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Global Plan of Action 218.
Assessment: National programmes are the foundation
of regional and global plant genetic resources efforts; they
are also a means to promote international cooperation on access
to plant genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing
of the benefits arising from their use. Effective
national programmes provide a link between incountry activities
and those at the regional and global levels. Many
existing national programmes suffer from poor planning and
management exacerbated by lack of resources and isolation
from related activities. 219.
Many of the countries which do not have strong national programmes,
or appropriate longterm storage facilities, are those which
have the most urgent food security problems. They
are also often countries with rich and variable plant genetic
resources in farmers' fields and in the wild. Also,
the often limited capacity of national programmes, particularly
those located in developing countries, in assessing, utilizing
and updating technologies for the conservation, characterization
and sustainable utilization of plant genetic resources for
food and agriculture is an important cause of inefficient
management of collections and a limiting factor for their
further utilization. 220.
Plant genetic resources for food and agriculture activities
involve public and private institutions and companies, nongovernmental
organizations, communities and individuals from the agriculture,
environment and development sectors. The
integration of existing plant genetic resources for food and
agriculture activities in the framework of a unified national
programme provides the opportunity to enhance such diverse
efforts within a country. 221.
National ex situ collections are an integral part of national
plant genetic resources programmes for food and agriculture.
Genebanks
should not be viewed as closed repositories, but as dynamic
centres. The
integration of conservation, characterization, evaluation
information and use will facilitate the valorization of plant
genetic resources for food and agriculture. Too
strong an emphasis on centralized genebank conservation facilities,
however, can distract attention away from utilization and
lead to isolation, preventing genebanks from providing optimal
benefits to the country. While
conservation and plant breeding in developing countries are
generally undertaken by public institutions, practical and
institutional linkages between the two are often poor. Clearly
articulated goals are frequently absent. The
lack of holistic, goaloriented planning mitigates the rational
use of existing resources and results in inefficiencies, reduced
benefits and lost opportunities. 222.
Longterm objectives: To identify and meet national
needs through instituting rational, sustainable, effective,
and equitable approaches to the conservation and use of plant
genetic resources for food and agriculture for the benefit
of present and future generations. 223.
To ensure adequate national capacity to participate in global
efforts to conserve and use plant genetic resources for food
and agriculture and to share in the benefits arising from
their use. 224.
Intermediate objectives: To give high priority
to establishing the essential elements of integrated national
programmes: a recognized national status; appropriate policy
and institutional frameworks including mechanisms for coordinated
planning and action; and a programme strategy; benefiting
from help to do so. Where
appropriate, to upgrade conservation facilities at the national
or regional level. 225.
To improve institutional and sectoral linkages and strengthen
integration of institutional and community efforts. 226.
To develop national capacities in the technical, managerial
and policy areas. 227.
Policy/strategy: National programmes should
have a formally recognized status. The
ecological, economic, social and aesthetic values of plant
genetic resources for food and agriculture should be recognized
in national planning and policies and in the prioritization
and deployment of financial and other resources including
financial incentives for the retention of qualified staff.
Specific
funding allocations should be made to plant genetic resources
for food and agriculture programmes in the budget process
of national governments. 228.
National commitment to provide sustainable funding for national
programmes and projects is essential; however regional or
international support is a complement to domestic efforts.
229.
National programmes should develop the capability to assess
and determine the plant genetic resources for food and agriculture
required to meet national conservation and development needs
and related international obligations and should have supporting
policies on conservation, access and use of plant genetic
resources for food and agriculture. National
programmes should make available, as appropriate, the widest
possible representative collection of plant genetic resources
for food and agriculture to meet farmers' needs, and for the
improvement of local varieties. Governments,
in cooperation with national, regional and international institutions
should monitor the development of new technologies relevant
to the conservation, characterization and sustainable utilization
of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. In
addition, governments should establish quarantine and other
regulations regarding the import and export of plant genetic
materials which offer adequate protection without unduly restricting
appropriate transfers of materials. 230.
As appropriate to the level of development and complexity
of existing institutional efforts, a national programme should
encourage or provide for coordination amongst all relevant
institutions and organizations in the country and link national
work to regional and international activities. Integrated,
holistic national strategies address more than genebank operations.
They
should effectively encompass conservation, development, and
utilization of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture
and the linkages between these areas. Establishment
of broadlycomprised national committees will be an important
means of organizing and coordinating efforts in most countries.
231.
The actual structure and organization of the national programme
will depend on the infrastructure and capacities available
in the country; policy decisions will determine programme
strategy and mode of operation, in particular regarding international
collaboration. In
countries where capacities are limited, the strategy may include
use of the physical facilities and technical expertise of
other national programmes or of international institutions.
232.
Existing programmes should consider establishing stronger
partnerships with private enterprises, nongovernment organizations,
rural and indigenous communities. Cross
sectoral links should be forged with agencies engaged in national
planning and other programmes concerning agriculture, land
reform, and environment protection. 233.
Institutional links should be promoted, as appropriate, among
national institutions and entities specialized in technology
transfer, in order to assist national institutions in the
negotiation for the acquisition of technologies for the conservation,
characterization and sustainable utilization of plant genetic
resources for food and agriculture and associated data processing,
under fair and most favourable terms, including on concessional
and preferential terms, as mutually agreed to by all parties
to the transaction. In
the case of technology subject to patents and other intellectual
property rights, access and transfer of technology should
be provided on terms which recognize and are consistent with
the adequate and effective protection of intellectual property
rights. 234.
Capacity: Where appropriate, assistance upon
request should be given to facilitate regular national planning
and priority setting. High
priority should be placed on the assessment and improvement
of management practices in facilities such as genebanks and
research stations. 235.
Other measures needed to develop effective national programmes
are contained in the recommendations associated with other
activities. 236.
Research activities in national programmes focus mainly on
scientific and technical research described within the other
activity areas. Research
is also needed on missions and management of national PGRFA
programmes including testing of institutional frameworks;
and evaluating use needs and the efficiency of alternative
responses; data base management; and the economic efficiency
of different approaches to conservation. 237.
Certain policy, legal and institutional issues, inter alia,
those related to ownership, intellectual property rights,
exchange, transfer and trade in plant genetic resources, are
confronting national programmes increasingly. Coordination
is needed to provide national programmes with information
on these issues and to assess the impact of international
developments in these fields on the conservation and exchange
of plant genetic resources, and to incorporate new research
developments, as appropriate, into national systems and practices.
238.
Coordination/Administration: Implement coordination
mechanisms within countries to ensure the most effective prioritization
in the deployment of financial and other resources. Governments
should periodically review their policies to evaluate their
effectiveness. Coordinated
and prioritized action at the national level should be complemented
by an international system that is likewise coordinated and
prioritized. International
collaboration is necessary in a world where countries are
interdependent and where they wish to establish practical,
rational and economical means to conserve plant genetic resources
for food and agriculture, enhance their use, encourage access,
and share benefits. 239.
Plant genetic resources for food and agriculture networks
and international fora (inter alia, the FAO Commission on
Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, the Conference
of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity,
UNEP, UNDP, UNESCO, and CSD) provide useful mechanisms through
which countries can coordinate activities and agree on common
policies, as appropriate. 240.
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