Coordinator BORELLI, Mr Simone** Scientific Assistant, Forest Genetic Resources LALIBERTÉ, Ms Brigitte Scientific Assistant, Crop Genetic Resources LIPMAN, Ms Elinor* Scientific Assistant MAGGIONI, Mr Lorenzo Scientist, ECP/GR Coordinator INTERNATIONAL NETWORK FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF BANANA AND PLANTAIN FRISON, Dr Emile A.G. Director ARNAUD, Ms Elizabeth Information/ Documentation Specialist DOCO, Ms Hélène Information/ Communication Specialist ESCALANT, Senior Scientist, Musa Dr Jean-Vincent Genetic Resources ESKES, Dr Bertus Coordinator CFC/ICCO/ IPGRI Cocoa Project LIPMAN, Ms Elinor* Scientific Assistant LUSTY, Ms Charlotte Public Awareness and Impact Assessment Specialist OMONT, Mr Hubert Senior Scientist, Commodity Chains PICQ, Ms Claudine Head, Information/ Communication PONSIOEN, Mr Guido Information/ Documentation Specialist SHARROCK, Ms Suzanne Scientist, Germplasm Conservation THORNTON, Mr Tom Financial Manager VILARINHOS, Associate Scientist, Mr Alberto Duarte* Molecular Biology Asia and Pacific MOLINA, Dr Agustín Regional Coordinator Vietnam VAN DEN BERGH, Ir Inge Associate Scientist, Nematology Eastern and Southern Africa KARAMURA, Dr Eldad Regional Coordinator BLOMME, Dr Guy Associate Scientist, Assistant to Regional Coordinator KAMULINDWA, Mr Julius* Project Administrator KARAMURA, Dr Deborah Genetic Resources Specialist ELEDU, Mr Charles GIS Specialist West and Central Africa AKYEAMPONG, Dr Ekow Regional Coordinator JACOBSEN, Ms Kim* Associate Scientist, Nematology Latin America and Caribbean ROSALES, Dr Franklin Regional Coordinator MOENS, Ir Thomas Associate Scientist, Nematology POCASANGRE, Dr Luis Associate Scientist, Technology Transfer INIBAP Transit Centre VAN DEN HOUWE, Ir. Inès Scientist, Germplasm Conservation SWENNEN, Prof. R. Honorary Research Fellow, Musa Genetic Improvement * Joined during 2001 ** Left during 2001 *** Moved groups during 2001 38 2001Annual Report 39 Support to plant genetic resources programmes and regional networks in the Americas (Project Coordinator: David Williams) assists countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to build up their capacities to conserve and use plant genetic resources Support to plant genetic resources programmes and regional networks in Asia, the Pacific and Oceania (Project Coordinator: V. Ramanatha Rao) assists countries in Asia, the Pacific and Oceania to build up their capacities to conserve and use plant genetic resources Support to plant genetic resources programmes and regional networks in Europe (Project Coordinator: Jozef Turok) assists countries in Western and Eastern Europe to build up their capacities to conserve and use plant genetic resources Support to plant genetic resources programmes and regional networks in sub-Saharan Africa (Project Coordinator: Mikkel Grum) assists countries in sub-Saharan Africa to build up their capacities to conserve and use plant genetic resources Support to plant genetic resources programmes and regional networks in Central and West Asia and North Africa (Project Coordinator: Stefano Padulosi) assists countries in Central and West Asia and North Africa to build up their capacities to conserve and use plant genetic resources Global capacity building and institutional support (Project Coordinator: Issiaka Zoungrana) trains scientists and trainers and develops training tools Global forest genetic resources strategies (Project Coordinator: Weber Amaral) supports strategic research on the conservation and use of intraspecific diversity of useful forest tree species; it also aims to develop an information system on forest genetic resources Promoting sustainable conservation and use of coconut genetic resources (Project Coordinator: Pons Batugal) promotes national, regional and global collaboration through COGENT among coconut-producing countries and partner institutions in the conservation and use of coconut genetic resources Locating and monitoring genetic diversity (Project Coordinator: Luigi Guarino) develops methods for locating and measuring genetic diversity in cultivated and wild species, combining ethnobotanical with agro-ecological approaches; it also develops methods for monitoring genetic erosion Ex situ conservation technologies and strategies (Project Coordinator: Ehsan Dulloo) develops improved low-input technologies for the ex situ conservation of plant genetic resources, and investigates ex situ conservation strategies In situ conservation of crop plants and wild relatives (Project Coordinator: Devra Jarvis) develops a scientific basis for effective on-farm conservation that meets farmer and community needs and maintains diversity; assists national systems in locating, monitoring and maintaining viable in situ populations of wild relatives of crops Linking conservation and use (Project Coordinator: Toby Hodgkin) takes ex situ, in situ and complementary approaches; emphasizes neglected and underused crops and supports the use of cocoa genetic resources Human and policy aspects of plant genetic resources conservation and use (Project Coordinator: Pablo Eyzaguirre) strengthens links between conservation and the well-being of people, particularly poor rural people, emphasizing gender, nutrition, income, indigenous knowledge, traditional resource rights and