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Global Plan of Action This, the firstever Global Plan
for the Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of Plant
Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, was formally adopted
by representatives of 150 countries during the Fourth International
Technical Conference on Plant Genetic Resources, which was
held in Leipzig, Germany, from 17 to 23 June 1996. The Conference also adopted the
Leipzig Declaration, which focuses attention on the importance
of plant genetic resources for world food security, and commits
countries to implementingthe Plan. The Global Plan was prepared
with the active participation of 155 countries, and the public
and private sectors. It contains the priority actions
they identified, at local, national, regional and international
levels. It provides an integrated framework
for systematic, rational, balanced and equitable cooperation.
Countries must now carry it out.
Much work will be done with their
own national resources, but some countries will need additional
support: the Conference confirmed that funds should be made
available to finance the implementation of the Plan by developing
countries and countries with economies in transition. The Plan also acknowledged the
need to realize Farmers' Rights. Plant genetic resources - one
of the most fundamental and essential of all resources on
Earth - are seriously threatened. Their loss will touch each one
of us and endanger future generations. The lack of capacity to conserve
and optimally utilize these resources undermines the quest
for food security and sustainable development. The Global Plan of Action, for
the first time, provides the impetus and framework for putting
conservation and utilization activities on a solid foundation.
It will be a major contribution
to the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity
in the field of food and agriculture. This is an opportunity we simply
must not squander. FAO is committed to carrying
out the Global Plan of Action, under the guidance of the intergovernmental
Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture,
as part of the FAO Global System for the Conservation and
Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources. The Leipzig Conference stressed
the importance of enlisting the widest participation in the
implementation of the Plan. As it requested, I am reporting
on the Conference's outcome to major international, regional
and national bodies and forums dealing with food, agriculture,
and biodiversity, with a request that their member constituencies
identify how best they may contribute. I appeal to all Jacques Diouf DirectorGeneral
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