Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-1 European Cooperative Programme for Crop Genetic Resources Networks (ECP/GR) “““ ECP/GR Report of the Seventh Steering Committee Meeting Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................................1 2. REPORT OF PHASE V OF ECP/GR ....................................................................................................3 3. CONTINUATION OF ECP/GR: PHASE VI.......................................................................................3 4. OBJECTIVES AND MODE OF OPERATION...................................................................................5 4.1 INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................................5 4.2 OBJECTIVES............................................................................................................................... ............5 4.3 MODE OF OPERATION .........................................................................................................................6 4.31 Role of the Steering Committee......................................................................................................6 4.32 Coordinating Secretariat................................................................................................................8 4.4 THE ROLE AND FUNCTIONING OF NETWORKS....................................................................................8 4.41 Structure and functioning of the crop Networks ...........................................................................9 4.42 New Working Groups........................................................................................................ ............9 4.43 Participation in Working Groups ........................................................................................... .......9 4.44 Structure and activities of thematic Networks ............................................................................. .9 4.45 New activities within thematic Networks....................................................................................10 4.46 Working Groups priorities...........................................................................................................10 5. COMPLEMENTARY PROGRAMME MODULES .........................................................................10 6. SHARING OF RESPONSIBILITIES..................................................................................................11 7. MATERIAL TRANSFER AGREEMENTS (MTAS) ........................................................................11 8. OTHER BUSINESS...............................................................................................................................12 8.1 PARTICIPATION OF A REPRESENTATIVE OF NGOS ON THE STEERING COMMITTEE ........................12 8.2 STATEMENT RECEIVED FROM EURO-MAB......................................................................................12 8.3 NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS PER COUNTRY IN THE STEERING COMMITTEE......................................12 8.4 DATE AND VENUE OF NEXT STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING .........................................................13 9. CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................13 ANNEX I: LIST OF PARTICIPANTS ANNEX II: RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE EUROPEAN SYMPOSIUM ON PGRFA 1. INSTITUTIONS AND CAPACITY BUILDING: NATIONAL PROGRAMMES Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-2 2. CAPACITY-BUILDING AND TRAINING 3. IN SITU CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT: A) WILD RELATIVES OF CULTIVATED CROPS 4. IN SITU CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT B) ON FARM MANAGEMENT AND IMPROVEMENT OF PGRFA 5. SUSTAINING EX SITU COLLECTIONS. THE RATIONALIZATION OF REGENERATING METHODS, HOW FAR CAN WE GO. 6. UTILIZATION OF PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES 7. SEED PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION 8. COLLECTING 9. UNDERUTILIZED CROPS 10. COLLABORATION WITH OTHER REGIONS 11. INFORMATION SYSTEMS ANNEX III: AGENDA ITEMS DISCUSSED BY THE STEERING COMMITTEE AND LIST OF BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS ANNEX IV: REPORT OF PHASE V OF ECP/GR ANNEX V: REVISED PROPOSAL FOR PHASE VI OF ECP/GR ANNEX VI: STATEMENT BY EURO-MAB ANNEX VII: REPLIES BY NATIONAL COORDINATORS TO A QUESTIONNAIRE ON ECP/GR ANNEX VIII: CROP WORKING GROUP PROCESS ANALYSIS Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-3 1. Introduction The seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of the European Cooperative Programme on Crop Genetic Resources Networks (ECP/GR) was held on 29 June 1998 and from 4-5 July 1998 in Braunschweig, Germany. The meeting was attended by representatives of all the 32 member countries of ECP/GR, as well as by observers from seven non-member countries, ASSINSEL, FAO, IPGRI, NGB and an NGO representative. The list of participants is included in Annex I. The meeting was held in conjunction with the European Symposium on plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA), which provided a number of recommendations for consideration by the Steering Committee (Annex II). The meeting was chaired by Dr. W. Himmighofen of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Germany and co-chaired by Dr. M. Pencic of the Maize Research Institute, F.R. Yugoslavia. The agenda was adopted after a number of changes. The items discussed are listed in Annex III. 2. Report of Phase V of ECP/GR A preliminary End of Phase V report was presented by the ECP/GR Coordinator. An overall account of the implementation of the new structure of the Programme, as approved in Nitra (1995), was given. The main achievements reached by the Working Groups and ad hoc groups were schematically summarized. Comments were made on the operation of the Programme, on the basis of the IPGRI Secretariat experience. Emphasis was placed on the need for increased secretarial staff support, in order to maintain a reasonable level of efficiency in the coordination of the Networks. It was also suggested that a better definition of the role of Working Group members and Chairs could improve their effectiveness in the Group as well as their role as representatives within their respective countries. The evaluation of the organization of Working Group meetings showed the generally very positive appraisal made by Working Group members during the last five years. Replies by National Coordinators to a questionnaire on the effectiveness of ECP/GR in achieving its objectives also showed a good level of satisfaction (see Annex VII). During the presentation of the preliminary financial report it was noted that most countries who joined ECP/GR during Phase V had regularly sent their contributions. However, a number of countries from the former Soviet Union were unable to join Phase V. This was the cause of a mismatch between the initially foreseen budget (TCC, Bulgaria, 1993) and the revised budget for Phase V. An expected negative balance of US$ 45,900 at the end of Phase V was presented as a realistic result, provided all the countries who joined ECP/GR sent their outstanding contributions. As a solution to reducing the expected negative balance of Phase V, it was proposed not to completely spend the funds of Phase IV, of which approximately US$ 40,000 still remain uncommitted in June 1998. The Steering Committee expressed its appreciation for the transparent report of Phase V. Reduced spending, as far as possible, of remaining Phase IV funds, was approved as the most reasonable way to minimize the negative balance. A recommendation was made that all outstanding contributions are sent as soon as possible. A few amendments to different parts of the preliminary report were provided to the Secretariat. These were incorporated and the revised report was distributed to all the National Coordinators before the end of the meeting. The revised report was approved by the Steering Committee and is included as Annex IV in this report. 3. Continuation of ECP/GR: Phase VI On 29 June 1998, the ECP/GR Coordinator presented three options for Phase VI of ECP/GR. A first round of discussions revealed that some countries would have difficulties in significantly raising their annual contributions to ECP/GR. It was agreed that the opportunity should be taken to review Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-4 objectives and mode of operation of the Programme to further raise its effectiveness in addressing the broad range of topics covered by the Global Plan of Action (GPA; Leipzig 1996) despite a possible stagnation of the budget. During the Symposium, two task groups met on several occasions to draft a list of revised objectives and mode of operation for Phase VI. These two task groups submitted a joint text to Plenary on 4 July 1998. After a lengthy discussion of the submitted text, the Secretariat was asked to incorporate agreed changes and to provide a revised text. During the afternoon, further task groups developed recommendations on: 1) the structure of the Networks and their terms of reference; 2) general indicators or objectives for the crop Networks. On the basis of the recommendations made by the above mentioned task groups and the Plenary, the coordinating Secretariat redrafted the proposal for Phase VI, as contained in Annex V, and re- submitted it to the Plenary. The Steering Committee agreed that the proposal would be used to rapidly seek the necessary government approval for this proposal and funding for the implementation of Phase VI. A reservation was made by the Belgian delegate, who explained that in Belgium the budget for ECP/GR in 1999 had been already approved at the same level as 1998 and therefore no increase would be possible until the following year. The possibility to convert the budget to Euros at the 1 January 1999 exchange rate to the dollar was left to the discretion of the Secretariat. The Steering Committee expressed its appreciation to IPGRI in its role of Coordinating Secretariat for the implementation of the Programme during Phase V. The mandate for IPGRI to act as Coordinating Secretariat for the Programme was unanimously extended to Phase VI. Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-5 4. Objectives and mode of operation 4.1 Introduction The formulation of the objectives for Phase VI of ECP/GR is based on the following underlying context and principles, recognized by the Steering Committee: • the role played by ECP/GR for the last 18 years in developing a pan-European collaboration on PGR; • the experience gained in coordinating collaborative efforts in a cost effective way; • the significant results obtained by the Programme; • the willingness for increased international collaboration present at national level; • international cooperation as essential to the success of the Global Plan of Action (GPA) which is an integral part of the FAO Global System for plant genetic resources; • the need for implementation of the GPA in harmony with the objectives formulated in Chapter 14G of Agenda 21 and in compliance with the provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity and other relevant international agreements; • the role of ECP/GR as the platform to facilitate the implementation of the Global Plan of Action in the European region as part of the FAO Global System on Plant Genetic Resources; • the specific characteristics of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA) which are fundamental for food security; • the great interdependence of countries with regard to PGRFA. 4.2 Objectives The original objectives of ECP/GR include the creation of a system to promote direct contact between National Programmes and institutions involved in crop genetic resources activities. ECP/GR is to promote the unhindered exchange of crop genetic resources and related data. Consequently, up-to-date information on genetic resources is to be made easily available to users. ECP/GR is also a framework in which joint activities such as documentation, collecting expeditions, characterisation and evaluation of germplasm are implemented. These activities reflect the role of ECP/GR as the platform to facilitate the implementation of the Global Plan of Action for the conservation and sustainable utilisation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, at the European level. As such, they are an important input for the development of sustainable agriculture. The following objectives characterize Phase VI of ECP/GR: • to facilitate the long-term in situ and ex situ conservation of plant genetic resources in Europe; • to facilitate the increased utilization of plant genetic resources in Europe; • to strengthen links between all plant genetic resources Programmes in Europe and promote the integration of countries which are not members of ECP/GR; • to encourage cooperation between all stakeholders, including NGOs and private breeders; • to increase the planning of joint activities including the development of joint project proposals to be submitted to funding agencies; • to encourage the sharing of conservation responsibilities for PGRFA in Europe; • to increase awareness, at all levels, of the importance of PGRFA activities including conservation and sustainable use; • to seek collaboration with other relevant regional and global initiatives. Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-6 4.3 Mode of Operation The networking structure of the Programme, adopted in Nitra (1995) is reaffirmed by the Steering Committee1 (Figure 1). This structure is overseen by a Steering Committee consisting of National Coordinators nominated by participating countries. The EC and all European countries contributing to the core budget are invited to nominate a representative as full member of this Committee. ASSINSEL, FAO, IPGRI, Euro-MAB, NGB and an NGO representative are invited as observers (Figure 2). The Programme operates through Networks in which activities are carried out either in the framework of Working Groups or as ad hoc actions. The Steering Committee has the overall responsibility for the Programme. 4.31 Role of the Steering Committee The Steering Committee makes decisions regarding the general scope of the Networks and the establishment or continuation of Working Groups and approves the Programme’s budget. The Steering Committee periodically reviews the overall Programme and progress made by the Networks. On the basis of such reviews, the Steering Committee defines the priority activities to be funded through its core budget and the complementary activities for which additional funding has to be sought outside the core budget. The Steering Committee mandates the Coordinating Secretariat to carry out its decisions. 1 IPGRI/FAO. 1996. International Technical Conference on Plant Genetic Resources: Preparatory process for Europe. International Plant Genetic Resources Institute/Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome, Italy. Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-7 Figure 1. Operational structure of ECP/GR, Phase VI. STEERING COMMITTEE Coordinating Secretariat Cereals Network Forages Network Vegetables Network Grain Legumes Network Fruit Network Minor crops Network Industrial crops and Potato Network p Avena WG Barley WG Forages WG Allium WG Brassica WG Grain Legumes WG Malus/ Pyrus WG Beta WG Wheat WG Umbellifer WG Prunus WG Potato WG Documentation and Information Network In situ and on-farm conservation Network Technical Cooperation Network Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-8 Figure 2. Interaction of National Programmes with the Networks and the Steering Committee 4.32 Coordinating Secretariat The Coordinating Secretariat is currently provided by IPGRI as requested by the Steering Committee. The responsibilities of the Coordinating Secretariat are: • to ensure implementation of the Programme in accordance with the mandate given by the Steering Committee; • to coordinate the activities carried out in the framework of the Programme; • to be responsible for the financial management of the Programme; • to provide technical and financial reports to the Steering Committee for approval; • to provide support to the Working Groups and ensure that the agreed workplans are carried out; • to provide support to Network Coordinating Groups and, where necessary, to assist in preparing evaluation of Network activities and the formulation of workplans and priorities; • to initiate ad hoc activities in accordance with guidance provided by the Steering Committee; • to gather and distribute information; • to assist in the formulation of project proposals for joint activities; • to search for donors to support particular elements of workplans and ad hoc activities; • to provide a link with other regions; • to contribute to raising public awareness. 4.4 The role and functioning of Networks Discussions on the role and functioning of the Network took place in view of the fact that a significant level of implementation of the Programme’s objectives has been achieved for a number of crops. The Steering Committee has received an increasing number of proposals for the establishment of new Working Groups and recognizes the necessity to address more effectively the broad range of areas covered by the Global Plan of Action on PGRFA. In view of the unlikely prospect of a significant increase of member countries’ contributions to the Programme, the Steering Committee agreed on the following changes in the mode of operation of the Network. Network ... National Programme 33 National Programme 2 National Programme 1 National Programme 3 National Programme ... National Programme ... Network ... EC Secretariat Observers: ASSINSEL, FAO, IPGRI, EuroMAB, NGB, NGOs St ee rin g Co m m itt ee Network 1 Network 2 Network 10 Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-9 4.41 Structure and functioning of the crop Networks To achieve greater coordination within the Crop Networks during Phase VI, Network Coordinating Groups will be activated to establish priorities for action for the extended range of crops covered by the Network. These self-organizing coordinating groups, will be composed of Working Group Chairs and Vice-Chairs or Database managers. The Network Coordinating Groups will work closely with the Secretariat, to which they will submit proposals for activities and review progress, achievements and future workplans. In the case of crops for which no Working Group yet exists, or in the case of Networks in which no activities have been carried out in the past, the Network Coordinating Groups can initiate ad hoc actions and may propose the establishment of a Working Group to the Steering Committee. The Network Coordinating Group will strive for a balanced regional participation in the Networks' activities. The Working Group Members ensure effective links between ECP/GR and the respective stakeholders at the national level. The main implementation of the Networks’ activities continues to be through Working Groups. These Working Groups will no longer necessarily meet several times during a given phase. However, the respective Chairs and Vice-Chairs will ensure that both attending and corresponding members are involved in the planning and implementation of the crop specific workplans. The main vehicle for facilitating action for any given crop are focused meetings of a restricted number of Working Group members and resource persons as necessary. 4.42 New Working Groups The Steering Committee received proposals for the establishment of Working Groups on wheat, umbellifers, Beta, potato and Pleurotus. On the basis of the scope of the Global Plan of Action and the importance of these crops in the European context, the proposals on wheat, umbellifers, Beta and potato were approved. 4.43 Participation in Working Groups In the case of a meeting involving the whole Working Group, the participation through either attending or corresponding members will be determined by priorities established at the national level2. As a consequence of the increased number of Working Groups and the re-scaling of the funding categories (Table 4, Annex V), the quota for attending members are now as follows: A 4 B 5 C 6 D 7 E 8 In the case of the Nordic countries it has been agreed that the Nordic Gene Bank will nominate two attending members to each Working Group to represent all the Nordic countries. It is agreed that the Secretariat can welcome to the meeting self-funded corresponding members as long as the overall size of the Group remains conducive to working effectively. 4.44 Structure and activities of thematic Networks Thematic Networks are intended to support the crop Networks by addressing issues common to several or all of the crop Networks. Within the thematic Networks, activities will be carried out 2 Gass, T., G. Kleijer, M. Waldman and E. Frison, editors. 1995. Report of the Technical Consultative Committee. Sixth meeting, 21-23 September 1995, Nitra, Slovakia. European Cooperative Programme for Crop Genetic Resources Networks (ECP/GR), International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome, Italy. Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-10 primarily through ad hoc actions. Initially it is not foreseen to establish Working Groups within the thematic Networks. 4.45 New activities within thematic Networks During the European Symposium on PGRFA it was recommended to ECP/GR to initiate activities within the existing Networks on 'In situ and on farm conservation' and on "Technical cooperation". The Steering Committee requests the Secretariat to establish ad hoc coordinating groups with precise objectives, workplans and possible achievements in these areas during Phase VI, and submit proposals to the Secretariat. Furthermore, a proposal was received from the Documentation and Information Network for a number of activities. The Steering Committee approves the proposal in principle, but the number of events which will be held is subject to budget availability. An offer made by ZADI, Germany, as an input in kind to ECP/GR, to take care of the management of the European Information Platform was gratefully taken into consideration by the Committee. A discussion followed on the appropriateness of having the Platform located at one institute rather than at the Secretariat. Overall the Committee did not express clear support for this offer3. 4.46 Working Groups priorities The Steering Committee expressed the intention of elaborating a system to analyze and compare the progress made by the different Working Groups and to clarify the goals to be achieved. As a result of a brainstorming session, a task force started to elaborate a matrix for guidance to Working Groups in setting their priorities. The intention would be to distinguish minimum and additional tasks that Working Groups should plan to undertake in different areas of activity (conservation, documentation, collecting, characterization and evaluation, etc.). A preliminary matrix was circulated within the Steering Committee. A revised version is included in this report as Annex VIII. This text remains provisional and needs to be further discussed by the Steering Committee. 5. Complementary Programme Modules The Steering Committee noted with great interest the proposal of the Secretariat to have complementary activities as separate programme modules funded from various sources. It requested the Secretariat to further elaborate this element on the basis of the draft proposal for Phase VI of ECP/GR and of the Symposium recommendations. It was suggested that the following schedules, that were already active during Phase V of ECP/GR (refer to proposal for Phase VI, Annex V), be initiated immediately: • Emergency actions; • Cooperation with EU-funded projects; • Training activities. As a result of the recommendations of the Symposium, the following themes could be taken in consideration for funding within additional complementary modules: • Surveying and inventorying PGRFA; • Compiling crop specific regeneration guidelines; 3 The issue was subsequently rediscussed by correspondence with the Secretariat. Expressions in favour of the offer came from Italy, while the offer was considered unacceptable by the representatives of Denmark, France, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden and Switzerland. Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-11 • Supporting planned and targeted collecting; • Expanding the characterization, evaluation and number of core collections to facilitate use; • Studying genetic diversity to analyze comparative genetic diversity in wild relatives and their respective crop genepools; • Undertaking genetic enhancement of pre-breeding genepool via base-broadening; • Inventorying and monitoring legal framework of seed production and distribution in Europe. 6. Sharing of responsibilities T. Gass introduced the subject of sharing of responsibilities by briefly outlining the presentation made on this subject during the Symposium4. In order to make progress in the widely recognised need for the sharing of responsibilities in the European region, the Steering Committee: • encourages the Working Groups which have developed proposals for the sharing of responsibilities to elaborate on these and seek to implement them; • encourages all Working Groups to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the various options for sharing responsibilities for their respective crop, including the technical conditions to be fulfilled; • requests the Secretariat, in consultation with a small task force of experts from the member countries, to prepare a questionnaire to be sent to the institutes through the National Coordinators. This should result in an overview of the present situation and possibilities envisaged at national/institutional level. • requests this task force to analyse the results of the questionnaire and to prepare an outline for the next meeting of the Steering Committee to guide curators, institutes and ECP/GR Networks, in making appropriate and effective choices in order to share responsibilities for the conservation and utilisation of PGRFA within the European region. P. Mulvany commented that NGOs might wish to participate in the sharing of conservation responsibilities provided that the system developed would not reduce local access to the collections and that the loss of unique material through excessive rationalization be avoided. 7. Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs) Following the recommendation during the Symposium on PGRFA for the Steering Committee to consider the promotion of MTAs among genebanks in Europe, this issue was discussed on 4 July 1998. After carrying out an inventory of institutions within ECP/GR member countries to determine which had introduced MTAs, it appeared that some, but not all, of the British institutes holding PGRFA collections had done so, and that CGN, The Netherlands had announced its intention to introduce MTAs within a few months. The text of CGN's MTA was distributed and discussed. L. Visser of CGN explained that the three main objectives of the introduction of the MTA was to clarify the status of CGN’s collections; to prevent appropriation of CGN’s germplasm by third parties, and to guarantee feedback on evaluation data. Some minor discussion points with breeding companies, i.e. on the interpretation of “essentially derived” and on the embargo period of evaluation data remained to be solved. CGN’s motivation for the introduction of the MTA was the upcoming privatization of 4 Gass, T. and F. Begemann 1998. International efforts to sustain ex situ collections: conceptional aspects. In: Proceedings of a European Symposium on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Braunschweig, 30 June - 4 July 1998. International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome, Italy (in press) Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-12 CPRO-DLO, in which CGN is integrated, and its sensitization on the issue by the NGOs with which it collaborates in the Community Biodiversity Conservation and Development Programme. Dick van Sloten of IPGRI stressed that CGIAR institutes had already been using MTAs for several years, and also mentioned that it would be very expensive to bring infringement of MTAs before a court, but that the most successful way to react to infringement would probably be to seek publicity. Patrick Heffer of ASSINSEL mentioned that alleged infringements earlier this year concerned public institutions and not private companies. After some discussion in the Working Group and then in Plenary, it was decided to request that the ECP/GR Secretariat, in collaboration with experts, distribute among institutions of the ECP/GR member countries a consolidated text regarding MTAs for further discussion and suggestions for its further improvement. Such an approach should result in a text which could be used by the institutions involved as a model to compose their own MTA. In general, the need for an agreed MTA model, for use by genebanks, was agreed and its wide and immediate circulation was endorsed by the Steering Committee. 8. Other business 8.1 Participation of a representative of NGOs on the Steering Committee Following the recommendation made by the Working Group on "On-farm Management and improvement of PGR" of the European Symposium on PGRFA and emphasized by the NGOs, the Steering Committee agreed to invite a representative of the NGOs to all its meetings. It was specified that this invitation was valid for only one representative per meeting. Patrick Mulvany (ITDG), representing the emerging European NGO agricultural biodiversity network, welcomed the invitation. He clarified that NGOs were undergoing a process over the next year to further develop linkages between various European NGOs working on agricultural biodiversity issues, one result of which would be agreement on a nominated person who would fulfil this role in future. With regard to this Steering Committee meeting, he said he would provide feedback to European NGOs after having checked the status and confidentiality of the information with the Secretariat. 8.2 Statement received from EURO-MAB A statement was received from Natalia Rybianets, on behalf of EURO-MAB, and was read to the Steering Committee. This communication recommends that the Steering Committee takes into account the implementation of the GPA in the field of in situ conservation and on farm management and conservation of PGRFA. Closer contacts between the European Cooperative Programme for Crop Genetic Resources (ECP/GR) and the MAB-structures are encouraged. The full document is included in Annex VI. 8.3 Number of participants per country in the Steering Committee This issue was raised by the Secretariat, who finds it increasingly difficult to agree on the participation of multiple delegations at Steering Committee meetings. It was agreed that, in some cases, individual Steering Committee Members do not have experience in the full breadth of issues discussed and that therefore the attendance of a second participant from the same country would be useful. It was agreed that, while first making full use of the complementarity of technical and policy capacities among country representatives, a second participant from the same country could participate in exceptional cases. Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-13 8.4 Date and venue of next Steering Committee meeting An offer from the Israeli participant to host the Mid-term Steering Committee meeting in Israel was welcomed. In order to maintain the offer within affordable cost, Miriam Waldman informed the Committee that she would seek additional funding from private companies and from the Israeli Academy of Sciences. The Secretariat will remain in contact with Dr Waldman to clarify the cost implications for the organization of this meeting. The Mid-term meeting of the Steering Committee is tentatively planned for Spring 2001. 9. Conclusion Both the present report and the Proposal for Phase VI of ECP/GR were approved by the Steering Committee. The Committee expressed its thanks to the hosting institute (BAZ), and to all staff involved in the patient and accurate assistance offered to ECP/GR in the organization of the Steering Committee meeting. Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-14 Annex I: List of participants Representatives from member- countries Address Country Contact numbers/ email addresses Rudolf Schachl Federal Office of Agro-Biology Wieningerstr. 8 4020 Linz Austria Tel: (43-732) 381261259 Fax: (43-732) 385482 Email: schachl@agrobio.bmlf.gv.at Charles Populer Directeur honoraire c/o Département de Lutte biologique et Ressources phytogénétiques Centre de Recherches Agronomiques de l'Etat Chemin de Liroux 4 5030 Gembloux Belgium Tel: (32-81) 612099 Fax: (32-81) 613511 Email: Please send your Email "attention of C. Populer" through the Email of Marc Lateur: lateur@cragx.fgov.be Rada Koeva Director, Phytoecologist Institute of Introduction and Plant Genetic Resources "K. Malkov" 4122 Sadovo, Plovdiv district Bulgaria Tel: (359-32) 2221/826612(home) Fax: (359-32) 629026 Email: rada@ipgrvsipou.acad.bg Zlatko Satovic Faculty of Agriculture University of Zagreb Svetosimunska 25 10000 Zagreb Croatia Tel: (385-1) 2393935 Fax: (385-1) 2393930 Email: zsatovic@agr.hr Satovic@hotmail.com Athena Della Head, CYPARI Genebank Agricultural Research Institute Ministry of Agriculture Natural Resources & Environment PO Box 2016 1516 Nicosia Cyprus Tel: (357-2) 305101 Fax: (357-2) 316770 Email: ari@athena.cc.ucy.ac.cy Ladislav Dotlacil Head, Div. Genetic & Plant Breed. Genebank Dpt RICP Research Inst. for Crop Production Drnovska 507 161 06 Praha 6 - Ruzyne Czech Republic Tel: (420-2) 33022374 Fax: (420-2) 33022286 Email: dotlacil@genbank.vurv.cz Kaj Henriksen Head, Department of Plant Research Services Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences Kirstinebjergvej 10 5792 Aarslev Denmark Tel: (45-65) 991766 Fax: (45-65) 992905 Email: k.henriksen@agrsci.dk Vahur Kukk Plant Breeding Institute 2350 Joegeva Estonia Tel: (372-77) 22565 Fax: (372-77) 60126 Email: vahur@sort.sai.ee Mirja Suurnakki Ministry of Agriculture & Forestry PO Box 232 00171 Helsinki Finland Tel: (358-9) 1602420/1601 (switch) Fax: (358-9) 1602443 Email: mirja.suurnakki@mmm.fi Leena Hommo Ministry of Agriculture & Forestry P.B. 232 00171 Helsinki Finland Tel: (358-9) 16088664 Fax: (358-9) 16088663 Email: leena.hommo@mmm.fi Marianne Lefort Bureau des Ressources Génétiques (BRG) 16 rue Claude Bernard 75231 Paris cedex 05 France Tel: (33-1) 44087261 Fax: (33-1) 44087263 Email: brg@inapg.inra.fr Wilbert Himmighofen Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Forestry Postfach 140270 - Rochusstrasse 1 53107 Bonn Germany Tel: (49-228) 5293550 Fax: (49-228) 5294276 Email: BN3967@BML.bund400.de Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-15 Representatives from member- countries Address Country Contact numbers/ email addresses Frank Begemann ZADI/IGR - Information Center for Genetic Resources Villichgasse 17 53177 Bonn Germany Tel: (49-228) 9548202 Fax: (49-228) 9548149/220 Email: begemann@zadi.de Nikolaos Stavropoulos Greek Gene Bank - Agricultural Research Centre of Macedonia & Thraki PO Box 312 57001 Thermi-Thessaloniki Greece Tel: (30-31) 471544 Fax: (30-31) 471209 Laszlo Holly Director Institute for Agrobotany Kulso mezo 15 2766 Tapioszele Hungary Tel: (36-53) 380016/70/71 Fax: (36-53)380072 Email: lholly@agrobot.rcat.hu Istvan Mar Institute for Agrobotany 2766 Tapioszele Hungary Tel: (36-53) 380070 Fax: (36-53) 380072 Bertalan Szekely Ministry of Agriculture Kossuth L. tér 11 1055 Budapest Hungary Tel: (36-1) 3014520 Fax: (36-1) 3014668 Holmgeir Bjornsson Agricultural Research Institute Keldnaholti 112 Reykjavik Iceland Tel: (354) 5771010 Fax: (354) 5771020 Donal Coleman Department of Agriculture, & Food National Crop Variety Testing Centre Backweston, Leixlip Co. Kildare Ireland Tel: (353-1) 6280608/9 Fax: (353-1) 6280634 Email: backwest@indigo.ie Miriam Waldman Ecology and Biology Research Div. Ministry of Science PO Box 18195 91181 Jerusalem Israel Tel: (972-2)5819 098 Fax: (972-2)5815 595 Email: miriam@most.gov.il Fabrizio Grassi Istituto Sperimentale per la Frutticoltura Via Fioranello 52 00040 Ciampino Aeroporto Rome Italy Tel: (39-06) 793481 Fax: (39-06) 79340158 Email: isfrmfid@mclink.it Marcello Broggio Istituto Agronomico per l'Oltremare Via Cocchi 4 50131 Firenze Italy Tel: (39-055) 5061415 Fax: (39-055) 5061333 Email: broggio@iao.florence.it Alma Budvytyte National PGR Coordinator Lithuanian Inst. of Agriculture Dotnuva-Akademija 5051 Kedainiai Lithuania Tel: (370-57) 37289/52657 Fax: (370-57) 56996/3733 Email: almabud@lzi.lt Francis Montanaro Mifsud Ambassador Permanent Representation of Malta to FAO Lungotevere Marzio 12 00186 Rome Italy Malta Tel: (39-06) 6879947/7629 Fax: (39-06) 6892687 P.A.Th.J. Werry Manager International Affairs Agricultural Research Department Ministry of Agriculture Nature Management & Fisheries PO Box 59 6700 AB Wageningen The Netherlands Tel: (31-317) 474023 Fax: (31-317) 474060 Email: p.a.th.j.werry@co.dlo.nl Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-16 Representatives from member- countries Address Country Contact numbers/ email addresses L. Visser Director Centre for Genetic Resources, The (CPRO-DLO) PO Box 16 6700 AA Wageningen The Netherlands Tel: (31-317) 477184 Fax: (31-317) 418094 Email: L.Visser@cpro.dlo.nl Petter Marum Norwegian Crop Research Institute Loeken Research Station 2940 Heggenes Norway Tel: (47) 61340205 Fax: (47) 61340665 Email: petter.marum@planteforsk.no Wieslaw Podyma Head Centre for Plant Genetic Resources (IHAR) 05-870 Blonie, Radzikow near Warsaw Poland Tel: (48-22) 7252611 Fax: (48-22) 7254715/14 Email: w.podyma@ihar.edu.pl Luis Gusmao Geneticist/NC for PGR Genebank, Genetics Department Esta ™o Agronomica Nacional Quinta do Marqu«s 2780 Oeiras Portugal Tel: (351-1) 4416855/4431505/4430442 Fax: (351-1) 4416011/4420867 Silvia Strajeru Suceava Genebank Bulevardul 1 Decembrie 1918 nr.17 5800 Suceava Romania Tel: (40-30) 227087 Fax: (40-30) 227087 Email: genebank@assist.cccis.ro Frantisek Debre Head of Genebank Research Inst. of Plant Production Bratislavská cesta 122 921 68 Pies'tany Slovakia Tel: (421-838) 722311/312/326 Fax: (421-838) 726306 Email: debre@vurv.sk Mihaela Cerne Agricultural Institute of Slovenia Hacquetova 17 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia Tel: (386-61) 1375375 Fax: (386-61) 1375413 Email: vladimir.meglic@kis-h2.si Luis Ayerbe Centro de Recursos Fitogenéticos INIA Autovía de Aragón, Km. 36 Apdo. 1045 28800 Alcalá de Henares (Madrid) Spain Tel: (34-91) 8819286/ 8819261 Fax: (34-91) 8819287 Email: ayerbe@inia.es Roland von Bothmer Director Dept. Plant Breeding Research Swedish Univ. of Agric. Sciences Herman Ehles v 2-4 268 31 Svalov Sweden Tel: (46-418) 67200 Fax: (46-418) 67081 Email: roland.von.bothmer@vf.slu.se Gert Kleijer Station Fédérale de Recherches en Production Végétale de Changins Route de Duillier - BP 254 1260 Nyon Switzerland Tel: (41-22) 3634444/4722 (dir) Fax: (41-22) 3615469 Email: geert.kleijer@rac.admin.ch A. Ertug Firat Director Aegean Agricultural Research Inst. (AARI) PO Box 9, Menemen 35661 Izmir Turkey Tel: (90-232) 8461331 Fax: (90-232) 8461107 Email: aari@service.raksnet.com.tr A. Semsettin Tan Aegean Agricultural Research Inst. (AARI) PO Box 9, Menemen 35661 Izmir Turkey Tel: (90-232) 8461331 Fax: (90-232) 8461107 Email: aari@service.raksnet.com.tr Mike Ambrose Department of Applied Genetics John Innes Institute Norwich Research Park Colney Lane Norwich NR4 7UH UK Tel: (44-1603) 452571 Fax: (44-1603) 456844 Email: mike.ambrose@bbsrc.ac.uk Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-17 Representatives from member- countries Address Country Contact numbers/ email addresses Jan Kisgeci Federal Institute for Plant and Animal Genetic Resources Bul. Avnoja 104 11070 Belgrade F.R Yugoslavia Tel: (38-11) 636479 Fax: (38-11) 624028 Milutin Pencic Maize Research Institute "Zemun Polje" Slobodana Bajica 1 11080 Belgrade-Zemun F.R. Yugoslavia Tel: (381-11) 2356704 Fax: (381-11) 2356707/54994 Email: luta@sezampro.yu Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-18 Observer organizations Address Organization Contact Nos/Email addresses Patrick Heffer ASSINSEL Chemin du Reposoir 1260 Nyon Switzerland ASSINSEL Tel: (33-1) 53702020 Fax: (33-1) 53702133 Email: fis@iprolink.ch Eva Thorn Director Nordic Gene Bank PO Box 41 230 53 Alnarp Sweden NGB Tel: (46-40) 461790 Fax: (46-40) 462188 Email: eva@ngb.se David Cooper Plant Genetic Resources Officer Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FAO/AGPD - Room B752 FAO HQs Via delle Terme di Caracalla 00100 Rome Italy FAO Tel: (39-06) 570 53789 Fax: (39-06) 570 56347 Email: David.Cooper@fao.org Patrick Mulvany Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG) Myson House Railway Terrace Rugby CV21 3HT United Kingdom ITDG Tel: (44-1788) 661100 (Ext. 169) Fax: (44-1788) 661101 Email: patrickm@itdg.org.uk Email (home): Patrick_Mulvany@Compuserve.com Observers from non- Member countries Address Country Contact Nos/Email addresses Merita Spahillari Banka Gjeneilke Tirana Albania Tel/Fax: (355-42) 62419 Email: prenci@docmaf.tirana.al Vadim L. Makhanko 1 Knorin St. Minsk 220049 Belarus Tel: (375-17) 2901577 Fax: (375-17) 21008899 Tamaz Shanshiashvili Institute of Botany Mitskevichi 25 38 00 94 Tbilisi Georgia Tel: (995-32) 386616 Fax: (995-32) 371723 Email: gpap.paata@caucasus.net Isaak Rashal Head, Plant Genetics Laboratory Institute of Biology University of Latvia 3 Miera Street 2169 Salaspils Latvia Tel: (371-2) 945435 Fax: (371-9) 345412 Email: izaks@genet.edu.lv Sonja Maznevska Dept. Genetics and Plant Breeding Fac. Agriculture University St Cyril and Metodius 91000 Skopje Macedonia, F.Y.R. Tel: (389-91) 115277 Fax: (389-91) 134310 Email: msonja@zsv.ukim.edu.mk Anatol Ganea Institute of Genetics Padurri str. 20 2002 Chisinau Moldova Tel: (373-2) 788275 Fax: (373-2) 556180 Email: ganea@insgen.moldova.su Sergey M. Alexanian Head of Department N.I. Vavilov Research Institute of Plant Industry (VIR) Bolshaya Morskaya Street 42-44 190000 St Petersburg Russian Federation Tel: (7-812) 3144848 Fax: (7-812) 3118762 Email: vir@glas.apc.org Viktor K. Ryabchoun National Centre for Plant Genetic Resources of Ukraine Yurjev Plant production Institute Moskovsky prospekt 142 310060 Kharkov Ukraine Tel: (380-0572) 920354 (centre); 924343(institute); 921033 Fax: (380-0572) 920354 Email: eadre@ncpgru.relcom.kharkov.ua Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-19 Secretariat Lorenzo Maggioni ECP/GR Coordinator Regional Office for Europe (IPGRI) Via delle Sette Chiese 142 00145 Rome, Italy IPGRI Tel: (39-06) 51892231 Fax: (39-06) 5750309 Email: l.maggioni@cgiar.org Thomas Gass Director Regional Office for Europe (IPGRI) Via delle Sette Chiese 142 00145 Rome, Italy IPGRI Tel: (39-06) 51892221 Fax: (39-06) 5750309 Email: t.gass@ cgiar.org Dick van Sloten Assistant Director General IPGRI Via delle Sette Chiese, 142 00145 Rome, Italy IPGRI Tel: (39-06) 518921 Fax: (39-06) 5750309 Email: d.vansloten@ cgiar.org Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-20 Annex II: Recommendations of the European Symposium on PGRFA During the European Symposium on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, a number of Working Groups met in separate sessions to discuss various items of the agenda, with the intention of drafting a set of specific recommendations for the implementation of the Global Plan of Action. Full reports of the conclusions reached by the different Working Groups can be found in the report of the Symposium. A summary of the recommendations drafted by each Working Group is given below: 1. Institutions and Capacity Building: National Programmes Chairs: M. Lefort and V. Ryabchoun A long discussion took place during the Plenary session, after three interesting presentations. It highlighted questions on: • financial sources and systems or mechanisms for the implementation of National Programmes; • appropriate legal frameworks for the conservation and use of PGR, and particularly the role of Plant Breeders’ Rights within these frameworks; • the role of the European Commission regarding conservation and sustainable use of PGR. Also, the review of the progress made in Europe for the implementation of the GPA5 highlights developments in the consolidation of all aspects of National Programmes, either scientific or technical, economic, legal and social. 2. Capacity-building and Training Chairs: L. Withers and N. Maxted It is recommended that: • A PGRFA training opportunities database be maintained and made widely accessible within the region, e.g. through the Internet. • Mechanisms be explored to (i) mobilize further training resources through raising awareness in universities and research institutions to the need for involvement of more scientists in PGRFA training and the introduction of PGRFA elements into training curricula at all levels; (ii) to network organisations and individual trainers offering PGRFA training within the region to encourage professional exchanges, collaboration and complementary approaches. • Both the opportunities and the constraints presented by language diversity be taken fully into account in planning and executing training activities to maximise the impact of PGRFA training offered by Europe both within the region and globally. • Efforts be made to enhance and diversify training provided in the region, and to base decisions on the extent, levels, topics and approaches taken in training on an ongoing assessment of needs, opportunities and constraints. 5 Gass, T. and F. Begemann 1998. International efforts to sustain ex situ collections: conceptional aspects. In: proceedings of a European Symposium on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Braunschweig, 30 June - 4 July 1998. International Plant genetic Resources Institute, Rome, Italy (in press). Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-21 • Mechanisms be explored to increase the total funding available for PGRFA training through diversifying approaches to national and international funding sources and coordination of efforts to aggregate modest contributions and inputs in-kind. • Milestones and indicators relevant to training and national PGRFA programme implementation be developed and that impact assessment of training and capacity-building be carried out periodically in order to optimise the targeting of training efforts and resources over time, and in response to changing needs and opportunities. 3. In Situ Conservation and Development: a) Wild Relatives of Cultivated Crops Chairs: V. Heywood and E. Firat 1. It is recommended that a list is made of existing examples of in situ conservation projects for conservation of PGRFA in Europe and neighbouring regions, and a database of project details established. 2. Action should be taken to build upon the Council of Europe catalogue of wild relatives of European cultivated plants (Heywood and Zohary 1995) by checking and supplementing the information therein on a national basis. New fields to be added should include: detailed in-country distribution, ecology, breeding system, crossing information, population dynamics and IUCN category of threat. 3. The ECP/GR In situ and on-farm conservation Network should compile and issue, from various existing sources6, a consolidated list of guidelines for the practical implementation of PGRFA conservation and these should be issued as a booklet. 4. Links should be established with other organizations (e.g. MAB, FAO, DIVERSITAS, IUCN, etc.) that have competence in this area to promote and facilitate mutual benefits. 5. The amount of genetic diversity that may duplicated between the wild relatives and their related crops should be investigated. 6. There is a need to research the relative costs of in situ and ex situ conservation of species’ populations. 7. The workshop recognized that in situ conservation of wild relatives and on-farm conservation are two distinct but related subjects. Therefore it recommended that two separate but allied working groups be 6 e.g. the following references: Council of Europe. 