21/11/2023

Rome, Italy, 21 November 2023 – The Secretariat of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture held a Side Event dedicated to the Documentation of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA) and Crop Wild Relatives (CWR) Inventories during the Tenth Session of the Governing Body (GB-10) at FAO headquarters today.

The event underscored the Governing Body's concerns regarding the limited availability of national databases for CWR conserved in situ, and the Secretariat’s efforts in supporting Contracting Parties with documentation, emphasizing capacity building in data collection from the wild for crops and their wild relatives. The event highlighted the Secretariat’s proactive efforts in this regard, particularly in light of the challenges and advances in the documentation and conservation of crop diversity.

Highlights of the event included:

1. Introduction to Global Descriptors for CWR: The presentation by Adriana Alercia, Senior PGRFA Descriptors Specialist at ITPGRFA, focused on the development of an international language for CWR conserved in situ. This session illustrated the advances made on standards validated globally for identifying and cataloging these vital resources.
2. Updates on Crop Descriptors: The event spotlighted the latest crop descriptor lists, developed through collaboration with various national and international research institutions. This segment, also led by Adriana, showcased the progress in documenting diverse crops, including millets, referencing 2023 as the International Year of Millets.
3. Launch of the CWR Module in the Global Information System (GLIS) Portal: Marco Marsella, Global Information System (GLIS) Operations Specialist Consultant with the Treaty Secretariat, introduced the new CWR module within the GLIS Portal. User feedback was solicited to improve the module to make it as effective as possible for users. The segment also provided updates on the adoption of Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) by GLIS users.
4. Strengthening National and Regional Inventories: Francisco Lopez, Treaty Secretariat Technical Officer, discussed strategies to enhance the capacity of Contracting Parties in developing comprehensive national and regional inventories and information systems.

The Side Event concluded with an engaging Q&A segment. The event highlighted the work done in the documentation of PGRFA and CWR, and sparked discussions on further research and utilization of these vital resources.

@PlantTreaty 

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