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The FAO Global System on Plant Genetic Resources consists of the following elements :
Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources (pdf format)
International Fund for Plant Genetic Resources (pdf format)
Global Plan of Action for the Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of PGRFA
Report on the State of the World's Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
The World Information and Early Warning System on Plant Genetic Resources (WIEWS)
Système mondial d'information et d'alerte rapide sur les RPG
Sistema Mundial de Información y Alerta para los RFG
The International Network of Ex Situ Collections under the Auspices of FAO (pdf format)
The International Network of In Situ Areas under the Auspices of FAO
The International Code of Conduct for Plant Germplasm Collecting and Transfer
Draft Code of Conduct on Biotechnology
Crop Related Networks
The following figure shows the components of the Global System, and the relationship between them.
Background to the FAO Global System
In 1983, the FAO Conference established a permanent intergovernmental forum to deal with questions concerning plant genetic resources: the Commission on Plant Genetic Resources (now the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture). It also adopted a formal framework: the International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources. The Commission has since coordinated, overseen and monitored the development of a Global System for the Conservation and Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.
The objectives of the Global System are to ensure the safe conservation and promote the availability and sustainable utilization of plant genetic resources, for present and future generations, by providing a flexible framework for sharing the benefits and burdens. The System covers both the conservation (ex situ and in situ, including on-farm) and utilization of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.
A total of 171 countries and the European Community (see Appendix 1) now participate in the Global System, by having joined the Commission (146 countries and the European Community), adhered to the Undertaking (111 countries), or contributed to the development of the Global Plan of Action that governments adopted formally at the International Technical Conference held in Leipzig, Germany in June 1996 (159 countries).