1979. Bern Convention. Council of Europe, Strasbourg. (available on Internet at http://www.microresearch.be/isha/JUR/bernconv.htm) Given, D.R. 1994. Principles and Practice of Plant Conservation. Timber Press, Oregon. Heywood, V.H. and D. Zohary (eds). 1995. A Catalogue of the Wild Relatives of Cultivated Plants Native to Europe. Flora Mediterranea 5:375-415. Heywood, V.H., G.B. Ingram and L. Olivier. 1993. Report on Workshop IV.6 Managing Protected areas to Conserve Genetic Resources. in IV World Congress on National Parks and Protected Areas, Caracas, Venezuela, February 1992. IUCN, Gland. Hoyt, E. 1992. Conserving wild relatives of crops (2nd edn.). IBPGR-IUCN-WWF. MAB. The Seville Strategy for Biosphere Reserves. MAB, UNESCO, Paris (available on Internet at http://www.unesco.org/mab/home/stry-1.htm) Maxted, N., B.V Ford-Lloyd and J.G Hawkes. 1997. Plant Genetic Conservation: the in situ approach. Chapman & Hall, London. Valdes, B., V.H. Heywood, F. Raimondo and D. Zohary (eds.). 1997. Conservation of the Wild Relatives of European Cultivated Plants. Bocconea 7. Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-22 formed, although certain species or situations may be of interest to both working groups, e.g. forage and weedy species. 8. To assist countries in determining priorities for in situ conservation, the workshop recommended that the following criteria be considered: • is the target species/ecotype/population threatened nationally, regionally or globally? • does the species occur in a recognized protected area? • is the species subject to environmental legislation at a national, regional or global level that requires conservation action? • if the species does not occur in a recognized protected area, does it occur in an area where ownership/control/access can be gained and monitoring undertaken? • is it a 'keystone', 'umbrella', 'flagship' or culturally important species? • is it a component of an ECP/GR or other crop network? • the ecogeographical range or specificity of the species; • population size, structure and whether isolated, marginal, introgressed; • the breeding system and phenological characteristics of the species; • once priority species have been determined, an effective strategy is to conserve those that occur in the same ecosystem or habitat, i.e. give priority to the conservation of sites that are rich in species of wild relatives. 9. The workshop recommends that an ad hoc meeting be held to assess work at a national level to review project experiences, identify further conservation, research and training initiatives, coordinate research and training priorities at a European level, and that the meeting should involve the participation of representatives of EUFORGEN and DIVERSITAS. The workshop further recommends that invitations to the ad hoc meeting are extended through Europe and neighbouring regions in view of the close biogeographical links between Europe and the Mediterranean region. 10. The workshop recognizes that due to severe threats to many wild relatives in certain European countries, emergency survey and inventorying is required and it therefore requests IPGRI to assist in strengthening national programmes in these areas. 4. In situ conservation and development b) On farm management and improvement of PGRFA Chairs: N. Arrowsmith and P. Marum The Working Group recommends that: 1. An ECP/GR thematic network on on-farm management for PGRFA be activated and relevant activities be included in the crop networks in the workplan for Phase VI in order to fully implement Activity 2 of the GPA in Europe; 2. To this end ECP/GR should establish a temporary Task Force existing up until the first meeting of the thematic Network, with good knowledge of on-farm management and representing both the formal and informal sectors; • the mandate of this Task Force would be to draft terms of reference for the first meeting of the on-farm management thematic Network; • The Task Force would provide the Network with the most important issues raised by on-farm management; Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-23 • The Task Force should use various ways to communicate its ideas and proposals with a larger audience so that strategies and new initiatives for an ECP/GR on-farm management programme can be established; 3. The work programme of the thematic Network include a number of issues that were identified by the participants of the Working Group, such as: • the problem of definitions; • the need for minimum descriptors lists for on-farm management; • inventory of on-farm management experiences; • improvement of communication and information exchange within and between different sets of actors; • case studies of experiences of formal and informal sector cooperation on the different elements of GPA Activity 2; • the need to document farmers’ knowledge and plant traits of interest in on-farm management for inclusion into the Central Crop Databases; • identifying training needs, involving the informal sector wherever possible. 4. ECP/GR identify mechanisms for improving relations between formal and informal sector institutions. One such mechanism could include inviting European NGO representation in the ECP/GR Steering Committee and the ECP/GR Networks; 5. National programmes should develop activities relating to on-farm management in collaboration with the informal sector. 5. Sustaining ex situ collections. The rationalization of regenerating methods, how far can we go. Chairs: M. Cerne and N. Stavropoulos Gaps in implementing the GPA: • the lack of sufficient funding for research in the direction of the rationalization of regenerating methods can delay and slow down this process; • the lack of storage facilities, regeneration facilities and human resources can be a real barrier in the implementation of the GPA. Areas in which additional participation or work is needed: • the coordination of research on inexpensive and effective methods to reduce the cost of regeneration should be promoted by different programmes at the regional, national and international level. Training should be provided once the methods have been identified; • involve private breeders and NGO’s and the formal sector to assist in regeneration schemes with better scientific competence, infrastrucure and funding. What should be done in the near future to implement the GPA in the area of rationalization of regeneration methods: • complete and adopt protocols and guidelines for the regeneration of PGRFA; • provide training in the use of protocols and guidelines; • prioritize PGRFA on a species level; Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-24 • regeneration is an essential prerequisite for the utilization of PGRFA and the benefit for the breeders and agricultural community. Therefore it needs to be declared as one of the priorities in future work. • due to a of lack of facilities, funds, human resources etc. at the national level, regional aspect needs to explored to facilitate regeneration. 6. Utilization of plant genetic resources Chairs: D. Cooper and M. Suurnakki Main recommendations to ECP/GR: ECP/GR should ensure that adequate attention is given to facilitating the use of the plant genetic resources in Europe, and in particular: • the crop Working Groups should examine the need, by crop and geographical area, for genetic enhancement, including base-broadening and, where such needs are identified, formulate modalities for undertaking and/or supporting the necessary activities; • the crop Working Groups should continue to develop core collections, and related approaches to optimise use, using the Central Crop Databases; • the Steering Committee should facilitate collaboration between the public, private and informal sectors, especially to address issues of (i) funding of these activities, including those of a long-term and public-good nature, and (ii) accessibility of genetic resources and material resulting from these activities. 7. Seed Production and Distribution Chair: R. Schachl and L. Hommo • the ECP/GR Secretariat should put forward information about various options in implementing Paragraph 203.e of the GPA, including the gathering of data about national case studies, and to study their effectiveness in achieving its objectives. • ECP/GR should develop criteria for identification of landraces and obsolete varieties to be marketed, and criteria for the identification of landraces and obsolete varieties which are threatened. • ECP/GR should identify barriers and lack of incentives to marketing landraces and obsolete varieties in accordance with Paragraph 209 of the GPA. • besides seed legislation measures, ECP/GR should also discuss supportive measures within the general agricultural concept. 8. Collecting Chairs: P. Perrino and N. Stavropoulos The Working Group proposes the following actions: Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-25 • Further collecting in unexplored areas and for which there are indications that there is high genetic erosion. The experts participating in the Working Group suggest collecting: a) wild genetic resources in the various centres of primary or secondary diversity existing in the European region and perhaps in other areas proposed by country experts. b) landraces and other domesticated germplasm in the same areas or perhaps in other areas proposed by country experts. • Within these areas priority actions for sites and species should be decided by National Programmes and facilitated or supported by ECP/GR following the recommendations of the GPA and those of the suggested ad hoc Working Group of experts and/or an ad hoc ECP/GR Workshop. In particular, crop specific priorities may be proposed by existing Working Groups or Networks operating under the ECP/GR Programme, while multicrop collections could be proposed by National programmes and prioritized by existing Networks or an ECP/GR ad hoc group of experts. 9. Underutilized Crops Chairs: A. Della and L. Gusmao • To seek, through a questionnaire, the view of European countries referring to national concern about, among others, the following main points: - what species are considered within this group; - which are in danger of genetic erosion; - which are considered of priority; - degree of expertise for the species included. • To carry out an inventory of the existing platforms dealing with the conservation and sustainable utilisation of genetic resources of these underutilised crops. • To establish links among ECP/GR and other related Networks, particularly with the "MEDUSA" Network. 10. Collaboration with other regions Chairs: F. Begemann and Eva Thorn Suggestions for additional activities: 1. Information exchange • joint use of newsletters; • merge of databases i.e. crop, thematic; • directory of NGO activities, including activities related to disaster situations; • link information globally; i.e. via EIARD- Infosys, clearing-hous emechanism; • information on training opportunities; • "seed" directories prepared by SADC/GTZ/CBDC and others could be made available. 2. Training • training in policy issues; Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-26 • training in scientific and technical issues. 3. Disaster situations • contact with relevant bodies within Europe. 4. Joint research 5. Seed distribution • networks needed to improve distribution of seed and information particularly in Africa. By reflecting these items, the ECP/GR mandate to "facilitate the implementation of the GPA.." should be kept in mind. 11. Information systems Chairs: I. Faberova and B. Visser • Each country should develop a well-functioning National information system on PGRFA, which should eventually become accessible through Internet. • Data provided to this system should conform to regionally agreed standards. Also, data need to be validated as well as regularly updated. • National information systems and decentrally managed databases should be accessible via the ECP/GR information platform. A relational structure of databases, linked to agreed standards, is recommended rather than the establishment of a single "mega-database". • User-friendliness should be given high priority to promote utilization of PGRFA and in the interest of raising public awareness. • Training of Database managers remains an important objective and services by the Internet Advisory Group should be continued. • Access to germplasm related information (passport, characterization, and -as far as possible - evaluation data) should remain free of charge. Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-27 Annex III: Agenda Items discussed by the Steering Committee and list of background documents Agenda items discussed • Opening statements by representatives of the host country and IPGRI • Election of Chair and co-Chair • Adoption of the Agenda • Preliminary End of Phase report • Proposal for Phase VI of ECP/GR • European symposium on PGRFA. Expectations and involvement of the Steering Committee • Review of the objectives, structure and modus operandi • Evaluation of Network activities and recommendations for further actions • Sharing of conservation responsibilities for PGRFA in Europe • Complementary ECP/GR modules to implement the Leipzig GPA • Working Groups priorities ("milestones") • Material Transfer Agreements • Other business • Conclusion List of background documents made available by the Secretariat to the Steering Committee • Preliminary End of Phase V Report • Proposal for a Phase VI of ECP/GR • Sharing of conservation responsibilities for PGRFA in Europe, • Draft letter of notification • Draft Trusteeship Agreement • Proposal for Complementary Modules • Evaluation of Network activities and recommendations for future actions Appraisal of Working Group meetings during Phase V Forages Network a) Internal Mid-term (progress?) report-1996 (Petter Marum); b) Internal Mid-term report-1998 (Petter Marum); c) Report (Part I, Appendix I, Appendix II and Appendix VII) of the Sixth meeting of a Working Group on Forages, 6-8 March 1997, Beitostolen, Norway. Vegetables Network a) Allium Working Group, Chair’s report - (Dave Astley); b) Draft report (Part I) of a Working Group on Allium, Sixth meeting, 23-25 October 1997, Plovdiv, Bulgaria; c) Umbellifer Group report - (Dave Astley); d) Activities and achievements of the ECP/GR Brassica Working Group - (Lorenzo Maggioni). Paper presented at the ISHS Symposium on Brassicas, 23-27 September 1997, Rennes, France. Fruit Network a) Supplement to the report of the Malus/Pyrus Working Group First Meeting - (Wye College); Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-28 b) Draft report of an Extraordinary meeting of the ECP/GR Prunus Working Group and the Second Coordination Meeting of the Project Gen Res 61, 13-15 November 1997, Zaragoza, Spain. Cereals Network a) Progress Report of the Wheat ad hoc Group - (Iva Faberova and Annick le Blanc); b) Draft report (Part I) of the Fifth meeting of a Working Group on Barley (Alterode/Gatersleben, Germany 10-12 July 1997); c) Draft report (Part I) of the Fifth meeting of a Working Group on Avena (Vilnius, Lithuania, 7-9 May 1998). • Proposals received by the ECP/GR Secretariat for the establishment of additional Working Groups and recommendations for the initiation of ad hoc activities (see also Annex V): - Proposal for a Working Group on Wheat - (Annick Le Blanc and Iva Faberova); - Proposal for a Working Group on Umbellifers - (Dave Astley); - Proposal for a Working Group on Pleurotus - (Giuseppe Venturella); - Proposal for a Working Group on Beta - (Lothar Frese); - Proposal for a Working Group on Potato - (Roel Hoekstra); - Proposal for activities within the Documentation and Information Network - (Internet Advisory Group) . Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-29 European Cooperative Programme for Crop Genetic Resources Networks (ECP/GR) “““ ECP/GR Annex IV: Report of Phase V of ECP/GR 1. INTRODUCTION 30 2. IMPLEMENTATION OF PHASE V OF ECP/GR 30 3. ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT WITHIN THE NETWORKS 33 3.1 DOCUMENTATION AND INFORMATION NETWORK 33 3.2 CEREALS NETWORK 37 3.2.1 Avena Working Group 37 3.2.2 Barley Working Group 38 3.2.3 Maize ad hoc Group 39 3.2.4 Secale ad hoc Group 40 3.2.5 Wheat ad hoc Group 40 3.3 FORAGES NETWORK41 3.3.1 Forages Working Group 41 3.4 VEGETABLES NETWORK 43 3.4.1 Allium Working Group 44 3.4.2 Brassica Working Group 45 3.4.3 Umbellifers ad hoc group 46 3.5 GRAIN LEGUMES NETWORK 46 3.5.1 Grain Legumes Working Group 46 3.5.2 Other activities within the network 47 3.6 FRUIT NETWORK 47 3.6.1 Prunus Working Group48 3.6.2 Malus/Pyrus Working Group 49 3.7 OTHER NETWORKS 50 4. ECP/GR AND THE INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL CONFERENCE ON PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES FOR FOOD AND AGRICULTURE (PGRFA) 50 5. ECP/GR AND THE EU PROGRAMME ON GENETIC RESOURCES FOR AGRICULTURE (EC 1467/94) 51 6. PUBLICATIONS 52 Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-30 1. Introduction This Preliminary End of Phase V report shows progress made up to Spring 1998. It is intended as information for funding agencies and policymakers and constitutes one of the background documents prepared for the Steering Committee of ECP/GR, to be held in Braunschweig, Germany, 29 June and 4- 5 July 1998. Other important publications on ECP/GR Phase V include7: À ECP/GR brochure which briefly outlines objectives and mode of operation of the Programme and provides a list of member countries, as well as contact details of the Chairs of the different Working Groups, plus a list of the European central databases; À reports of the Working Group meetings which contain detailed results of the Working Group’s activities, workplan and crop-specific recommendations; À reports of Steering Committee meetings which contain decisions regarding scope, objectives and modus operandi of the Programme, as well as financial summaries and budgets; À previous Progress Reports which cover the first three years of Phase V of the Programme (1994, 1995 and 1996); À Quarterly Report to National Coordinators to inform the Steering Committee members of ongoing activities and progress. It also serves to bring to their attention aspects requiring the guidance of the Steering Committee; À articles published in the IPGRI Newsletter for Europe which has a regular section on ECP/GR, including news about the Programme, brief summaries of recent working group meetings, etc.; À Directory of European Institutions Holding Crop Genetic Resources Collections, (fourth edition), which is edited by IPGRI and FAO; À web site (http://www.cgiar.org/ecpgr) offering information on ECP/GR. 2. Implementation of Phase V of ECP/GR Following the recommendations made by the Technical Consultative Committee (TCC) at its Fifth meeting, held at Rhodope Mountains, Bulgaria, in August 1993, the European Cooperative Programme for Crop Genetic Resources Networks (ECP/GR) was extended into Phase V, covering the years 1994-1998. Objectives of Phase V were identified as follows: • to ensure the long-term conservation and to facilitate and encourage the increased utilization of plant genetic resources in Europe; • to increase the planning of joint activities; • to strengthen links between east and west European plant genetic resources Programmes; • to develop joint project proposals to be submitted to funding agencies; • to contribute to monitoring the safety of plant genetic resources collections and take appropriate action when required; and • to increase public awareness, at all levels, of the importance of plant genetic resources activities The operational structure of Phase IV was maintained and activities were recommended for Working Groups on Allium, Avena, Barley, Brassica, Forages and Prunus. The creation of a new Working Group on Pisum was also recommended, while the Working Group on Sunflower was considered to have successfully completed its Programme and it was suggested that it continues its activities under the umbrella of the FAO/ESCORENA. 7 Can be obtained free of charge from the ECP/GR Coordinator, IPGRI, Rome, Italy. Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee - Annex IV IV-31 Figure 1. Organization of the European Cooperative Programme for Crop Genetic Resources Networks (ECP/GR) and its activities during Phase V of the Programme (1994-1998) Steering Committee Coordinating Secretariat Crop-specific Networks Cereals Network Forages Network Vegetables Network Grain Legumes Network Fruit Network Minor crops Network Industrial Crops and Potato Network • Standing Working Groups (meetings Phase V) Barley** - Germany, 1993 - Germany, 1997 Forage crops* - Bulgaria, 1995; - Norway, 1997 Brassica* - Portugal, 1994; - Italy, 1996 Grain Legumes* - Denmark, 1995; - UK, 1998 Prunus* - Turkey, 1996; - Italy, 1996; Avena* - Hungary, 1993; - Lithuania 1998 Allium* - Poland, 1995 - Bulgaria, 1997 Malus*/Pyrus - Ireland, 1997 • Ad hoc meetings Phase V Wheat* France, 1996 Secale * - Poland, 1996 Maize* - Italy, 1996 Daucus - Poland, 1997 Malus* - UK , 1995 • Collaboration with programme EC1467/94 Maize* (GEN RES 88) Allium* (GEN RES 20) Prunus* (GEN RES 61) Vitis* (RES GEN 81) Beta* (GEN RES 42) Potato* (RES GEN CT95) Documentation and information • Collaboration with FAO : Publication of the Directory of European PGR Collections, 1995. Thematic Networks • Collaboration with CGN (Wageningen, The Netherlands): EGDS Project (East European Germplasm Documentation Systems); Workshop on Central Crop Databases, Hungary, October 1996. • Collaboration with ZADI (Bonn, Germany): Training workshop on on-line databases, Germany, June 1997. • Collaboration with NGB (Alnarp, Sweden): Training workshop on on-line databases, Sweden, February 1998 In situ and On-farm conservation Workshop on in situ conservation of wild Brassica in Sicily, April 1997 Technical cooperation (no activities during Phase V) * indicates the existence of a central crop database for the crop Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR In September 1995 a mid-term meeting of the TCC was held in Nitra, Slovakia, in conjunction with the European preparatory conference for the International Technical Conference (Leipzig, 1996), when the objectives of the Programme were reviewed and reconfirmed. A new operational structure, based on a broader range of crop and thematic networks was established for activities on other crops or themes to be carried out and also to enable the ECP/GR to play a more catalyzing role in Europe for the implementation of the Global Plan of Action. The name of the "Technical Consultative Committee" was changed to "Steering Committee". Figure 1 shows a summary of Working Group meetings, ad hoc actions and other activities, carried out by the networks established during Phase V and gives an overview of the organizational structure of ECP/GR as agreed at the 1995 meeting in Nitra. Participation of most European countries was secured at the onset of the phase through Letters of Agreement signed with IPGRI. Although Albania, Russia and Ukraine were represented at the TCC meeting in Bulgaria in 1993, they never joined Phase V. However, representatives from these countries have occasionally been involved in the Programme activities. In particular, the link between Working Groups and the Vavilov Institute, St Petersburg, has always been maintained, by inviting Russian observers to the meetings. Furthermore, Croatia, Estonia, Lithuania, Malta and Slovenia joined the Programme during the course of Phase V, and currently, 32 countries are taking part in the Programme (see Table 1). Moreover, contacts with additional countries have been made and to date, Georgia, Latvia, Macedonia and Ukraine have indicated their intention to join the Programme in the near future. The International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) provided the Secretariat to ECP/GR during Phase V and as recommended by the TCC in Bulgaria in 1993, a full time ECP/GR Coordinator was appointed. Thomas Gass, a Swiss national, took up this position from 1 July 1994 through 15 September 1996 and subsequently became Director of IPGRI’s Regional Office for Europe. Following this, Lorenzo Maggioni, an Italian national, was selected for the position of ECP/GR Coordinator and took up his duties on 16 September 1996. Contributions from member countries were regularly received and this enabled the Programme to continue. However, compared to the total budget agreed in Bulgaria in September 1994, funds have been reduced, due to the lack of some of the important countries joining the Programme. This has culminated in some of the activities having to be cancelled, such as one meeting of the Prunus Working Group. The expected balance at the end of Phase V is deficient at US$ 45 900, compared to the anticipated deficiency of contributions of US$ 144 000. (See Appendix 1: Intermediate Financial Report). Table 1. Member countries of ECP/GR Austria Finland Italy Slovakia Belgium France Lithuania Slovenia Bulgaria Germany Malta Spain Croatia Greece Netherlands Sweden Cyprus Hungary Norway Switzerland Czech Republic Iceland Poland Turkey Denmark Ireland Portugal UK Estonia Israel Romania Yugoslavia (Fed. Rep.) Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 33 3. Activities carried out within the Networks 3.1 Documentation and Information Network This network was established during the Sixth meeting of the TCC in Nitra, September 1995, as a framework for activities in plant genetic resources documentation. Overall progress Collaboration between ECP/GR and FAO’s World Information and Early Warning System on plant genetic resources has been intensive and fruitful during 1994 and 1995, and has resulted in the publication of the Directory of European Institutions holding Crop Genetic Resources. This document is also downloadable from the Internet. ECP/GR has maintained close collaboration with the Dutch-funded EGDS project (East European Germplasm Documentation Systems), which aims at strengthening the PGR documentation systems in eastern Europe. Eight national genebanks (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovak Republic and Ukraine) participated in this project, which was funded by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries and coordinated by the Centre for Genetic Resources, The Netherlands (CGN). ECP/GR collaboration included the publication entitled Descriptions of national plant genetic resources documentation systems in eastern European countries and also assistance in funding the participation of observers to the annual technical workshops organized by EGDS. A further outcome of this collaboration was a joint EGDS-ECP/GR Workshop on "Central Crop Databases: Tools in Plant Genetic Resources Management", held in Budapest, Hungary from 13 to 16 October 1996. This Workshop was attended by 55 participants from 26 countries representing most of the European Central Crop Databases (CCDBs) (see Table 2) and a number of institutions specializing in PGR documentation technology, as well as international organizations. As a result of Budapest, so called Documentation Support Centres" (DSC) have emerged, these centres being institutions with deep know-how in PGR documentation and a strong technical infrastructure. The DSCs are supposed to help and give advice to CCDB managers with respect to database management, as well as offering their technical infrastructure for publishing the CCDBs on the Internet. This workshop marked an important milestone in the activity of the Documentation and Information Network, since its recommendations significantly influenced ECP/GR activities in the following years. The meeting focused on the following issues: À the role of Central Crop Databases (CCDBs); À the standardization of CCDBs; À the inclusion of evaluation data in CCDBs; À the role of Database Managers; and À the facilitation of access to CCDBs. While noting that the CCDBs will continue to be a key tool for the management of collections by the crop-specific working groups or individual curators, the Workshop recognized the need to focus the activities and development of CCDBs more towards the needs of the end users (breeders, research institutions, education establishments and others). The Workshop adopted a slightly revised version of a Multi-crop passport descriptor list proposed by FAO and IPGRI, as standard exchange format for data transfers in the region which contains two components: the Multi- crop passport descriptors; and, as a recommended optional, the World Information and Early Warning System (WIEWS) descriptors, for monitoring germplasm collections. It was also recommended that FAO and IPGRI should provide, maintain and promote a standard list of institute codes for the purpose of data exchange. This was expected to reduce the workload associated with the data transfers from genebanks to CCDBs and would enhance the usefulness of the CCDBs. The Workshop also recommended that evaluation data be included into the CCDBs to better meet the needs of users and to facilitate access to the collections. In order for the CCDBs to become more widely accessible and to make full use of the opportunities given by recent developments in communication and computer technology, the Workshop decided to establish an Internet based Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 34 Information Platform, through which all the CCDBs would eventually be accessible. This system, to be established within the framework of the ECP/GR Information and Documentation Network, would provide access to data on national programmes and a number of relevant information services. The Workshop considered the implementation of this Internet Information Platform on crop genetic resources as an important step to implement, at the European level, the ‘Global Plan of Action’ adopted in June 1996 in Leipzig, Germany. In March 1996, IPGRI established an Internet site for ECP/GR. This homepage can be accessed at the URL: http://www.cgiar.org/ecpgr and gives the following information: À Introduction to ECP/GR (including structure and modus operandi); À News and information (including forthcoming meetings, employment opportunities, fellowships, etc.); À Contact addresses (including updated lists and contact details of National Coordinators, Working Group members and Central Crop Database Managers); À Publications (lists of ECP/GR and other IPGRI publications); À The European Information Platform on Crop Genetic Resources. Progress in 1997 and first quarter 1998 As recommended during the Documentation meeting in Budapest, October 1996, an ECP/GR Internet Advisory Group was formally established. Members of the group are the documentation officers of the Support Documentation Centres: Pierre Campo (GEVES), Theo van Hintum (CGN), Morten Hulden (NGB), Daniel Jimenez Krause (ZADI), Kevin Painting (IPGRI) and Lorenzo Maggioni (ECP/GR Coordinator). The group has actively interacted via Email and has successfully collaborated in the following tasks: À Development of the European Information Platform Home Page ; À Definition of guidelines for the design and establishment of uniform Entry Pages for the Central Crop Databases ; À Definition of technical guidelines for the first steps needed to create home pages or on-line searchable databases (including relevant aspects of common database design, access, automated update and electronic mirroring through Internet); À Production of a list of commonly used terminology, which was included in the proceedings of the Budapest meeting ; À Preparation of Central Crop Databases downloadable zip files and their uploading at a Documentation Support Centre; À Organization of a Training Workshop on topics related to the Internet and on-line databases. The first session was held in Bonn, Germany in June 1997, organized by ZADI and ECP/GR, and the second held in Alnarp. Sweden, in February 1998, organized by NGB and ECP/GR. Since June 1997, the “European Information Platform on Crop Genetic Resources” Home Page has been accessible at the URL http://www.cgiar.org/ecpgr/platform. The platform serves European National Programmes and offers on-line access to several ECP/GR Central Crop Databases (currently Agrostis, Avena, Barley, Bromus, Dactylis, Brassica, Festuca, Glycine, Lathyrus, Lolium, Phalaris, Phleum, Poa, Trifolium and Wheat) and to other regional and International databases (i.e. Beta and Vitis). Entry pages for the ECP/GR Allium, Prunus and Triticale databases are also in existence and linkage with the respective on-line databases is foreseen in the near future. Additional information and services are available from the Platform, such as a directory of PGR related institutions, the provisional list of FAO Institution codes, the IPGRI/FAO Multi-Crop Passport Descriptors List, the outcome documents of the first Training Workshop on on-line databases (Bonn, June 1997) and links to other relevant Internet resources, etc. Outlook The Documentation and Information Network, with its numerous and successful activities, has had a very positive and stimulating effect on all the other networks of ECP/GR. For example, the FAO/IPGRI Multi-Crop Passport Descriptors List has been generally accepted by the crop Working Groups and databases have since been updated in harmony with this standard. Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 35 The European Information Platform on Crop Genetic Resources itself is also expected to develop further, with links to all the databases, if available for on-line search or off-line downloading. The Platform could also develop further by offering access to an increased number of services, such as links to lists of PGR related sites and providing on- line ECP/GR meeting reports. The Internet Advisory Group has proved to have a useful help desk function regarding Internet and germplasm documentation. This group is expected to maintain its role in the near future, in view of the preparation of downloadable zip files and of on-line searchable databases. An ECP/GR mailing listserver is planned and expected to assist with rapid and informal exchange of information (such as announcements of meetings dates and publications of reports, etc.), as well as discussion on PGR databases and the management of collections. Another service currently under discussion is the facility to request seed or vegetative propagating material through the above mentioned Internet Platform. The Internet Advisory Group, on behalf of the ECP/GR Documentation Network, recommends to the ECP/GR Steering Committee that a European Documentation meeting take place during Phase VI, as a follow-up to the Budapest meeting held in October 1996. This meeting is considered essential as a forum for interaction between the European database (DB) managers. A third session of the Training Workshop would also be beneficial for a number of DB managers. CGN has offered to host the workshop in Wageningen, tentatively planned for 1999. A resubmission of the EUGENET project to the EC is planned, in response to the upcoming third call for proposals (EC 1467/94). This project would request funds to support the operation of the Documentation Network in Europe. During the WIEWS meeting in September 1996 and the Budapest Meeting in October 1996, it was emphasized that the Documentation and Information Network of ECP/GR could act as an effective interface between WIEWS and the national programmes. Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 36 Table 2. European Crop Databases established under ECP/GR ECP/GR Network Crop or crop group Managing institution Date of establishment Total number of accessions On line http:// Cereals Avena BAZ Braunschweig/ DEU 1984 19 315 www.dainet.de/eccdb/ Avena Barley IPK-Gatersleben/DEU 1984 rebuilt 1987 88 996; 23 293 on-line www.dainet.de/eccdb/ Barley Secale IHAR-Radzikow/POL 1984 rebuilt 1995 9683 www.ihar.edu.pl/ gene_bank/secale/secale.ht ml Triticale RAC-Nyon/CHE under establ. not applic. Wheat RICP Prague Ruzyne/CZE ) GEVES-Surgeres/FRA ) 1996 250 000 (estim.) genbank.vurv.cz/ewdb Maize MRI Zemun/ YUG (Oct 89) ECP/GR 1996 (5437) (in establ.) 147.91.51.237/EMDB Vegetables Allium HRI-Wellesbourne/GBR 1985 (in rebuilding) 7527 Brassica CGN-Wageningen/NLD 1992 13000 www.cpro.dlo.nl/cgn/ brasedb Umbellifers HRI-Wellesbourne/GBR Under establ. Not appl. Grain Leg. Phaseolus Fed.Off.Agrobiology Linz/AUT under establ. 13854 www.agrobio.bmlf.gv.at /phaseolus Vicia faba INRA Le Rheu/FRA under establ. not appl. Pisum PBS Wiatrowo/POL ) JIC Norwich/GBR ) 1989 37103 Lupinus IPG Poznan/POL May 1996 6782 Cicer ENMP Elvas/PRT Nov 1996 4421 www.ngb.se/ Databases/ECP/Cicer Glycine VIR St Petersburg/RUS 1992 11 693 www.dainet.de/eccdb/ glycine Lens AARI Izmir/TUR 1997 1491 Fruit trees Prunus INRA Bordeaux/FRA (1982) rebuilt 1996 15000 Malus NFC Wye College/GBR Feb 1995 2500 Forages Lolium/T. repens IGER Aberystwyth/GBR Nov 1987 Lolium 8456 T. repens 1247 www.ngb.se/ Databases/ECP/Lolium /Trifolium Lathyrus lat./ tub./heter./sylv. IBEAS Pau/FRA 1985 3734 wwwciuppa.univ- pau.fr:8888/lathy/ lathyrus Vicia ssp. CNR Bari/ ITA 1992 5520 ‘other Vicieae’ University Southampton/GBR ? 219 Agropyron IPGR Plovdiv/ BGR under establ. not applic. Arrh. elatius/ Tris. flavescens. OSEVA Pro Zubri/CZE 1991 291 (219/ 72) Perenn. Medicago INRA-GEVES Guyancourt/FRA 1987 2900 www.cgiar.org/ecpgr/ platform other perennial forage legumes IPPQ Tapioszele/HUN under establ. 1316 Poa IPK Malchow/DEU 1984 2636 www.dainet.de/ eccdb/poa Bromus IPPQ Tapioszele/HUN 1984 584 www.ngb.se/ Databases/ECP/Bromus T. pratense IPPQ Tapioszele/HUN 1984 1895 www.ngb.se/ Databases/ECP/ Trifolium T. subterr/annual Medicago INIA Badajoz/ESP 1981 4853 (3077 + 1776) T. alexandrinum/ T. resupinatum ARO Bet Dagan /ISR T. alex140 T. resup 100 (in 1995)(*) Dactylis/Festuca IHAR Bydgoszcz/POL 1985 16064 (8700 + 7364) www.ngb.se/ Databases/ECP/Dactylis /Festuca Phalaris/Agrostis /Phleum NGB Alnarp/SWE Agrostis/Phalaris1997 Phleum: Oct 1996 Phalaris 253 Agrostis 388 Phleum 3602 www.ngb.se/ Databases/ECP/Phalaris /Agrostis /Phleum (*) data extracted from working groups reports Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 37 3.2 Cereals Network Within the framework of the Cereals Network, two Working Groups (Avena and Barley) have been operative during Phase V. A Barley Working Group meeting was held in 1997 and an Avena Working Group meeting is planned for May 1998. Other activities focused on a number of important crops, which have not been addressed by the Programme in the past. Ad hoc meetings were held in 1996 respectively for Secale, Maize and Wheat genetic resources. A number of informal meetings were held in 1994 and 1995 to facilitate the preparation of projects to be submitted to the EU programme on genetic resources (EC 1467/94). These meetings were not funded by ECP/GR, but they were either attended by the ECP/GR Coordinator or the Director of IPGRI’s Regional Office for Europe. Projects were submitted to the first or second call of the EC programme. 3.2.1 Avena Working Group Following the retirement of Prof. Hugh Thomas (IGER, UK), the group has been chaired ad interim by Dr Mike Leggett from the same Institute. Overall progress A European core collection for cultivars of Avena is being established. This core collection is based on a cluster analysis of the parentage coefficient of the cultivars documented in the European Avena database, and is being undertaken by the Plant Breeding and Acclimatization Institute (IHAR) in Poland. Establishment of a core collection of oat landraces is intended by the BAZ genebank. Steps have also been taken towards the establishment of a core collection of wild species of the Avena genus, in order to make secondary and tertiary genepools more readily available to breeders. The latter is being undertaken by the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, IGER, Aberysthwyth, UK, in collaboration with the N. I. Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry (VIR). A collaborative project proposal for the conservation of European Avena genetic resources, involving 10 different countries and coordinated by IGER, UK, was submitted to the first call of the EU funded programme EC1467/94. Unfortunately, this project was not selected for funding. Dr Leggett, acting Chair of the Working Group, represented the ECP/GR Avena Working Group at the Vth International Oat Conference , held in Canada in July-August 1996. Progress in 1997 and1998 The Database Manager of the European Avena Database attended the ECP/GR -ZADI Training Workshop on On- line Databases, held in Bonn, Germany in June 1997, and the database was made available on the Internet at http://www.dainet.de/eccdb/Avena and via the European Information Platform. This database contains passport data of 19 315 accessions representing the Avena collections from 20 European contributors. An additional 11 000 passport data received from the Vavilov Institute are being included. The structure of the database follows the principles of the IPGRI/FAO Multi-Crop Descriptors List. This list was adopted by the Group during its Fifth meeting, which was held in Vilnius, Lithuania, on 7-9 May 1998. The establishment of core collections of wild landraces and cultivars are under development within the group. The establishment of a core collection of wild oat species is also encouraged. However, the inclusion of data for species non native to Europe is considered essential in this case. Recent collecting missions have resulted in the discovery of the new species Avena insularis, likely the tetraploid progenitor of A. sativa. The importance of encouraging the protection of sites hosting rare wild relatives of oat, such as A. insularis and A. murphyi was stressed by the Group. A proposal was made to undertake a pilot study to improve genebank quality standards on the basis of ISO 9000 standards. The Steering Committee of E CP/GR was invited to comment on this opportunity. The Group will prepare a new project to be submitted for funding under the third call of to the EC 1467/94 Programme. Outlook Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 38 The Fifth meeting of the Avena Working Group is being organized at the Lithuanian Institute of Agriculture in Vilnius, Lithuania in May 1998. Participants from 12 countries will attend and the main topics of discussion will be the status of the European Avena core collections; the opportunities to include characterization and evaluation data in the EADB; as well as reports on recent collecting missions and on the status of national collections (including safety of collections and quality standards). 3.2.2 Barley Working Group The Working Group on Barley was chaired by Prof. Karl Hammer (IPK, Gatersleben, Germany) until July 1997 and since then by Prof. Roland von Bothmer (Swedish University of Agriculture, Sweden). Overall progress A collaborative project for Barley was submitted to the EU genetic resources programme EC 1467/94, but not approved. The development of the European Barley Database (EBDB) was therefore carried out with limited resources as input- in- kind by IPK. By the end of 1997 the database contains approximately 89 000 accessions from about 25 European countries, including Russia. Of the ECP/GR databases, the EBDB is so far the most comprehensive. The European part of the International Barley Core Collection (which was initiated by ECP/GR) has been created under the coordination of Prof. Fischbeck at the Technical University of Munich. This material has been physically transferred to the IPK Genebank, where it is being multiplied and will soon be available for distribution. Progress has also been made in the development of mechanisms to extend genetic characterization to the molecular level and to further evaluate the Barley collections in national programmes. East European genebanks have been given support in several projects as the European Barley Working Group is considered an important platform for work with Barley germplasm. ECP/GR supported the participation of Prof. G. Fischbeck, who represented the ECP/GR Barley Working Group, to the VIIth International Barley Genetics Symposium held in Summer 1996 in Saskatoon, Canada, Progress in 1997 The Fifth meeting of the group was held at Alterode, Gatersleben in Germany, 10-12 July 1997. A report made by the IPK Database Manager on the status of the European Barley Database (EBDB) stated that financial support for the position of the Database Manager had been provided by IPK since the beginning of 1997. IPK support for EBDB manager was for six months (ended September 1997). A prototype of the EBDB is now accessible via Internet at http://www.dainet.de/eccdb/Barley or via the European Information Platform on PGR. A list of descriptors for data exchange was established, based on the Multi-crop passport list agreed in Budapest, October 1996 and with the addition of Barley specific descriptors. The Database manager of the European Barley Database attended the ECP/GR – ZADI Training Workshop on On-line Databases, held in Bonn, Germany, in June 1997. The resubmission of a project proposal to the potential third call of EC 1467/94 was agreed. Helmut Knüpffer (IPK) is coordinating this proposal, which aims at producing evaluation data for biotic and abiotic stresses and including these in the EBDB. The European Barley Database should be more extensively used within the project for data analysis and, at the end of the project, it should become the most complete source of information on the European Barley collections. The Barley Working Group considered that ECP/GR should play an active role in formalizing the sharing of responsibilities for the conservation and promotion of the use of crop genetic resources. A possible mechanism of responsibility sharing for the conservation of European Barley genetic resources has been presented for consideration to the Steering Committee of ECP/GR (Agenda Item 7 of Steering Committee Meeting). Such a system would involve the establishment of a decentralized European Crop Collections, whereby each country takes up responsibility on behalf of ECP/GR for the maintenance of accessions, accepted as primary holdings by the respective national genebanks. Outlook The primary objective of the ECP/GR Barley Working Group remains the completion of the EBDB and its use in addressing questions related to identification of duplicates, primary country holdings and gaps in collections. The EBDB is expected to advance further by developing links to available evaluation data and to information relating to pedigree data. Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 39 A list of putatively unique accessions will be sent to curators of genebanks with the plan of creating a rationalized European Barley Collection. The Group’s contribution to the development of the Barley Core Collection, particularly relating to European accessions is expected to continue, inter alia, with the initiation of the evaluation of material used for winter hardiness in the Czech Republic. This will add to the identification and utilization of useful traits, as well as extending the data and value of the collection. The Group intends to increase its focus on the conservation and evaluation of wild relatives of cultivated Barley, in particular H. spontaneum and H. bulbosum, with reference to biotic and abiotic stresses. The Group strongly promotes the importance of pre-breeding efforts in improving access and utilization of these diverse gene pools. The Group strongly recommends its continuation, in order to complete the work it has started and explore further the existing potential in terms of genetic resources management and their utilization. 