participatory approaches Information management and services (Project Coordinator: Paul Neate) builds capacity in information management and service provision to meet national, regional and international responsibilities; provides publications and information to support the research activities of IPGRI staff and their partners IPGRI’s projects 40 Public awareness and impact assessment (Project Coordinator: Ruth Raymond) builds financial and institutional support for plant genetic resources activities worldwide by raising awareness among key target audiences of the role of these resources in sustainable development and food security; assesses IPGRI’s impact on the conservation and use of plant genetic resources Musa genetic resources management (Project Coordinator: Suzanne Sharrock) collects the germplasm of Musa and its wild relatives; promotes its safe storage, movement and use; develops standardized tools for retrieving and exchanging information on Musa germplasm Musa germplasm improvement (Project Coordinator: Jean-Vincent Escalant) identifies disease- and pest-resistant Musa genotypes, researches Musa pathogen diversity, screening methods and molecular genetics and develops improved Musa genotypes; provides Musa germplasm Musa information and communication (Project Coordinator: Claudine Picq) supports the production, collection and exchange of information on banana and plantain; publicizes Musa issues and the work of INIBAP to scientific and non-technical audiences Support to regional Musa programmes (Project Coordinator: Suzanne Sharrock) supports INIBAP’s global, regional and national networks and other partnerships in Latin America and the Caribbean, in Asia, the Pacific and Oceania, and in sub-Saharan Africa CGIAR System-wide Genetic Resources Programme and policy support (Project Coordinator: Jane Toll) provides support to the CGIAR system in two areas: (1) genetic resources policy, (2) in IPGRI’s capacity as convening centre of the CGIAR’s System-wide Genetic Resources Programme (SGRP). IPGRI’s Boardof Trustees Dr Masahiro Nakagahra Vice Director General STAFF Institute 446–1 Ippaizuka Kamiyokoba,Tsukuba Ibaraki 305–0854 Japan Dr Gene Namkoong PO Box 763 Leicester, NC 28748 USA Prof. Ivan Nielsen Department of Systematic Botany Nordlandsvej 68 8240 Risskov Denmark Dr René Salazar Chairperson Programme Coordination Committee c/o SEARICE, 331 Eagle Court Condominium 26 Matlino St Quezon City, Philippines Dr Nohra Pombo de Junguito* 4425 Macarthur Boulevard Washington, DC 20007 USA Dr Theresa Sengooba Namulonge Agricultural and Animal Production Research Institute PO Box 7084 Kampala, Uganda Dr Benchaphun Shinawatra Ekasingh Chiang Mai University Multiple Cropping Centre Faculty of Agriculture Chiang Mai 50002 Thailand Dr Florence Wambugu Director, AfriCenter CIP/ISAAA, ILRI Campus Old Naivasha Rd, Kabete Nairobi, Kenya * Left during 2001 BOARD CHAIR Dr Marcio de Miranda Santos CGE-Centro de Estudos de Gestão Estratégica Ministério da Ciência e Tecnologia-MCT SPO-Área 05 Quadra 03 Bloco A Sala 133 70.610–200 Brasília-DF- Brazil MEMBERS Prof. Thomas Cottier Director Institute of European and International Economic Law Hallerstrasse 6/9 CH-3012 Berne, Switzerland Dr Mahmud Duwayri* Director AGP, FAO Viale delle Terme di Caracalla Rome, Italy Dr Malcolm Hazelman* Senior Extension, Education and Communications Officer FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) Maliwan Mansion 39 Phra Atit Road Bangkok, Thailand Dr Geoffrey Hawtin Director General, IPGRI Via dei Tre Denari 472/a 00057 Maccarese Rome, Italy Dr Marianne Lefort Head of Plant Breeding Dept INRA - DGAP RD 10 (Route de Saint Cyr) 78026 Versailles Cedex France Prof. Luigi Monti Istituto di Agronomia Generale e Coltivazione Erbacee Cattedra di Genetica Agraria Università di Napoli Via dell’Università 100 80055 Portici, Naples, Italy Regional Offices Plant Genetic Resources Programme Sub-Regional and Project Offices INIBAP Offices Turrialba, Costa Rica Cali, Colombia Hervelee, Belgium Aleppo, Syria Douala, Cameroon Cotonou, Benin Kampala, Uganda Nairobi, Kenya Serdang, Malaysia Los Baños, Philippines Beijing, China New Delhi, India Tashkent, Uzbekistan IPGRI HQ, Rome, ItalyINIBAP HQ, Montpellier, France Rome, Italy Rabat, Morocco Tozeur, Tunisia Merida, Mexico Kathmandu, Nepal Pucallpa, Peru IPGRI officelocations International Plant Genetic Resources Institute The International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) is an international scientific organization, supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). IPGRI’s mandate is to advance the conservation and use of plant genetic resources for the benefit of present and future generations. IPGRI’s headquarters are in Maccarese near Rome, Italy, with offices in another 22 countries worldwide. It operates through three programmes: ● the Plant Genetic Resources Programme ● the CGIAR Genetic Resources Support Programme ● the International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain (INIBAP) Citation: IPGRI. 2002. Annual Report 2001. International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome ISBN 92-9043-530-5 IPGRI, Via dei Tre Denari 472/a, 00057 Maccarese, Rome, Italy © International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, 2002 Annual Report 2001