The Panel:
requested that the substantial increase in responsibilities in the forest genetic resources field be duly acknowledged in the overall allocation of resources channelled towards meeting the multiple and diverse tasks presently gathered together under the common denomination of “forest genetic resources” in the Forestry Department;
requested FAO to strike an equal balance in attention and funding for arid and humid zones on the one hand, and conservation and other genetic resources activities on the other; special attention should be laid on the development of methodologies and pilot activities in in situ conservation;
recommended that the regularly up-dated global list of priority species by type of species and operational priority elaborated by it over the years, be submitted to the Secretariat of the FAO Commission on Plant Genetic Resources as an input to the periodic review of the state of the world's plant genetic resources, requested by that Commission;
recommended that full advantage be taken of the mechanisms afforded by the Tropical Forestry Action Plan in helping to ensure that efforts in the field of forest genetic resources were adequately coordinated and fully integrated in national development plans, at the highest level;
recommended to translate information and knowledge gained over the past years in the field of genetic resource conservation into action and field programmes, through support to and collaboration with national (and, where applicable, sub-regional/regional) organizations;
reiterated its earlier recommendation regarding a survey of ex situ pilot conservation stands; and further requested FAO to assemble together, for easy access, technical information on the establishment and management of ex situ conservation stands, complemented by information on new technologies which could be used to streamline and help speed up procedures and action in this field;
requested FAO to continue to collaborate in national and international efforts to develop practical methodologies to define, assess, evaluate and manage biodiversity, and to play a prominent role in such work;
recommended that due attention be paid to dissemination of information and promotion of scientifically solid schemes of rapid breeding and characterization of the genetic resources present in the trees and other forest plants and animals, thus advancing the utilization of these resources to meet immediate-term national needs; and to help draw the attention of decision makers to the fact that genetic resource conservation would provide short-term as well as medium/long-term benefits, at national as well as a global scale.
recommended that FAO continue to closely follow and report on technical and scientific findings in new biotechnologies related, or potentially applicable, to forest genetic resources work;
recommended that FAO continue to harmonize methodologies of collection, evaluation and documentation of forest genetic resources on regional and international levels, with due attention to ongoing efforts, and to help unify terminology in these fields as well as in related acitivites concerned with seed trade and exchange; and to publish well-focused, technical manuals and guides in support of such work;
recommended that an up-to-date register of seed catalogues and information be kept by FAO, and that corresponding information be communicated to interested countries, institutes and scientists on a regular basis;
requested FAO to continue to facilitate and/or help establish contacts between countries wishing to exchange forest reproductive materials; and to collaborate with and assist national and regional institutes in collecting and making available for international use, seed for research and conservation purposes;
requested FAO to make available, for use in developing countries, optional but compatible software packages for seed centres, and to help raise awareness of the need for information on origin, provenance and genetic base to flow not only into and out of the seed banks, but also throughout the chain of activities, from nurseries to plantation establishment and management;
recommended that FAO review the document on seed storage published in the Report on the 5th Session of the Panel, and that the study be complemented by an up-to-date review of other methodologies of ex situ conservation for forestry species;
recommended that FAO give due attention to well-focused training activities and continue to closely collaborate with institutes such as IUFRO and IUFRO/SPDC as well as national and regional/sub-regional institutes in this field;
recommended that high priority be given also in the future to the dissemination of information and the facilitation of exchange of know-how and genetic materials, underlining the special usefulness of the annual newsletter “Forest Genetic Resources Information” (FGRI), and recommending that maximum attention be paid to its timely publication and rapid distribution.