3.2.3 Maize ad hoc Group An ad hoc Workshop on Maize Genetic Resources was organized in Rome, Italy from 28 to 30 May 1996. The meeting was chaired by Prof. Richard H. Ellis (University of Reading, UK). An informal group on maize has since then been active. Overall progress The main objective of the Workshop was to discuss the needs of establishing a European Maize Database (EMDB), following an offer made by the Maize Research Institute “Zemun Polje” in Belgrade, F.R. Yugoslavia to host and take responsibility for the establishment and maintenance of the database as input- in- kind to the Programme. After a thorough assessment of the needs of the maize genetic resources users community, particularly those of the breeders, it was agreed that a European Maize Database could provide valuable information, facilitate data management and increase collaboration between genebanks. The offer from the Maize Research Institute was gratefully accepted and technical guidelines were drawn up for the contents and structure of the common database. Progress in 1997 and first quarter 1998 A project proposal submitted to the second call of the EU genetic resources Programme (EC 1467/94) was selected by the European Commission, and since 1997 has been funded as Project Gen Res 88. This project will ultimately establish a European core collection from the different national collections of maize landraces. The project is coordinated by INRA, Montpellier, France and involves another six EU countries who are all members of ECP/GR: Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. A high degree of complementarity is expected between this project and the establishment of a European Maize Database. The European Maize Database Manager from Zemun Polje was invited to take part in the Coordination Meetings of the EU funded project and as a result of this collaboration, it was agreed that the European Maize Landraces Database created within the Gen Res 88 project will form a particularly intensively documented subset of the European Maize Database. Although the establishment of the EMDB at the Maize Research Institute of Zemun Polje has encountered some internal obstacles, these have apparently been overcome and Yugoslavia has confirmed its intention to host this database as an input-in-kind to ECP/GR. The structure of the EMDB has been sent to all the participants and data are being received from the European countries. Outlook A first version of the EMDB is expected to be completed during the first half of 1998 and will subsequently become available on the Internet8. The Group made recommendations to the Steering Committee of ECP/GR that a second meeting on maize genetic resources be held once the EMDB is implemented. The objectives of this second meeting would be to focus on rationalization for enhancement of utilization and prebreeding studies. 8 As of June 1998, the database is available on the Internet at the address http://147.91.51.237/EMDB/ Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 40 3.2.4 Secale ad hoc Group A Secale ad hoc Workshop was held in Warsaw, Poland, July 1996 within the context of an international conference on "Crop Germplasm Conservation Problems with Special Emphasis on Rye". The conference was part of Poland - USDA cooperation and was hosted by the Botanical Garden of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Plant Breeding and Acclimatization Institute (IHAR), Radzikow, Poland. The workshop was chaired by Dr Wieslaw Podyma (IHAR, Poland). An informal Secale group has been active since then. Overall progress The European Secale Database, established in 1984, is maintained by IHAR, Radzikow, Poland and was last updated in 1995. During the above mentioned conference, an overview was given of the state-of-the-art in Secale genetic resources conservation and use, and a number of ongoing research projects in Europe and the USA were presented. The ECP/GR Workshop focused on the effective conservation of Secale collections through an agreed sharing of responsibilities. Analysis of the recently updated European Secale Database allowed the identification of putative duplicates among the 9,901 accessions recorded from 21 institutions in the region. This showed, for example, that the original material from some of the smaller collections is held in only one genebank, while some of the larger collections hold great numbers of foreign accessions that are duplicated in several other genebanks. The ad hoc Group recommended a number of steps to establish a European Secale Collection. This concept was further developed by the Forages and Barley Working Groups in 1997. Progress in 1997 The Database Manager of the European Secale Database attended the ECP/GR -ZADI Training Workshop on on- line databases, held in Bonn, Germany in June 1997. Outlook The European Secale Database is expected to become available on the Internet in Spring 1998. 3.2.5 Wheat ad hoc Group An ad hoc Wheat Genetic Resources Workshop was hosted by the Bureau des Ressources Genetiques (BRG) in Paris, France from 21-23 March 1996, and since then an informal group on wheat has been active, co-chaired by Ms Iva Faberova (RICP, Czech Republic) and Ms Annick Le Blanc (GEVES - Le Magneraud, France). Overall progress Following a three-day visit from Iva Faberova of the Research Institute of Crop Production (RICP), Czech Republic to GEVES-INRA, Clermont Ferrand, France, the Database Managers of both institutions produced a programme to establish a jointly managed European Wheat Database (EWDB). By way of a survey, the Group estimated the total number of accessions of wheat genetic resources maintained in collections throughout Europe, as well as the level of duplication and the level of computerization of data. The establishment of a European Wheat Database (EWDB), a prototype of which was presented during the Wheat Workshop in May 1996, was considered essential for the Group to promote the utilization of genetic resources and ultimately rationalize their conservation. The scope of the EWDB will be restricted to Triticum, including wild species. Aegilops, Agropyron, other wheat- related genera will not be included at this stage. The database will contain as a priority, the passport data for all European collections and data for a set of minimum descriptors which the Group agreed upon. The relational nature of the database also allows other, more comprehensive and heterogeneous data sets, to be linked to the database if necessary. During the Workshop, the offer of the Federal Agricultural Research Station (RAC) in Nyon, Switzerland to initiate a European Triticale database was gratefully accepted. It was also decided that the progress of this database and possible collaboration in Triticale conservation and research would be discussed during further meetings of the Group. A project on the conservation and characterization of wheat genetic resources was submitted to the EC under the EC1467/94 Programme. However, the proposal was not selected for funding. Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 41 Progress in 1997 and first quarter 1998 The European Wheat Database (EWDB) has now been further developed, with the inclusion of passport data received from the European genebanks. Compilation of the passport data of all European Aegilops, Agropyron and Triticum accessions into the EWDB is done in interaction with comprehensive databases and germplasm evaluation networks like CIMMYT, ICARDA, the WANANET and IWGRN. The database has been co-managed by GEVES (data for European Union countries) and by RICP (data for other European countries). In March 1998 the two Database Managers attended an ECP/GR- NGB Training Workshop on On-line Databases and also presented the first on-line version of the EWBD, available from the European Platform and on Internet at http://genbank.vurv.cz/ewdb/. The Triticale Database has continued its development with a format compatible with the European Wheat Database. Data are being collected from 17 institutes in 15 countries. An Entry Page with a database description is already available on the web from the European Platform. Outlook The Workshop recommended that the ECP/GR Steering Committee establish a standing Wheat Working Group. The objectives of this Working Group would be, inter alia, to promote the effective management of wheat collections in Europe; to facilitate the use of collections through increased interaction with breeders of the public and private sector; and to organize targeted collaborative actions for external funding. It was recommended to put more efforts into the utilization of European genebank collections through the involvement of national research institutions and breeding stations into a cooperative programme aiming at the evaluation of wheat genotypes carrying qualitative and quantitative genes of potential interest. The system used in France was demonstrated an example. The Triticale database is planned to be completed and on-line accessible at the beginning of 1999. 3.3 Forages Network Activities of this Network have been carried out within the Forages Working Group. 3.3.1 Forages Working Group The Forages Working Group met twice during Phase V. The Fifth meeting of the Working Group was held in Bulgaria, 1995 and the Sixth meeting in Norway, 1997. The Group was chaired by Dr Gilles Charmet until the end of the fifth meeting and since then by Dr Petter Marum of the Norwegian Crop Research Institute, Norway. Overall progress The status of the forages collections maintained in the participating countries and that of the crop specific European Databases were thoroughly reviewed. Most of the Database Managers have begun to update their databases. The following changes were agreed: À Transfer of the Trifolium pratense database from the Federal Agricultural Research Station (RAC) in Nyon, Switzerland to the Institute for Agrobotany, Tapioszele, Hungary. À Transfer of the Annual Lolium Database from CNR, Bari, Italy to IGER, Aberystwyth, UK to be merged with the existing Lolium database. À Transfer of the Phalaris Database from CNR, Bari, Italy to NGB, Alnarp, Sweden À Transfer of the Poa database from FAL, Braunschweig, Germany to IPK Genebank, External Station Malchow/Poel The following new European databases were established: À European Agrostis Database at the Nordic Gene Bank. À European Agropyron Database at the Institute for Plant Genetic Resources, Sadovo, Bulgaria À European Database for Perennial Forage Legumes at the Institute for Agrobotany, Tapioszele, Hungary À European Database for Trifolium alexandrinum and T. resupinatum at ARO, Bet Dagan, Israel Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 42 The establishment and updating of the forages databases has been advancing well. Most of the Database Managers plus the Chair of the Working Group attended the workshop on documentation, organized in Budapest, Hungary, in October 1996. This provided an opportunity for discussions on further standardization of the European forages databases. The 1995 edition of the European Catalogue of Medicago perennial species was published by INRA, GEVES, BRG (France). The Lolium perenne Core Collection was established at 18 locations in 17 countries, and evaluation data for winter damage, morphological traits, diseases and herbal yield were centralized at IGER, Aberystwyth, UK. The following safety duplications were carried out: À R.v.P., Merelbeke, Belgium sent 55 Lolium accessions to RAC, Changins, Switzerland for safety duplication. À RAC, Changins, Switzerland sent 10 accessions of Dactylis glomerata, 19 accessions of Festuca pratensis and 10 accessions of Festuca arundinacea to R.v.P, Merelbeke, Belgium for safety duplication. À The Nordic Gene Bank safety duplicated 62 accessions of different forage species in the Svalbard Islands. Several genebanks have increased their level of characterization and have regenerated collections or conducted new collecting missions. The Group published an agreed list of European Standard Varieties to improve compatibility of evaluation/characterization activities at the regional level. A number of project proposals, prepared in collaboration with members of the Working Group, were submitted to the first call for proposals of the EU funded programme EC1467/94. However, none of them were selected for funding. Representatives from Cyprus, Lithuania, Slovak Republic and F.R. Yugoslavia have now joined the Working Group. Progress in 1997 and first quarter 1998 The Sixth meeting of the Forages Working Group was held in Beitostolen, Norway, 6-8 March 1997. The meeting was organized in collaboration with the Norwegian Crop Research Institute, Loeken Research Station, Heggenes, Norway and in association with the Nordic Gene Bank. An update of the European Central Forages databases was given and opportunities for their standardization were discussed. Furthermore, a list of forage passport descriptors was approved which were largely based on the FAO/IPGRI Multi-crop Passport Descriptors List prepared in 1996 in Budapest, Hungary, with the addition of a few environmental descriptors. All Database Managers will be adopting this list for data exchange. During the meeting, a workplan for the establishment of a decentralized European Forage Collection was proposed and discussed. An important step in this plan would be the definition of a "primary collection" for each original accession. National commitment would then be sought for the long-term conservation under international standards, to ensure that an appropriate safety duplicate is deposited in a genebank (preferably within another ECP/GR member country) and to provide access to these accessions. Institutes entrusted with “European accessions” would then be registered in the European Central Database as "holders of primary collection". Discussions on the most advisable procedure to determine the "home" of each accession will proceed further within the Forages Working Group and attention will be given to repatriating material to the country of origin. Draft guidelines for the regeneration of perennial forage species were presented by R. Sackville Hamilton, Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, Aberystwyth, UK. A task force revised the document, enabling all institutes to more easily follow the guidelines, and this was published in the report of the Sixth meeting. It was recommended that the following project applications be submitted or resubmitted to the next call for proposals from the European Commission under Council regulation EC 1467/94: Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 43 À Lolium, coordinated by Dirk Reheul of Rijksstation voor Plantenveredeling, Belgium; À Medicago, under the coordination of GEVES/INRA, France (to be confirmed); À Vicieae, possibly coordinated by the University of Southampton, UK (to be confirmed); À In situ conservation of forages in marginal and mountainous areas, under the coordination of BAL, Irdning, Austria. An ECP/GR poster showing the preliminary results of evaluation of the Lolium perenne core collection for performance during the first winter, was presented at the International Grassland Congress in June 1997 in Canada. Database Managers of the European Dactylis, Festuca, Lolium, Trifolium pratense and T. repens Databases attended the ECP/GR -ZADI Training Workshop on On-line databases, held in Bonn, Germany in June 1997. Database Managers of the Agrostis, Perennial Medicago, Phalaris and Phleum databases attended the ECP/GR - NGB Training Workshop on On-line Databases, held in Alnarp. Sweden, February 1998. Several forages databases are currently available on the Internet (see Documentation network). Emergency action The Forages Group has responded to an appeal received from the Forage Research Institute of Fush' Kruj', Albania advising them that the Albanian collection of forages genetic resources was entirely lost during the recent civil unrest. Managers of the ECP/GR Forages Databases were invited to search their European DBs for material originating from Albania and also for material with potential value in breeding programmes for Albanian conditions. Subsequently, lists of relevant accessions would be sent to the genebanks holding this material, requesting them to kindly send small quantities of these accessions to the Germplasm Conservation Unit of the Albanian Seed Institute, Tirana, Albania. Outlook The rapid development of the forages databases is expected to continue with increasing standardization and exchange of data between the members of the Group. Additional databases are expected to be made available on the Internet and the coverage of evaluation data should also increase. However, the large number of European Forage Databases still excludes some species of interest. For example, several species in the genus Trifolium are not considered and an expansion of the Trifolium databases might be considered in the future. Furthermore, several grass species not covered in any database could be included in one of the existing databases for "Minor/other grass species". Similarly, the database "Other perennial forage legumes" could be expanded to include all forage legumes not yet considered. The Group has proved to be an effective framework for undertaking collaborative efforts, such as drafting research projects, defining common guidelines or carrying out solidarity emergency actions. Future enhancement of these databases will add value to the Working Group and enable a more effective management of the collections. The Group is strongly recommending to the Steering Committee that Phase VI of ECP/GR be implemented and that this also includes the continuation of the Forages Working Group. The full-time Coordination during Phase V was strongly appreciated. 3.4 Vegetables Network Within the framework of the Vegetables Network, two Working Groups (Allium and Brassica) have been operative during Phase V with two meetings being held for each of these groups. Another activity focused on Daucus and other Umbellifers, which have not been addressed by ECP/GR in the past. An ad hoc meeting was held in 1997 in Poland, where an informal group chaired by Dr Dave Astley, HRI, UK, set the basis for a possible future Umbellifers Working Group. Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 44 3.4.1 Allium Working Group Two Allium meetings were held, one in 1995 in Poland and the other in 1997 in Bulgaria. The Allium Working Group has been chaired throughout the phase by Dr Dave Astley. Overall progress The Fifth meeting of the ECP/GR Allium Working Group was held from 24 - 28 May 1995 in Skierniewice, Poland. The two European Collections for Vegetatively Propagated Alliums, located in Olomouc, Czech Republic and Rehovot, Israel were reviewed, and a report was produced on the actions undertaken to mobilize international support for the Olomouc collections, the maintenance of which was threatened by lack of funds . The European Allium Database (EADB) has been rebuilt at the Genetic Resources Unit, HRI Wellesbourne using ACCESS software. In late 1996, at a meeting in Budapest of the ECP/GR Documentation Group and database curators, a decision was made to adopt a set of draft Multi-Crop Passport Descriptors List for use in the transfer of data within ECP/GR. Consequently, the proto-EADB was reformatted to meet the agreed standards. Other priority actions for the Allium group included the assessment of safety duplication for collections; transfer of safety duplicates to participating base stores; assessment of characterization data and whether data were held in computer databases; review taxonomy of accessions in collections of wild taxa; prioritization of material for regeneration programmes; and assessment of in situ distribution of taxa in Section Allium. The Allium Working Group was successful with its project proposal to the EU genetic resources Programme (EC1467/94) and a part of the Group’s workplan has been undertaken within the framework of this project. Other successful initiatives carried out by the Working Group have stimulated activities in areas of direct interest, such as the FAIR onion quality project, EU Biotechnology GALAHEAD project proposal and in-vitro/cryo training and collecting. Progress in 1997 and first quarter 1998 The Sixth meeting of the Allium Working Group was held in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, on 23-25 October 1997. During this meeting, it was clarified that the EU project Gen Res 20 had the same objectives as the wider ECP/GR Group and that the work done within it will be completely integrated in the development of the European Allium Database (EADB). It was also agreed to use the IPGRI/FAO Multi-Crop Passport Descriptors List. Efforts to define appropriate minimum characterization descriptors for onion, garlic, leek, shallot and chives in the EADB, is leading to an advanced stage in the development of a completely revised Allium descriptors list and the Working Group intends to collaborate with IPGRI to complete this publication. The value of the European field collections of long- day and short-day Allium was stressed, together with the importance of the taxonomy collection at IPK and of the decorative Alliums collection maintained in Israel. The Institute for Vegetable Research, Skierniewice, Poland was also associated in the above mentioned EU funded project, with financial support from ECP/GR. Within this framework, a joint activity with IPK Gatersleben to develop methods of cryopreservation has reached positive preliminary results. The Entry Page to the EADB was made accessible on the Internet from the European platform and will soon be available to link to the on-line database. The Guidelines for the Safe Movement of Allium Germplasm were published by IPGRI/FAO, and sent to all Working Group members. Outlook The EADB, including all the missing data sets, is expected to be made available on diskette and on-line by mid- 1998. It is also expected that the database will include links to minimum characterization data for all the Allium crops, as defined during the Working Group meetings. Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 45 The European field collections will need to gain as much support as projects aimed at developing alternative systems for conservation of vegetatively propagated Alliums (i.e. cryopreservation). Unfortunately, a lack of available funds still constitutes a major constraint for the regeneration of wild taxa. A commitment to the safety-duplication of seed material was given and several genebanks offered space for “black boxes”. 3.4.2 Brassica Working Group Brassica Working Group meetings were held in 1994 in Portugal and in 1996 in Italy with an Extraordinary meeting taking place in France in 1997. Until September 1997, the Brassica Working Group was chaired by Prof. Mats Gustaffsson, Swedish University for Agriculture, Sweden and subsequently by Dr Gregoire Thomas, ENSAR-INRA, France. Overall progress Good progress was made on the European Brassica Database (Bras-EDB), managed by CGN, Wageningen, with the inclusion of previously missing accessions data. Furthermore, data from the original Wild Brassica collection (still maintained by ETSIA, Spain) were also included in the Bras-EDB. An agreement was reached on a nomenclature list for communication within the Working Group when referring to the database. This was a significant step for such a taxonomically complex genus. Agreement was also reached on a minimum list of characterization data to be included in the Database, which opens the way to the further development of a more complete database. The status of national collections of wild and cultivated Brassicas was revised and agreements were reached on collaboration with regard to regeneration, safety duplication and documentation of these collections. Discussion of in situ conservation of wild relatives of cultivated Brassicas resulted in the recommendation that Sicily, with its population of B. macrocarpa, B. villosa and B. rupestris, be the first focal point in developing in situ strategies for wild Brassica. A project was prepared for submission to the EC1467/94 Programme of the European Union. However, it was not selected for funding. It is planned to be resubmitted for the third call in1998. Several studies on regeneration and rationalization methods were presented, highlighting the need for the establishment of precise guidelines, in order to minimize the workload devoted to this task in the genebanks, as well as to ensure the maintenance of the original genetic diversity during the regeneration procedure. Progress in 1997 and first quarter 1998 An Extraordinary Meeting of the Working Group was held during the ISHS Symposium on Brassica, in Rennes, France, 23-27 September 1997. The Group agreed to use the IPGRI/FAO Multi-Crop Passport Descriptors List and revised the minimum list of characterization descriptors to be used for the European Brassica Database. An overview of the six years of the activities of the Brassica Working Group and an on-line presentation of the Bras- EDB were given during the Symposium. The Bras-EDB was shown to include data for around 13 000 accessions, distributed in 20 countries. It was further confirmed that it was an essential tool for the rational management and utilization of the collections and had been instrumental in the establishment of a B. oleracea core collection. The Bras-EDB can be searched on-line at http://www.cpro.dlo.nl/cgn/brasedb/ and via the European Information Platform on Crop Genetic Resources. Outlook Further development of the Bras-EDB is expected, particularly through inclusion of minimum characterization data. It is planned that collaborative projects for multi-locational evaluation of accessions belonging to core collections of B. oleracea, B. napus and B. rapa, will be submitted to European funding agencies. Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 46 The Group is committed to establishing formal agreements for safety duplication of accessions and several institutes are offering space for “black boxes” in their genebanks. A compilation of the existing regeneration practices in genebanks is being prepared by the Nordic Gene Bank. 3.4.3 Umbellifers ad hoc group A proposal for the development of a Crop Working Group to advance genetic resources work for carrot and wild Daucus was made at the Sixth TCC meeting in Slovakia in September 1995. It was agreed that ECP/GR undertake ad hoc action for Daucus during Phase V. Progress in 1997 An ad hoc meeting on Daucus Genetic Resources was held on 31 August 1997 in Kraków, Poland, jointly with the Fifth meeting of the EUCARPIA Carrot Working Group which took place 31 August to 5 September 1997. The meeting, organized in collaboration with Dave Astley of HRI, Wellesbourne, UK, convened 17 participants, representing 13 ECP/GR countries, including one observer from the Russian Federation and one from USDA. Wide interest in the family Umbelliferae in general was manifested during the meeting, and the Group agreed that it would have a wider scope, focusing its activities on nine genera (Daucus, Apium, Petroselinum, Anethum, Coriandrum, Carum, Foeniculum, Pastinaca and Chaerophyllum). The Group agreed on the establishment of a European Umbelliferae Database, under the management of HRI, Wellesbourne, U.K. The IPGRI/FAO Multi-Crop Passport Descriptors List will be used for data exchange and further characterization/evaluation descriptors will be elaborated by subgroups. In response to a specific request for help made by the Russian participant from VIR, collaboration was offered by several institutes on the regeneration of landraces and old varieties of carrot. The urgency of organizing collecting expeditions to fill the gaps in the Umbelliferae European collections was emphasized and this will also be highlighted by the Group in the project proposal intended for submission to the third call of EC 1467/94. Several areas of potential collaboration were also identified, such as safety duplication, taxonomy investigation and molecular markers studies. Dr Dave Astley was elected as Chairperson. Outlook Interest in Umbellifers genetic resources is expected to increase in Europe, in view of their possible use as alternative crops in their use as medicinal and aromatic plants. In the past, this family has received no attention from ECP/GR and some support may be required to enable the Umbellifers group to maintain momentum. 3.5 Grain Legumes Network The establishment of a Pisum Working Group and the initiation of activities with regard to other grain legumes was recommended by the Committee several years ago, but was never realized due to budgetary restrictions. Within Phase V, a Working Group on Grain Legumes was established and by the end of the phase it will have met twice. 3.5.1 Grain Legumes Working Group The Group met for the first time in July 1995 and a second meeting will take place in October 1998. The Group has been chaired throughout the phase by Dr Mike Ambrose, John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK. Overall progress The First meeting of the ECP/GR Grain Legumes Working Group was held 14-16 July 1995 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Immediate actions to be taken were prioritized, namely, ensuring the safety of the collections and enhancing the associated information. The status of grain legumes collections in each country was reviewed and collaborative actions agreed. To facilitate the management of the large number of collections of grain legumes maintained in Europe and to provide users with improved access to information, it was decided that European Databases be established for Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 47 several grain legume crops. The existing Pisum database continues to be maintained jointly by the John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK and the Plant Experimental Station, Wiatrowa, Poland. A Cicer database was established at the National Plant Breeding Station in Elvas, Portugal; a Glycine database was established at the Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry in St Petersburg, Russia; a Lupinus database was established at the Plant Experimental Station, Wiatrowa, Poland; the Federal Office of Agrobiology in Linz, Austria established a Phaseolus Database, a Vicia faba Database was established at INRA, Le Rheu, France and the responsibility for a Lens database was accepted by AARI, Izmir, Turkey. Progress in 1997 and first quarter 1998 Central Crop Database managers for Phaseolus, Lupinus and Cicer attended ECP/GR On-line Databases Training Workshops (hed in Bonn, June 1997 or in Alnarp, February 1998). The European Databases for Glycine is now available on-line at http://www.dainet.de/eccdb/glycine and through the European Information Platform for Crop Genetic Resources. An Entry Page for the European Phaseolus Database is also available on this Platform. A preliminary CD-ROM version of the European Phaseolus Database has been distributed by the Federal Office of Agrobiology in Linz, Austria. Outlook A second meeting of the Grain Legumes Working Group is planned for October 1998 in Norwich, UK. It is expected that the standardizing of the IPGRI/FAO Multi-Crop Passport Descriptors List will be formally adopted for all the European grain legumes databases. Furthermore, one of subjects likely to be raised at this meeting is the inclusion of additional characterization and evaluation data into the databases, as well as the review of safety duplication agreements and the status of regeneration needs for the collections. An area of growing interest is linkage between the formal and informal sector. These two sectors have different areas of expertise which could be used effectively in partnerships and further opportunities of collaboration may also be discussed at this meeting. 3.5.2 Other activities within the network Issue No. 12 of “Grain Legumes” (European Association for Grain Legume Research - AEP) features a special report on genetic resources activities, in particular the activities of the ECP/GR Grain Legumes Working Group. A number of the members of the Working Group have contributed to this issue. The PHASELIEU project (Ref. PL 96-1753) was submitted to the European Community FAIR Programme. The objectives of this project are to promote the exchange of germplasm and facilitate stronger cooperation in research. Within this initiative, coordinated by the Mision Biologica de Galicia, Pontevedra, Spain, the Grain Legumes Working Group of ECP/GR will be represented by the Federal Office for Agrobiology, Linz, Austria, which manages the European Phaseolus database and will in this way facilitate access to the collections maintained throughout the region. The proposal was rejected in 1996 under EC 1467/94, but after re-submission in 1997 it was selected for funding as a FAIR project. Emergency action The Phaseolus collection of the University of Cambridge, currently deposited at HRI, Wellesbourne, is facing difficulties in being maintained and some material is urgently in need of rejuvenation. Urgent action for the regeneration of the most threatened accessions is being planned using ECP/GR emergency funds. Italian institutions have been contacted and agreements are underway to start a regeneration exercise during Summer 1998. Only part of the total cost will be charged against ECP/GR, while the rest will be offered as an input-in- kind. A first selection of the most threatened and unique accessions was made possible, thanks to the utilization of the European Phaseolus database managed by the Federal Office for Agrobiology, Linz, Austria. This institute has also offered to host a sample of the regenerated accessions as 'black box” safety duplicates. 3.6 Fruit Network Within the framework of the Fruit Network, the Prunus Working Group has been operative during the whole phase. The Group held one formal Meeting and two Extraordinary Meetings. An ad hoc Workshop on Malus genetic Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 48 resources was followed by a formal meeting of the Malus/Pyrus Working Group, following the establishment of this new Group by the Steering Committee in Nitra, September 1995. 3.6.1 Prunus Working Group A Prunus Working Group Meeting was organized in Turkey in 1996 and two Extraordinary Sessions were held in 1996 and 1997, together with the Coordination Meetings of the EU funded project Gen Res 61. The Group has been chaired throughout the phase by Prof. Dr Françoise Dosba from ENSAM/INRA, Montpellier, France. Overall progress The Fifth meeting of the Working Group on Prunus was held in Izmir, Turkey from 1-3 February 1996. National coordination structures for Prunus genetic resources conservation were presented and the status of collections reported. Following the transfer of the European Prunus Database (EPDB) from the Nordic Gene Bank to the Institut National de Recherches Agronomique (INRA), Bordeaux, France, in 1993, a call for the revision of national records was sent out to collection holders in early 1994. This included a questionnaire on the status of the collection; computer facilities available to curators; and, in the case of the EU countries, an invitation to participate in the formulation of a project proposal, under the programme on genetic resources (EC1467/94). A new structure and user interface for the database were presented by A. Zanetto from INRA, Bordeaux. Following the successful submission of the project proposal to the EU, an Extraordinary Meeting was held in Rome, Italy at the Istituto Sperimentale per la Frutticoltura, from 28 to 30 October 1996, jointly with the First Coordination Meeting of the EU Project GEN RES 61. The principal objectives of the workshop were to discuss the priority descriptors for inclusion in the European Prunus Database (EPDB) and to further define the workplan to be carried out within the GEN RES 61 Project. Working Group members from non-EU countries agreed to collaborate with the EU project on complementary activities, such as the characterization and evaluation of original material; agronomic evaluation in areas for which these institutes can offer specific expertise; and the transfer of additional data to the EPDB. ECP/GR agreed to partially fund these complementary activities in accordance with the decision of the Steering Committee (TCC, 1993). Progress in 1997 and first quarter 1998 A further Extraordinary Meeting of the Prunus Working Group was held 13-15 November 1997 in Zaragoza, Spain, jointly with the second Coordination Meeting of GEN RES 61. The presence of non-EU participants, collaborating in the project with ECP/GR support, made it possible to reach a good integration of the EU project and the Working Group activities. The input of eastern European data into the EPDB is rapidly adding value to the database. The final EPDB structure was presented, including fields for the agreed IPGRI/FAO Multi-crop passport data and for common and crop specific descriptors for almond, apricot, cherry, peach and plum. A revised set of priority evaluation descriptors was agreed for each Prunus crop, together with reference cultivars. The definition of a European Collection concept was considered reasonable by the Group and a Task Force is elaborating the implications of implementing this concept, with the intent of presenting a proposal for consideration to the ECP/GR Steering Committee (Agenda Item 7 of Steering Committee Meeting). The EPDB Manager attended the ECP/GR -NGB Training Workshop on On-line Databases, held in Alnarp, Sweden in February 1998. An Entry Page for the database is now accessible on Internet from the European Platform and the database will shortly be available in a searchable form on-line. Outlook The Group recommends that its activities be continued into Phase VI, without merging with the Malus/Pyrus Working Group. Opportunities in the future include, the incorporation of fruit quality data and molecular marker data and the realization of a European Prunus collection. The Working Group would welcome continued support from the EU, for example, to allow molecular tools to be used to exploit Prunus genetic resources for use in breeding programmes and to allow participation of non-EU countries. For a successful integration of marker data into the EPDB, a prolongation of the EU GENRES 61 project would be helpful. Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 49 3.6.2 Malus/Pyrus Working Group This Working Group, formally established in 1995, has been chaired since the first meeting in 1997, by Prof. Terry Swinburne of Wye College, University of London, UK. Overall progress An ad hoc European Malus Germplasm Workshop was held 21-25 June 1995 at Wye College, University of London, UK. The meeting was organized and hosted by Wye College in close collaboration with the ECP/GR Coordinator. The status of individual countries’ Malus collections and their use for breeding programmes and molecular research was overviewed. It was agreed that a common central database would be developed, based on the work underway at HRI, Wellesbourne, UK, where a relational database was established for the European Apple Gene Mapping Project. A project proposal on Malus, submitted to the EU genetic resources Programme (EC)1467/94 was unfortunately not successful. However, the Malus database was implemented at the National Fruit Collections (NFC), Wye College, UK as an input-in-kind. Progress in 1997 and 1998 The First meeting of the ECP/GR Working Group on Malus/Pyrus was held at the University College of Dublin (UCD), Ireland 15-17 May 1997 and was attended by representatives from 19 countries. The local organization was arranged by the Irish Seed Savers of Capparoe, Ireland. It was agreed that the Malus central database would be maintained on behalf of the group at Wye College, London, UK. A list of descriptors for data exchange was established, based on the Multi-crop passport list, agreed in Budapest, October 1996 and on a priority list of characterization and evaluation descriptors. The establishment of a Central Pyrus Database was recommended and the group identified institutes in France, Belgium or Italy as possible hosts for this Database. There was a consensus to resubmit the project on Malus genetic resources to the third call for proposals to EC 1467/94 and this will be again coordinated Wye College. A similar project proposal for Pyrus genetic resources was also considered appropriate but a Coordinator still needs to be identified. The essential role of NGOs in the inventory of local knowledge and in the conservation of old varieties was emphasized. The Group visited the collection of old Irish apple varieties established at UCD after extensive surveys of the territory by the Irish Seed Savers. This was a clear example of the beneficial collaboration between NGOs and the formal sector. The concept of a European Collection of Malus and Pyrus was considered valuable in principle and the central Malus database would be an essential tool to establish this type of Regional Collection. An offer to host the European Pyrus Database was made by the Centre de Recherches Agronomiques of Gembloux, Belgium. A similar offer was made by the Fruit Genebank of IPK Gatersleben, Germany, Emergency action Threats of losing the Malus collection at the Maikop station of VIR, Russia, due to the age and perilous state of the trees, prompted ECP/GR to fund an emergency mission to promote the recovery of endangered accessions. Graft wood from trees of the most threatened species and accessions was taken to the Genebank Obst Dresden-Pillnitz in Germany, where it will be kept temporarily and repatriated to Russian Fruit Genebank in the future. In the meantime, plans are underway to transfer the whole collection to another site within the Maikop station. Outlook The development of the Malus and Pyrus databases is seen as a necessary tool for the future monitoring and use of the genetic resources collections. Opportunities to include evaluation data is seen as the most important step in this direction. The analysis of the database should also assist the identification of unique accessions in the near future which will be a step in the right direction towards implementing a European Collection. One next step could be the formal establishment of safety duplicates in a European context. Meetings of the Working Groups are seen as an important way of securing the genetic resources of Malus and Pyrus, and as an effective fora for the exchange of ideas. The members strongly recommend that the Group Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 50 continue to meet as frequently as ECP/GR funds permit during Phase VI. The Working Group can play a key role in raising commitment for the long-term conservation of the collections. 3.7 Other Networks Within the framework of the ’Industrial Crops and Potato Network’, collaboration was enhanced between ECP/GR and the existing European initiatives on Beta and Potato. Both of these initiatives have submitted successful project proposals to the EU genetic resources programme (EC1467/94). The Managers of the international databases associated with these initiatives attended the Documentation Meeting in Budapest (see Documentation and Information Network). Arrangements were made for the participation of some of the eastern European institutes in the EU funded projects together with further participation to the Coordination Meetings of these projects. ECP/GR has offered support to the International Beta Genetic Resources Network, with the publication of the report of the Fourth International Beta Genetic Resources Workshop, held in Izmir, Turkey, 1995. Within the framework of the ’In situ and on-farm conservation network’ an ad hoc Workshop on the Conservation of Wild Sicilian Brassicas was organized in Palermo on 19 April 1997, by the Palermo Botanical Garden, in collaboration with ECP/GR. The holding of this small Workshop was recommended by the Brassica Working Group in order to illustrate to local authorities the importance of Sicilian wild Brassicas, and to formulate a feasible plan of action for in situ conservation. A request for inclusion of B. rupestris and B. villosa on the red list of protected species of the Bern Convention was eventually formulated and forwarded to the appropriate Italian authorities. Furthermore, a draft project proposal for an integrated conservation and research programme on Sicilian wild Brassicas was prepared, under the coordination of Prof. Francesco Raimondo, for submission to Italian funding agencies. A special one-day session on in situ and on-farm conservation will be held during the European Symposium on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Braunschweig, Germany, 30 June-4 July 1998. A Network on Technical Cooperation was established by the Steering Committee to enable ECP/GR to facilitate support of PGR activities in other regions. Due to financial constraints, however, it was not possible to carry out specific actions within this framework. During the above mentioned Symposium in Braunschweig, a specific session will focus on European collaboration with other regions. 4. ECP/GR and the International Technical Conference on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA) ECP/GR collaborated in the preparatory process to the International Conference on Plant Genetic Resources, held in Leipzig 17-23 June 1996. This process significantly contributed towards strengthening links between national programmes and ECP/GR and raising awareness on the importance of PGR at the national level. The FAO Regional Meeting on Genetic Resources (24 -27 September 1995, Nitra, Slovakia) was organized by IPGRI’s Europe Group in collaboration with the Agroinstitut in Nitra, ’back to back’ with the Sixth meeting of the Technical Consultative Committee of ECP/GR. A total of 90 delegates representing 35 countries, the European Commission, the private sector, NGOs, FAO and IPGRI attended the meeting. The main outcomes of the meeting included: a recommendation to promote sharing of conservation responsibilities and rationalization of collections at the sub- regional level; strong appreciation of the role of IPGRI in the global and regional context; increased recognition of the role of NGOs; support for more activities on minor/underutilized species; formulation of a number of priority areas for technical cooperation with other regions; and a recommendation that ECP/GR be used as the platform to facilitate the implementation of the Global Plan of Action in the European Region. Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 51 A European Symposium on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, to be held at the Federal Centre for Breeding Research on Cultivated Plants (BafZ), Braunschweig, Germany, 30 June- 4 July 1998, is being organized as a regional follow-up to the International Technical Conference in 1996, Leipzig, Germany. This Symposium was held in conjunction with the Seventh Meeting of the ECP/GR Steering Committee. The objectives of the European Symposium are: À to assess progress made at European level in implementing the Global Plan of Action (GPA); À to identify gaps and weaknesses in the implementation process and recommend solutions; À to enhance further and more intensive international collaboration among European countries in view of the further implementation of the GPA; À to provide an opportunity for effective discussion and the development of collaboration between the formal sector, private sector and NGOs; À to assess the contribution of European countries to the international conservation of PGRFA and wider agricultural biodiversity; À to provide an input into the priority setting and planning of initiatives such as ECP/GR and the European commission genetic resources programme; À to contribute to public awareness of the importance and value of PGRFA. 