Regional consultation workshops to identify needs and priorities for forest genetic resources management and conservation

The preparation of the first Report on the State of World Forest Genetic Resources (SOW-FGR) to be submitted to the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA) at its Fourteenth Regular Session in April 2013 involves regional consultations with FAO member counties and main stakeholders. To assist countries in this process, FAO held workshops in eight sub-regions across the globe in collaboration with partner institutions. The workshops succeeded in bringing together National Focal Points for Forest Genetic Resources, partner institutions and other main parties in the forest genetics constituency, to share findings of country reports, discuss regional syntheses and adopt recommendations on needs and priorities for actions.  This approach allowed countries to become fully informed of the scope and importance of SOW-FGR knowledge-sharing and information-gathering exercises and to recognize that such initiatives will help ensure the sustainable use and management of their forest genetic capital.

All workshops were able to identify the  achievements, constraints, gaps and needs in relation to existing knowledge in forest genetic resources, the state of forest genetic resources conservation, management and use, and the state of institutions, research, capacity building, policies and human resources.

The objectives of the workshops are:

1) To Identify and describe the regional or sub-regional status of FGR management and the environment (ecological, social, economic) affecting the status

2) To identify the regional needs and priorities for actions.

Workshops Information

organized in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 2-6 July 2012, by FAO in collaboration with the National Tree Seed Centre of Burkina Faso (CNSF), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Secretariat, the African Union Commission, Wallonie Bruxel International, Royal Botanical Kew and Comité permanent inter-états de lutte contre la sécheresse dans le sahel (CILSS).

Participating countries were; Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Ghana, Mali, Niger and Senegal.

    Organized by FAO in Tabarka,Tunisia, 16-18 July 2012.
    Participating countries were: Algeria, Egypt, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia and Yemen

organized in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, 27-29 August 2012, by FAO in collaboration with the State Committee for Environment Protection of the Republic of Tajikistan.

Participating countries were; Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan and the Russian Federation

    Held in Santiago, Chile, 15-17 October 2012, and organized by FAO in collaboration with Bioversity International and the Latin American Forest Genetic Resources Network (LAFORGEN.
    Participating countries were Argentina, Nicaragua, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay

    organized in Nadi, Fiji, 4-6 September 2012, by FAO and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC).
    Participating countries were; Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu

    Held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 12-14 September 2012, and organized by FAO and the Asia Pacific Association of Forestry Research Institutions (APAFRI) and Bioversity International.
    Participating countries were; Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, , Lao People’s Democratic Republic,  Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka and Thailand

    Held in Libreville, Gabon, 7-8 September 2012, and organized by FAO in collaboration with the Comité des forêts de l’Afrique Centrale (COMIFAC).
    Participating countries were Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

    Held in Nairobi, Kenya, 17-19 September 2012, and organized by FAO in collaboration with the Kenyan Forest Research Institute (KEFRI).
    Participating countries were Ethiopia, Kenya,  Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Seychelles, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe

last updated:  Thursday, May 2, 2013