There is no specific subregional plant genetic resources network for East Africa. Cooperation could be promoted within the context of the Association of Agricultural Research in East and Central Africa (ASARECA) which is the main agricultural research network in the region. Other relevant bodies include the African Biodiversity Network of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD) and the Regional Agricultural Research Programme for Zaire, Rwanda and Burundi.

There are, however, many crop-specific networks and networks for groups of crops operating in East Africa, most of which were initiated and developed by the IARCs. These include:

There is no specific plant genetic resources network for the Indian Ocean Islands, though discussions are under way to develop one within the framework of the Indian Ocean Commission.

In West and Central Africa, there are no specific plant genetic resources networks. Some crop networks, however, of the Conference of Directors of Agronomic Research in West and Central Africa (CORAF), the subregion's main agricultural research network, have the capacity to undertake plant genetic resources activities. These include networks for peanuts, cotton, cassava, maize and rice. At the subregional meeting for West and Central Africa, it was agreed, that a subregional network be established within the framework of existing organizations. In addition, the IARCs coordinate networks in West and Central Africa. These include:

The French organizations, the Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD) and the Institut Français de Recherche Scientifique pour le Développement en Coopération (ORSTOM) also have major programmes throughout West and Central Africa.

The four subregional plant genetic resources networks for Southeast Asia, South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific are at various stages of development. The most developed is the Regional Collaboration in Southeast Asia on Plant Genetic Resources (RECSEA-PGR), formally established in 1993. Its members are Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam. RECSEA-PGR has identified the establishment of a subregional network information system and on-farm conservation as its priority areas, for which greater financial support is needed, however. Other networks in Southeast Asia include :

The National Coordinators of South Asian countries met in 1990, 1992 and 1995 to stimulate collaboration in the subregion. A plant genetic resources network for South Asia is now being formally established. The formation of a plant genetic resources network for East Asia was strongly recommended by the National Coordinators at their meeting in 1994. A plant genetic resources network for the Pacific subregion is also being initiated with support from IPGRI, the South Pacific Regional Environmental Programme, the South Pacific Commission and the University of the South Pacific. A number of plant genetic resources activities are already being carried out within other cooperative programmes. Examples are:

The nine plant genetic resource centres which support national programmes and contribute to international plant improvement programmes are linked in a network through the Australia and New Zealand Network for Plant Genetic Resource Centres (ANZNPGRC). This has a coordinating function, promoting linkage between Centres.

The subregional meetings in the region recommended stronger collaboration between subregions and the establishment of a regional network within which the subregional networks would operate. Also at the regional level, FAO has established the Asia Pacific Seed Association (APSA) which has 150 private and public-sector seed programme members. Additionally, the Under-utilized Tropical Fruit Trees Network (UFTANET) was set up in 1994 to promote the conservation, utilization and improvement of fruit production in Asia. Twelve national programmes, ICUC, FAO, and IPGRI are collaborating in this network

Three sub-regional plant genetic resources networks cover South America, in line with its three agro-ecological zones. A network also exists in Central America and Mexico, and one is being established in the Caribbean. No formal network exists in North America, but there are good bilateral contacts between Canada and the USA. The subregional networks operate within the framework of the cooperative agricultural research networks of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). They are coordinated by IPGRI, with support from FAO and, where appropriate, from the Centro Agronónomico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE). SELA (Sistema Economico Latinoamericano) has established an action committee for plant genetic resources, which has carried out a study on the collection, conservation and use of plant genetic resources in the region. At the subregional preparatory meeting for Latin America, it was recommended that a forum be established to discuss conservation, utilization and the sharing of benefits derived from PGRFA, and to facilitate a common regional perspective.

The three networks for the three agricultural zones in South America are:

In Central America, the Red Mesoamericana de Recursos Fitogenéticos (REMERFI) is a well-established network, and participants at the subregional meeting for Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean recommended that it be given responsibility for monitoring, supervising and coordinating cooperative activities. Collaboration between countries in the Caribbean, however, is not fully developed, partly due to language differences. The country with the most developed plant genetic resources programme is Cuba. The Caribbean Committee on Management of Plant Genetic Resources has been set up in an attempt to create a programme comprising the entire Caribbean. Without financial and technical support, however, its activities are limited. Most English-speaking countries in the Caribbean, which are members of the Caribbean Economic Community (CARICOM), are served by the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) and the University of the West Indies. Within the CARICOM group, the smaller island states are well integrated through the Organization of the Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). At a meeting organized during the preparatory process for the International Technical Conference, the OECS countries recommended the formulation of a cooperative programme on plant genetic resources with a particular emphasis on training, in situ conservation and the economic development of under-utilized species.

FAO also carries out subregional activities related to plant genetic resources through a project entitled Improved Seed Production in the CARICOM Countries. This project includes training in seed technology, elaboration of a regional seed quality standard and the establishment of the Caribbean Seed and Germplasm Resources Information Network (CSEGRIN).

The following crop networks operate in Latin America and the Caribbean, some on a subregional and others on a regional basis:

In some regions, countries have established central genebanks to act as sub-regional base collections. The Nordic Gene Bank holds accessions for Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, as these countries do not hold individual national collections. For Southern Africa, it is proposed that SPGRC hold the base collections of countries in the region, while national centres hold active collections. The regional genebank for Central America and Mexico, financed by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), handled through GTZ (German agency for technical cooperation) and located at CATIE, is based on an existing ex situ plant genetic resources collection established by researchers from IICA in 1942. In addition, other international organizations hold germplasm collections for particular crops which complement the collections of individual countries.

Source : State of the World's Plant Genetic Resources, FAO,1996