5. ECP/GR and the EU Programme on genetic resources for agriculture (EC 1467/94) With the publication of the Commission Regulation (EC) 1467/94 of 20 June 1994 on the conservation, characterization, collection and utilization of genetic resources in agriculture, the European Union established an action programme on genetic resources. ECP/GR has served as a forum for many Groups preparing projects for this programme. The ECP/GR Coordinator has maintained close contacts with these Groups; has participated in preparation meetings; has given advice on formulation and scope of proposals; and has provided drafting groups with information about the programme. In doing this, ways were suggested in which institutions from non-EU countries could be included in the projects. A total of 44 project proposals relating to plant genetic resources were submitted to the first call of proposals, and of these, six were selected. Two of these were the Allium and the Prunus projects which were prepared within the respective ECP/GR Working Groups. Projects presented by the Working Groups on Barley, Forages, Avena and Brassica were unsuccessful. Following the second call for proposals of the EU Genetic Resources Programme (EC 1467/94), two additional project proposals of direct relevance to ECP/GR, namely the proposal on Maize and the proposal on Vitis, have been approved for funding. Unfortunately, the proposals submitted on Malus and Wheat were unsuccessful. To implement the decisions made by Steering Committee with regard to funds carried over from Phase IV (TCC, 1993; TCC, 1995), arrangements have been made to facilitate collaboration with institutes from non-EU countries for the projects approved by the European Commission. The projects relevant to ECP/GR are: • Allium project Gen Res 20: Czech Republic and Poland. • Prunus project Gen Res 61: Czech Republic, Hungary, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic, Switzerland, Turkey. • Beta project Gen Res 42: Czech Republic, Poland, Russian Federation. • Potato project Gen Res 34/45: Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Russian Federation, Ukraine. • Grapevine project Gen Res 81: Bulgaria, Hungary, Switzerland. • Maize project Gen Res 88: F.R. Yugoslavia. A detailed breakdown of the expenditure from Phase IV, as recommended at the TCC in Nitra, 1995, is reported in Appendix 1, Table 3. Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 52 6. Publications The following publications have been produced during Phase V by ECP/GR or in collaboration with ECP/GR. These can be obtained free of charge from IPGRI’s Regional Office for Europe: v Report of the Fifth Technical Consultative Committee, held in August 1993, Bulgaria; v Report of the Sixth Technical Consultative Committee, held in September 1995, Slovakia; v Directory of European Institutions Holding Crop Genetic Resources Collections (Fourth Edition), IPGRI/FAO 1995; v Report on the preparatory process in Europe for the ITC, Leipzig, IPGRI/FAO, 1996; v ECP/GR Brochure, 1995; v Descriptions of national plant genetic resources documentation systems in eastern European countries, CPRO- DLO and ECP/GR, 1995; v Report of the Second Brassica Working Group meeting, held in November 1994, Portugal; v Report of the Fifth Forages Working Group meeting, held in March/April 1995, Bulgaria; v Report of the First Grain Legumes Working Group meeting, held in April 1995, Denmark; v Report of the Fifth Allium Working Group meeting held in May 1995, Poland; v Report of the Malus genetic resources workshop held in June 1995, UK; v Report of the Fifth Prunus Working Group meeting held in February 1996, Turkey; v Report of a Workshop on Wheat Genetic Resources, held in March 1996, France; v Report of a Workshop on Maize Genetic Resources, held in May 1996, Italy; v Report of a Workshop on Central Crop Databases: Tools for Plant Genetic Resources Management, held in October 1996, Hungary; v Report of an Extraordinary Meeting of the ECP/GR Prunus Working Group and the First Coordination Meeting of the Project GEN RES 61, held in October 1996, Italy; v Report of the Third Brassica Working Group meeting, held in November 1996, Italy; v Report of the Fourth International Beta Genetic Resources Workshop, held in Izmir, Turkey, 1995; v IPGRI Newsletter for Europe Issues 1 to 13; v European Cooperative Programme Allium Newsletter No. 6, 7 and 8 (edited by Dave Astley, HRI Wellesbourne, UK); v Prunus Genetic Resources Newsletter No. 1 of the ECP/GR Prunus Working Group (compiled at Horticulture Research International, East Malling, UK); v Prunus Genetic Resources Newsletter No. 2 of the ECP/GR Prunus Working Group (compiled at the Aegean Agricultural Research Institute, Menemen, Turkey); v Prunus Genetic Resources Newsletter No. 3 of the ECP/GR Prunus Working Group (compiled at the Agricultural Research Institute of Cacak, F.R. Yugoslavia); v Report of a Secale Workshop, held in July 1996, Poland; v Report of the First Malus/Pyrus meeting, held in May 1997, Ireland; The following publications are at different stages of preparation and will be published as outputs of Phase V: v Report of an Extraordinary Meeting of the ECP/GR Prunus Working Group and the Second Coordination Meeting of the Project GEN RES 61, held in November 1997, Spain; v Report of the Sixth Forages Working Group meeting, held in March 1997, Norway. v Report of the Fifth Barley meeting, held in July 1997, Germany; v Report of the Sixth Allium Working Group meeting held in October 1997, Bulgaria; v Report of the Fifth Avena Working Group meeting held in May 1998, Lithuania; v Report of the Second Grain Legumes Working Group meeting, held in October 1998, UK.; v Prunus Genetic Resources Newsletter No. 4 of the ECP/GR Prunus Working Group (compiled at Fruit Growing Station Valcea, Romania) Rome, 11 July 1998 Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 53 Lorenzo Maggioni Thomas Gass ECP/GR Coordinator Director, Regional Office for Europe IPGRI, Via delle Sette Chiese 142, 00145 Rome, Italy Tel. (39-06) 518 92 231, Fax. (39-06) 575 0309, Email: L.MAGGIONI@CGNET.COM Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 54 Appendix 1: Intermediate Financial Report This intermediate financial report is annexed to the End of Phase V report of ECP/GR to provide members of this Committee with an overview of the status of contributions and expenditures of the Programme. The final financial report will be submitted on completion of Phase V of the Programme. Table 1. ECP/GR Contributions received for 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997 Participating country9 Contributions for 1994 Contributions for 1995 Contributions for 1996 Contributions for 1997 Contributions still due on 31/12/97 Austria 10 000 10 000 10 000 10 000 Belgium 10 000 10 000 10 000 10 000 Bulgaria10 5 000 5 000 5 000 97 = 5 00011 Croatia 5 000 5 000 5 000 Cyprus 2 000 2 000 2 000 2 000 Czech Republic 5 000 5 000 5 000 5 000 Denmark 10 000 10 000 10 000 10 000 Finland 5 000 5 000 5 000 5 000 France 30 000 30 000 30 000 30 000 Germany 30 000 30 000 30 000 30 000 Greece 5 000 5 000 5 000 5 000 Hungary 5 000 5 000 5 000 5 000 Iceland 2 000 95 / 96/ 97 = 6 00012 Ireland 5 000 5 000 5 000 5 000 Israel 5 000 5 000 5 000 5 000 Italy 30 000 30 000 96/97 = 60 000 Lithuania 5 000 5 000 97 = 5 00013 Malta 2 000 2 000 Netherlands 10 000 10 000 10 000 10 000 Norway 5 000 5 000 5 000 5 000 Poland 5 000 5 000 5 000 5 000 Portugal 5 000 95/96/97 = 15 00014 Romania 5 000 5 000 5 000 5 000 Slovakia 5 000 5 000 5 000 5 000 Spain 10 000 10 000 10 000 10 000 Sweden 10 000 10 000 10 000 10 000 Switzerland 10 000 10 000 10 000 10 000 Turkey 5 000 5 000 5 000 5 000 UK 30 000 30 000 30 000 30 000 Yugoslavia 5 000 5 000 5 000 5 000 Total 264 000 267 000 239 000 229 000 91 000 US$ Total receipts Phase V by 31/12/97 999 000 Total receipts expected during 1998 377 000 Revised Budget Phase V 1 376 000 Total Budget Phase V (TCC Report, 1993) 1 520 00015 9 Albania, the Russian Federation and Ukraine were represented at the Steering Committee meeting in Bulgaria (1993) where Phase V of ECP/GR was approved. These countries have not yet joined Phase V. Croatia and Lithuania joined in 1995, Malta joined in 1996. 10 Bulgaria covered the local expenses of the Forages Working Group meeting in Hissar, April 1995 and the Allium Working Group meeting in Plovdiv, October 1997. This is considered equivalent to a contribution of US$ 15 000. 11 Bulgaria’s contribution for 1997 (5 000 US$) was received in January 1998. 12 Iceland’s contribution for 1995, 1996 and 1997 was received in July 1998. 13 Lithuania covered the local expenses of the Avena Working Group meeting in Vilnius, May 1998. This is considered equivalent to 7 500 US$, covering Lithuania’s contribution for 1997 and half of 1998. 14 Portugal’s contribution for 1995, 1996 and 1997 (15 000 US$) was received in April 1998. Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 55 15 This is no longer the Budget for Phase V of ECP/GR Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR Table 2. Expenditures during 1994 and 1995, 1996 and 1997 Budget 1994 US$ Expenses 1994 US$ Budget 1995 US$ Expenses 1995 US$ Budget 1996 US$ Expenses 1996 US$ Budget 1997 US$ Expenses 1997 US$ Cumulated expenses Phase V US$ Full-time ECP/GR Network Coordinator 80 000 69 050 82 000 95 229 84 000 70 421 86 000 74 513 309 213 Direct administration support On average 1/2 time IPGRI secretary 20 000 8 868 20 500 7 670 21 000 34 438 21 500 45 479 96 455 Official travel 14 000 172 14 000 18 944 14 000 19 148 14 000 10 759 49 023 Crop meetings and consultations1 (Working Groups) 74 667 29 210 74 667 45 843 74 667 78 093 74 667 100 906 254 052 Crop meetings and consultations (ad hoc actions)2 21 333 0 21 333 7 415 21 333 63 826 21 333 15 018 86 259 Technical Consultative Committee 0 0 50 000 29 000 0 0 0 0 29 000 Publications 25 000 0 32 000 47 541 32 000 21 543 32 000 20 020 89 104 Newsletter 3 000 0 3 000 4 287 3 000 3 719 3 000 3 595 11 601 Contingencies (including communications) 10 000 10 000 10 000 10 000 10 000 10 000 10 000 10 000 40 000 Overhead (indirect support) 13%3 32 300 12 974 40 000 31 478 33 800 44 895 34 100 49 657 139 004 TOTAL 280 300 130 274 347 500 297 407 293 800 346 083 296 600 329 947 1 103 711 Total contributions for 1994-1997 999 000 Balance -104 711 Note: In addition to the above, the following expenses were charged in 1997 against the fund balance remaining from Phase IV (Ref. TCC report, Nitra, 1995) • 77 300 Participation of non-EU countries in the EU projects on Allium, Beta, potato and Prunus genetic resources • 16 955 Participation of non-EU countries in the meetings of the EU projects on potato, Prunus and Vitis genetic resources • 4 899 Emergency funds (Apple genetic resources, Maikop, Russia) 1Includes a contribution equivalent to $7 500 from Bulgaria in hosting the Forages Working Group meeting in 1994 plus $ 7 500 in hosting the Allium Working Group meeting in 1997, covering local expenses. 2In September 1995, the Steering Committee of ECP/GR decided to allocate US$ 96 000 of the budget previously foreseen for crop meetings and consultations to ad hoc actions (TCC Report, 1995). 313% overhead was applied on all funds spent during Phase V (including funds remaining from Phase IV) Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR Table 3. ECP/GR Phase IV, Financial Status as of 31.12.1997 (in US $) Available funds 1.1.1994 Expenses 1996 Expenses 1997 Available funds 31.12.97 Secretarial support and contingencies to be recovered during Phase V 30 000 30 000 0 0 Emergency fund 25 000 4 899 20 10116 Support to institutions from non EU countries to participate in EC funded projects 159 375 14 080 94 255 51 040 Total 214 375 44 080 99 154 71 141 Participation of non-EU countries in coordination meetings of the EU funded projects 1996: Prunus, US$ 14 080 1997: potato, US$ 6 744; Prunus, US$ 8 785; Vitis, US$ 1 426; Participation of non EU countries in activities of the EU funded projects 1997 - Beta, US$ 14 300; potato, US$ 20 000; Prunus, US$ 30 000, Allium, US$ 13 000 Emergency funds 1997 - Apple genetic resources, Maikop, Russia, US$ 4 889 16 In 1998 Emergency funds are allocated to the following actions: • Collecting of threatened Vitis germplasm in Albania, by the University of Milan, Italy • Regeneration of threatened Phaseolus accessions from the collection of the University of Cambridge, carried out by Italian Experimental Station and Universities. • Multiplication of forages accessions for the reconstruction of the Albanian national collection Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 58 Table 4. Expected results of Phase V (1994-1998) (US$) Cumulated Budget (1994-1997) Cumulated expenses (1994-1997) Expected Expenses 1998 Expected cumulated expenses Phase V Full-time ECP/GR Network Coordinator 332 000 309 213 75 000 384 213 Direct administration support 1/2 time IPGRI secretary 83 000 96 455 22 000 118 455 Official travel 56 000 49 023 7 000 56 023 Crop meetings and consultations (working groups) 298 668 254 052 54 500 308 552 Crop meetings and consultations (ad hoc actions)17 85 332 86 259 16 000 102 259 Technical Consultative Committee 50 000 29 000 50 000 79 000 Publications 121 000 89 104 35 500 124 604 Newsletter 12 000 11 601 3 399 15 000 Contingencies (including communications) 40 000 40 000 10 000 50 000 Subtotal 1 078 000 964 707 273 399 1 238 106 Overhead (indirect support) 13%18 140 200 139 004 44 790 183 794 Total 1 218 200 1 103 711 318 189 1 421 900 Total contributions expected for 1994-199819 1 376 000 Balance - 45 900 17 In September 1995, the Steering Committee of ECP/GR decided to allocate US$ 96 000 of the budget previously foreseen for crop meetings and consultations to ad hoc actions (TCC Report, 1995). 18 13% overhead on all funds spent during Phase V (including funds remaining from Phase IV) 19 Includes a contribution equivalent to $15 000 from Bulgaria in hosting the Forages Working Group meeting in 1994 and the Allium Working Group meting in 1997, covering local expenses and a contribution equivalent to $ 7 500 from Lithuania in hosting the Avena Working Group meeting in 1998. Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 59 European Cooperative Programme for Crop Genetic Resources Networks (ECP/GR) “““ Annex V. Proposal for a Phase VI of ECP/GR Introduction and background The European Cooperative Programme for Conservation and Exchange of Crop Genetic Resources (ECP/GR), as it was originally called, was established as a UNDP/FAO project in 1980, following the recommendation of EUCARPIA. As of 1983, European countries requested IPGRI to provide overall coordination for the Programme. At that time, the Programme was funded to 50% by its participating countries and to 50% by UN agencies, although since 1986, ECP/GR has been fully funded by its members. In 1998, 32 European countries participate actively in the Programme. Phase V of ECP/GR was initiated in 1994 for a duration of five years. In 1995, the Steering Committee of ECP/GR decided to modify the Programme’s structure to enable it to catalyse a broader range of activities in the region. At the subsequent FAO Regional Meeting on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (Nitra, Slovakia, 1995), European countries agreed that: "…the European Cooperative Programme for Crop Genetic Resources Networks, the basis of which are active national programmes, be used as the platform to facilitate the implementation of the Global Plan of Action for the European region as part of the FAO Global System on Plant Genetic Resources"20. The context within which ECP/GR is implemented has changed during the past five years:  Phase V has been marked by a number of international policy events which have given more visibility and accountability to ECP/GR (i.e. the ICPPGR Process and the Leipzig Conference; the negotiations of the International Undertaking on PGRFA; Conferences of the Parties to CBD; etc.);  The number of ECP/GR member countries has increased from 26 countries (Phase IV) to 32 and is likely to increase further in the future;  Within countries, the interest in genetic resources activities is growing. Consequently, countries wish to send representatives to many of the ECP/GR Working Group meetings;  Representatives of the private sector (ASSINSEL) have been invited to attend the Steering Committee meetings and the Working Group meetings as observers. This participation is considered very valuable;  The non-governmental sector has expressed interest in being associated more closely with the Programme. At its Seventh meeting, the Steering Committee invited NGOs to send one representative to its meetings; 20 IPGRI/FAO. 1996. International Technical Conference on PGR: Preparatory Process for Europe. IPGRI/FAO, Rome, Italy. Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 60  An EU genetic resources programme was initiated in 1994. ECP/GR has interacted closely with this programme through a range of activities. In particular, ECP/GR has facilitated the participation of institutions from non-EU countries in projects funded under the Programme EC 14676/94.  The past five years have seen significant changes in the area of communication/documentation technology. Despite a relatively moderate availability of funds in institutes managing the European Central Crop Databases, and at the ECP/GR Secretariat, the Programme has adapted to these changes (relational databases were established, Internet access was provided to the Databases , an ECP/GR central home page was established, etc.); and  The past five years have been marked by an increased economic gap between countries situated at opposite extremes of economic development in the region. Impact of the Programme since its establishment in 1981 When assessed against its objectives, ECP/GR has had a significant impact in a number of areas:  Since its establishment, ECP/GR has contributed significantly towards raising the awareness of policy makers and the agricultural research community on the importance of conserving genetic resources. This has led inter alia to an increase in plant genetic resources related activities in the region and an increase in the number of countries participating in the Programme.  The Programme has led to a considerable level of coordination of collecting and conservation activities and to the submission of a large number of collaborative project proposals to funding agencies, such as the European Commission.  ECP/GR has stimulated a high willingness to cooperate beyond national boundaries in matters related to plant genetic resources (e.g. development of regeneration guidelines, exchange of data and germplasm).  It has played an important role in stimulating the establishment of national coordination structures on plant genetic resources, as illustrated by the active participation of the countries within the region in the preparatory process leading up to the FAO International Technical Conference on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, held in June 1996 in Leipzig.  During initial phases of the Programme and again during Phase V, ECP/GR has played an important role as an information hub in matters relating to training opportunities and the identification of suitable candidates for training courses.  It has facilitated a better international access to collections through documentation systems that have been established within its framework and which are increasingly available through a common access point on the Internet 21.  It has led to a relatively high degree of harmonization of characterization activities on a crop-by-crop basis, by facilitating the preparation of international descriptor lists.  It has promoted the use of a wider range of diversity in breeding and has supported the development of international evaluation projects and the establishment of core collections.  It has facilitated consensus on strategic and policy matters in a very heterogenous region (e.g. in fora such as the FAO Commission on Genetic resources for Food and Agriculture).  It has promoted alliances between strong and weak countries, by bringing together researchers on a more informal basis, or by actually supporting the collaboration of east European institutes in EU- projects. It should be noted that the above-mentioned impact cannot be attributed to the Programme alone. ECP/GR has been a successful catalyst in a context in which highly motivated individuals and institutions have carried 21 European Information Platform on Crop Genetic Resources (http://www.cgiar.org/ecpgr/platform/index.htm) Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 61 conservation concerns forward. It is these persons and institutions, and the activities which they agreed to contribute as an input in kind, that ultimately constitute the core of the Programme. A number of areas exist in which ECP/GR has only partially achieved an impact. These areas are challenges for European cooperation on PGRFA and need to be addressed in the near future:  For budgetary reasons, ECP/GR has focused on those crops which are important to the region’s agriculture, for which Europe holds valuable ex situ collections, and for which no other regional initiative existed. The changes made in 1995 to broaden the Programme’s structure (see Report of Phase V) were not accompanied by increases in funding, instead the funding to the Programme remained stable during the five years of Phase V. Consequently, a number of important crops and themes are yet to be adequately covered.  Although a concept is being developed to possibly establish decentralized European Collections, ECP/GR has only partially succeeded in facilitating a real prioritization of conservation activities (identification and safety duplication of unique material, reduction of redundancies, etc.). Actual sharing of collections still remains rare.  The shifting of breeding activities from the public to the private sector has, to some extent, detached the breeders from the genetic resources collections. ECP/GR has only partially succeeded in counterbalancing this trend. A more intensive utilization of genetic resources through renewed and enhanced cooperation between breeders and genebanks is essential to a sustainable regional conservation effort.  More needs to be done to stimulate a long-term commitment of countries towards plant genetic resources conservation. Genebanks have been built, national strategies have been put in place to address plant genetic resources conservation, staff have been trained, but a low level of operating funds shows that the strategic nature of plant genetic resources has not yet been recognized in many countries. The continuation of ECP/GR Strong recommendations have been received from National Coordinators, from the ECP/GR Working Groups, and recently during the European Symposium on PGRFA22, that the Programme be continued and that it be developed further in the sense of the above-mentioned "Nitra-recommendation". It is widely agreed that ECP/GR should primarily play a convening and a catalysing role - in full complementarity with the activities being carried out at the national level as an input-in-kind to European cooperation on PGRFA. A proposal for Phase VI of ECP/GR is presented below, in response to what is perceived as a strong request from member countries to propose ways in which ECP/GR can still more effectively fulfil its mandate, as a Platform to facilitate the implementation of the Leipzig Global Plan of Action. This implies, on the one hand, that the Programme should stimulate collaborative activities for a broader range of crops and themes and, on the other, that it should actively facilitate a more effective conservation and use of PGRFA, inter alia through a greater sharing of responsibilities among member countries and through making better use of the complementarity offered by in situ and ex situ strategies. Budgetary implications are given in Table 1. The proposed Programme consists of two components: a) A core component funded through regular member contributions to address what are perceived as the minimum coordination services considering the budgetary frame; and 22 European Symposium on Plant Genetic resources for Food and Agriculture, 30 June-4 July 1998, Braunschweig, Germany. Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 62 b) Complementary Modules for which funding will be raised on a voluntary basis from various sources and which will support the implementation of specific GPA Priority Activities at the regional level. Phase VI: An updated set of objectives The original objectives of ECP/GR include the creation of a system to promote direct contact between National Programmes and institutions involved in crop genetic resources activities. ECP/GR is to promote the unhindered exchange of crop genetic resources and related data. Consequently, up to date information on genetic resources is to be made easily available to users. ECP/GR is also a framework in which joint activities such as documentation, collecting expeditions, characterisation and evaluation of germplasm are implemented. These activities reflect the role of ECP/GR as the platform to facilitate the implementation of the Global Plan of Action for the conservation and sustainable utilisation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, at the European level. As such, they are an important input for the development of sustainable agriculture. The following new set of objectives will characterize Phase VI of ECP/GR:  to facilitate the long-term in situ and ex situ conservation of plant genetic resources in Europe;  to facilitate the increased utilization of plant genetic resources in Europe;  to strengthen links between all plant genetic resources Programmes in Europe and promote the integration of countries which are not members of ECP/GR;  to encourage cooperation between all stakeholders, including NGOs and private breeders;  to increase the planning of joint activities, including the development of joint project proposals to be submitted to funding agencies;  to encourage the sharing of conservation responsibilities for PGRFA in Europe;  to increase awareness, at all levels, of the importance of PGRFA activities including conservation and sustainable use; and  to seek collaboration with other relevant regional and global initiatives. Phase VI: An enhanced mode of operation To achieve greater coordination within the Crop Networks during Phase VI, Network Coordinating Groups will be activated to establish priorities for action for the extended range of crops covered by the Network. These self-organizing Coordinating Groups, will be composed of Working Group Chairs and Vice-Chairs or Database managers. The Network Coordinating Groups will work closely with the secretariat to which they will submit proposals for activities and review progress, achievements and future workplans. In the case of crops for which no Working Group exists or in the case of Networks in which no activities have been carried out in the past, the Network Coordinating Groups can initiate ad hoc actions and may propose the establishment of a Working Group to the Steering Committee. The Network Coordinating Group will strive for a balanced regional participation in the Networks’ activities. The Group Members ensure effective links between ECP/GR and the respective stakeholders at the national level. The main implementation of the Networks’ activities continues to be through Working Groups. These Working Groups will no longer necessarily meet several times during a given phase. However, the respective Chairs and Vice-Chairs will ensure that both attending and corresponding members are involved in the planning and implementation of the crop specific workplans. The main vehicle for facilitating action for any given crop will be focused meetings of a restricted number of Working Group members and resource persons, as necessary. Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 63 In the case of a meeting involving the whole Working Group, the participation through either attending or corresponding members will be determined by priorities established at the national level, as agreed at the Sixth Steering Committee meeting23. As a consequence of the increased number of Working Groups and the re-scaling of the funding categories (Table 4), the quota for attending members are now as follows: A 4 D 7 B 5 E 8 C 6 It is agreed that the Secretariat can welcome to the meeting self-funded corresponding members as long as the overall size of the Group remains conducive to working effectively. During Phase VI, the Thematic Networks will play their full role to support the Crop Networks by addressing issues common to several or all of the Crop Networks. Within the thematic Networks, activities will be carried out primarily through ad hoc actions. Making full use of the complementarity between the different Networks, emphasis will be shifted from establishing and standardizing Databases, to promoting the characterization and primary evaluation of existing accessions and the effective distribution of related information. Collaboration with users is strengthened mainly through the national networks and through a strong user-driven orientation of the Programme. The Internet presence of the Programme is strengthened (e.g. more Central Crop Datasbases on line, ECP/GR Home Page and Information Platform updated on a monthly basis) and the sharing of responsibilities between institutions and countries is actively promoted. The additional flexibility provided by the above mentioned changes in structure will be exploited to address relevant crops and themes of the Global Plan of Action which require new or increased attention. Phase VI: an intensive workplan The small increase in the overall budget is based on the assumption that about 8 out of the 10 Networks require a Network Coordination Meeting, that these meetings would not give rise to published reports, and that 7-8 larger meetings may be required (possibly at the Network level). The remaining funds budgeted under Network Operations are foreseen for small focused technical meetings and actions as part of the implementation of crop specific workplans, as well as ad hoc actions to further develop and advance the workplans within the Thematic Networks (Table 1). The secretarial support at the ECP/GR Secretariat is increased from half to full time to take into account the additional workload associated with the broadening of the scope of the Programme. Overhead charges by IPGRI remain at 13%. Complementary Programme Modules While the operative basis for and the governance of the implementation of the Global Plan of Action clearly lie with the national programmes, a number of Priority Activities of this Global Plan gain in effectiveness if they are facilitated by a regional hub. ECP/GR has been requested to play this role but lacks the core resources to be pro-active in all the relevant activities. Following a recommendation by the Steering Committee a number of complementary Modules have been proposed to provide flexibility in supporting and managing such initiatives. 23 Gass, T., G. Kleijer, M. Waldman and E. Frison, editors. 1995 Report of the Technical Consultative Committee. Sixth Meeting, 21-23 September 1995, Nitra, Slovakia. European Cooperative Programme for Crop Genetic Resources Networks (ECP/GR). International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome, Italy. Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 64 In order to avoid further strain on the Programme’s Core Budget, and consequently on Member Countries’ contributions, it is proposed that funding for these activities be raised independently and on a voluntary basis (Table 2). The possibility for the funding of Modules is not restricted to the institutions which have formally joined ECP/GR and which pay the annual contributions. It is expected that other donors and interested parties will be approached for support. The benefits of a given module will, in principle, be accessible to all member countries of ECP/GR, irrespective of whether they have financed the module or not (Module E would constitute an exception as it concerns non-EU countries in particular). Technical and financial reports on the activities carried out within the modules will be provided annually to the National Coordinators. An overview of possible Modules is given below with an indication of the GPA Priority Activity to which they relate. Module A: Surveying and inventorying PGRFA (GPA/PA 1). Module B : Emergency actions (GPA/PA 6). Module C: Compilation of crop specific regeneration guidelines (GPA/PA6). Module D : Supporting targeted collecting (GPA/PA 7). Module E : Characterization and evaluation of ex situ collections and establishment of core collections (GPA/PA 9). Module F: Genetic diversity studies to analyze comparative genetic diversity in wild relatives and their respective crop genepools (GPA/PA9). Module G : Cooperation with EU-funded projects (GPA/PA 16). Module H: Training activities (GPA/PA 19). Module I: Genetic enhancement of pre-breeding genepool via base-broadening (GPA/PA 10). Module L: Inventorying and monitoring legal framework of seed production and distribution in Europe (GPA/PA 13). Together with the Letter of Agreement for participation in Phase VI, the Secretariat will initially request voluntary contributions for Modules B, G and H. These correspond to activities which have been initiated during Phase V of ECP/GR with special funding from various donors (Table 2). It is considered that the continuation and further development of these activities is essential to maintain the momentum achieved by the Programme during Phase V. Modules A, C, D, E, F, I and L should be developed further by ad hoc groups within ECP/GR before they are submitted to participating countries and other donors. Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 65 Table 1: Workplan and budget breakdown for "Network Operations" and "Publications"24 Timing Activity Estimated number of participants Meeting and travel cost US$ Publication and distribution of proceedings Total US$ Network coordination meetings: - Cereals 15 25,000 25,000 - Forages (full meeting of the Network) 25 30,000 10,000 40,000 - Vegetables 10 20,000 20,000 - Fruit 10 20,000 20,000 - Minor crops 10 20,000 20,000 - Industrial crops 10 20,000 20,000 - in situ conservation (task force) 10 20,000 20,000 - on farm management (task force) 10 20,000 20,000 Years 1 and 2 - Technical cooperation (task force) 10 20,000 20,000 Full Network meetings: - Cereals 25 30,000 10,000 40,000 - Grain legumes 25 30,000 10,000 40,000 - Vegetables 25 30,000 10,000 40,000 - Fruit 25 30,000 10,000 40,000 - Minor crops (ad hoc meeting) 25 30,000 10,000 40,000 - Industrial Crops 25 30,000 10,000 40,000 - Technical Cooperation (ad hoc meeting) 10 20,000 10,000 30,000 - Documentation and Information 45 50,000 10,000 60,000 Focused thematic and crop meetings: Years 3 and 5 - Small technical meetings (10 events) 5-10 (in each) 110,800 10,000 120,800 Total: 555,800 100,000 655,800 Table 2: Budget break down for Modules B, G and H Module Minimum funding for initiation US$ Optimum funding level (5 years) Breakdown B: Emergency Actions 5,000 50,000  Regeneration, germplasm transfer, safety duplication  Coordination (20% as of a total volume of 50.000) 80-100% 0-20% G: Cooperation with EU-funded projects 10,000 250,000  Participation in Project meetings (100% up to a total volume of 50.000)  Partial support to types of activities foreseen within the EC funded project  Coordination (20% as of a total volume of 100.000) 100-50% 50% 0-20% H: Training activities 25,000 300,000  Database management and information distribution  Specialised training courses organised by IPGRI in collaboration with relevant national institutes (3 weeks, 30 trainees)  Partial sponsorship of trainees to attend courses or to have practical training in laboratories/ genebanks 25,000/ year 50,000/ year 0-20,000/ year 24 For the full budget of Phase VI refer to Table 3. Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 66 Budget of Phase VI Table 3 provides an overview of the budget of the Core Programme. Funding Phase VI of ECP/GR For the duration of Phase V, the annual contribution to be paid by a member country was determined on the basis of the country’s UN assessment rate, whereby groups of countries were distinguished (TCC, Bulgaria 1993). The UN General Assembly has recently adopted a revised scale of assessments, taking into account the economic development and the financial situation of its member countries (UNGA Resolution 52/215). Table 4 provides an overview of country contributions, taking into account these new assessment scales. An expected annual and five-year revenue is provided considering that a few countries may not be able to join the Programme for financial reasons. Table 3: Budget for Phase VI of ECP/GR (in US$) Phase VI Total Phase VI 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Coordinator at IPGRI 420,000 80,000 82,000 84,000 86,000 88,000 Secretarial support 219,000 43,800 43,800 43,800 43,800 43,800 Coordinator travel 60,000 12,000 12,000 12,000 12,000 12,000 Network Operations 555,800 100,000 100,000 100,000 155,800 100,000 Steering Committee mtgs. 90,000 0 0 45,000 0 45,000 Publications 100,000 0 10,000 30,000 30,000 30,000 European Internet platform 30,000 6,000 6,000 6,000 6,000 6,000 Newsletter 15,000 3,000 3,000 3,000 3,000 3,000 Communication and office consumables 50,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 Sub-total 1,539,800 254,800 266,800 333,800 346,600 337,800 Overhead (13%)25 200,174 33,124 34,684 43,394 45,058 43,914 Total 1,739,974 287,924 301,484 377,194 391,658 381,714 25 This includes provision of space in IPGRI headquarters, the input and time of IPGRI professional staff, etc. Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 67 Table 4: ECP/GR table of annual contributions during Phase VI (US$) UN rates (%) 1) Cat. 2) Annual contributions ALBANIA 0,003 A 2000 MACEDONIA (FYR) 0,004 A 2000 ARMENIA 0,011 A 2000 MALTA 0,014 A 2000 ESTONIA 0,015 A 2000 MOLDOVA 0,018 A 2000 BULGARIA 0,019 A 2000 GEORGIA 0,019 A 2000 AZERBAIJAN 0,022 A 2000 LITHUANIA 0,022 A 2000 LATVIA 0,024 A 2000 ICELAND 0,032 B 5000 CYPRUS 0,034 B 5000 YUGOSLAVIA (FR) 0,034 B 5000 CROATIA 0,036 B 5000 SLOVAKIA 0,039 B 5000 SLOVENIA 0,061 B 5000 ROMANIA 0,067 B 5000 LUXEMBOURG 0,068 B 5000 BELARUS 0,082 B 5000 HUNGARY 0,12 C 7500 CZECH REP 0,121 C 7500 POLAND 0,207 C 7500 IRELAND 0,224 C 7500 UKRAINE 0,302 C 7500 ISRAEL 0,345 C 7500 GREECE 0,351 C 7500 PORTUGAL 0,417 C 7500 TURKEY 0,44 C 7500 FINLAND 0,542 C 7500 NORWAY 0,61 D 12500 DENMARK 0,691 D 12500 AUSTRIA 0,941 D 12500 SWEDEN 1,084 D 12500 BELGIUM 1,103 D 12500 SWITZERLAND 1,215 D 12500 RUSSIA 1,487 D 12500 NETHERLANDS 1,631 D 12500 SPAIN 2,589 D 12500 UK 5,09 E 35000 ITALY 5,432 E 35000 FRANCE 6,54 E 35000 GERMANY 9,808 E 35000 total 394500 Unlikely contributions: 46500 Realistic annual: 348000 Total 5 years: $1.740.000 1) UN Assesment Rates for 1999 as % of the regular budget, UN General Assembly 20 January 1998, A/RES/52/215 2) Key to calculation of annual contributions to ECP/GR threshold Annual contribution 0 x < 0.03 2000 0,1 0.03<= x < 0.1 5000 0,6 0.1<= x <0.6 7500 5 0.6<= x< 5 12500 5 <= x 35000 Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 68 Annex VI: Statement by EUROMAB Jurgen Nauber EUROMAB Bureau, Rapporteur Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, Germany Natalia Rybianets Secretary, EUROMAB Belarus Academy of Sciences Communication for the ECP/GR Steering Committee 4 July 1998, FAL, Braunschweig. Unfortunately our schedule does not allow us to participate in the meeting of the Steering Committee. However, we would like to ask Thomas Gass to read out this communication which is made on behalf of the European MAB-Cooperation (EUROMAB). Biosphere reserves are a well suited instrument to contribute to in situ and on farm conservation and sustainable management of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. After the Braunschweig Symposium it seems that this could be one point for intensifying the cooperation between the "Plant genetic resources family" and the MAB Programme which stands for conservation, sustainable use and scientific cooperation. It is recommended that the Steering Committee takes into account for implementing the GPA in the field of in situ conservation and on farm management and conservation of PGRFA the experience and capacity of the biosphere reserves of the MAB Programme of UNESCO. It can be observed that parallel structures, those of MAB and ECP/GR, exist in nearly every country of Europe. So far only limited cooperation between those two networks exist. Biosphere reserves have the explicit task the conservation and rational use of plant genetic resources as taken down in the "Seville Strategy" under objective I.2.5. ECP/GR is considering to use existing protected areas and their Networks as sites for conservation of plant genetic resources. Cooperation between the two programmes should be sought according to the following recommendations: • MAB should be present at the next meeting of the Steering Committee; • The European Cooperative Programme for Crop Genetic Resources should participate in the next meeting of EUROMAB (a participation was foreseen in the EUROMAB VI-Conference 1997 in Minsk, but had to be cancelled unfortunately); • on national level contacts between the European Cooperative Programme for Crop Genetic Resources and the MAB-structures should be established. Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 69 Action: - MAB to inform its structure about possible cooperation; - ECP/GR to inform its structure about possible ccoperation. • select a few biosphere reserves to conduct model projects on plant genetic resources. Synergisms should be sought, avoiding double work and waste of financial resources. Details of the cooperation should be discussed by the Secretariates according to the considerations of the ECP/GR Steering Committee and the EUROMAB-Conference. The presentation of Mrs Rybianet is annexed giving the rationale of the cooperation. Braunschweig, 2 July 1998 Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR Annex VII: Replies of National Coordinators to a questionnaire on ECP/GR How would you rate the effectiveness of ECP/GR during the past 5 years in achieving the following: (in each case please give a score from 0-3) 0 = was not effective 1 = was little effective 2 = was effective 3 = was very effective 1. Facilitating and encouraging the use of germplasm collections 2. Improving access to information about germplasm collections 3. Increase the planning of joint activities 4. Strengthening the links between east and west European programmes 5. Developing joint project proposals to be submitted to funding agencies 6. Facilitating the long-term conservation of crop genetic resources 7. Contribute to monitoring the safety of collections 8. Taking emergency actions for the safety of collections 9. Increasing public awareness of the importance of crop genetic resources Question No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total no. of answers 26 26 26 26 25 26 25 25 26 not effective (0) 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 4 1 little effective (1) 7 0 5 5 14 9 7 5 8 effective (2) 14 13 14 11 7 13 14 11 9 very effective (3) 5 13 7 10 2 2 3 5 8 Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 72 How much should ECP/GR get involved in the following activities in the future? (in each case please give a score from 0-3) 0 = should not get involved 1 = should get involved a little 2 = should get fully involved 3 = should play the leading role 1. Facilitating and encouraging the use of germplasm collections 2. Promoting collecting activities 3. Promoting eco-geographic surveys 4. Promoting the development of core collections 5. Developing safety guidelines for germplasm exchange 6. Monitoring the use of collections 7. Improving the access to information about germplasm collections 8. Increasing the on-line access to Central Crop Databases 9. Encouraging the development of national documentation systems 10. Developing a regional documentation network 11. Encouraging increased standardization of germplasm documentation systems 12. Promoting the planning of joint activities 13. Strengthening the links between east and west European plant genetic resources programmes 14. Supporting the participation of non EU countries in EC funded projects 15. Facilitating scientific exchange between eastern and western Europe 16. Developing joint project proposals to be submitted to funding agencies 17. Facilitating the long-term conservation of crop genetic resources 18. Monitoring the safety of collections 19. Establishing a permanent inventory of safety duplication agreements 20. Clarifying and informing about legal and policy aspects related to PGR 21. Establishing through its Working Groups guidelines and monitoring mechanisms for the quality of storage and regeneration procedures in genebanks 22. Taking emergency actions for the safety of threatened collections 23. Maintaining an emergency fund 24. Increasing public awareness of the importance of crop genetic resources Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 73 Question No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Total no. of answers 34 34 33 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 34 33 34 34 33 34 34 33 34 should not get involved (0) 0 1 1 1 3 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 1 0 1 0 0 4 1 should get involved a little(1) 4 6 6 0 5 11 1 2 8 4 2 1 0 2 3 3 4 11 10 4 1 2 2 5 should get fully involved (2) 16 15 14 19 10 15 17 12 15 16 14 15 11 9 15 12 13 14 16 14 14 11 10 14 should play the leading role (3) 14 12 12 14 16 5 16 20 11 14 17 18 23 23 16 18 13 8 8 14 19 21 17 14 Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 74 Annex VIII: Crop Working Group Process Analysis Crop Working Group Process Analysis Activities Conservation regular emergency Documentation Collecting Characterization/ Evaluation Collaboration Minimum Uniform standards for regeneration, multiplication and conservation adopted. Duplicates and synonyms identified based on available information. Unique material identified. Most appropriate methods of conservation determined. Regeneration needs identified. Procedures for emergency regeneration established. Safety duplication implemented. Emergency regeneration carried out. European database established. Database manager nominated. Passport data included. Protocol for updating data elaborated. Genetic diversity of crops inventoried based on available data. Gaps and potential needs for collecting identified. Desriptor lists for (preliminary) characterization and evaluation agreed. Priorities for complementary activities identified in collaboration with other relevant actors. Undecided Database accessible through Internet Descriptor lists for (further) characterisation and evaluation finalised. Core collection established. Additional Appropriate alternative/complementary ex situ conservation strategies implemented. Characterisation data included. Evaluation data included. Crop-specific links with other programmes/ networks/databases established. Collecting activities, where needed, carried out. Characterization of collection carried out. Evaluation of collection experiments carried out. Pre-breeding (base broadening) undertaken. Above priorities implemented. Collaboration with other regions established. Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR 75 General comments 1. The ECP/GR Steering Committee has attempted to develop a matrix which distinguishes minimum and additional tasks for Working Groups. The Process Analysis is meant for guidance of ECP/GR Working Groups in determining their activities and the relative priorities of these activities, given the limited available budget. 2. For the moment no agreement has been reached on some activities, which are located in the segment ‘Undecided’. The matrix should be regarded as preliminary and will be finalised by the Steering Committee in 2001 after an extensive consultation process within countries and within the ECP/GR Working Groups. 3. The above Crop Working Group Process Analysis considers both ex situ collections and on-farm/in-garden/in situ populations. It is realised that the matrix still focuses strongly on ex situ activities. The Working Groups are requested to carefully address alternative and complementary approaches. 4. Management of collections and populations of various crops has different requirements. Also, different institutions participating in the Working Groups may have different priorities. This process analysis may therefore have to be adapted by individual Working Groups. 5. All activities of Working Groups assume sharing of responsibilities. This aspect has not been separately mentioned. Specific comments Conservation 6. Alternative and complementary strategies include cryopreservation, in vitro conservation and ex situ field conservation. Documentation 7. Internet may provide database information down-loadable or on-line searchable. 8. Links with other programmes includes those of the informal sector. Collaboration 9. Other relevant actors include other ECP/GR Networks and Working Groups. 09/12/98 Seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of ECP/GR