12/02/2015

The Report of the first meeting of the Asian national focal points of the International Treaty is now online. The meeting took place in Bangkok in May 2013 as part of the activities of the project "Enhancing Understanding and implementation of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture".

The meeting helped analyze some of the areas for upgrade in the implementation of the Treaty at national level, such as human resources and infrastructures, policy and legal infrastructure, specialized knowledge about the main Treaty’s systems. The countries represented at the meeting were the following: Bangladesh; Bhutan; Cambodia; India; Japan; Malaysia; Mongolia; Myanmar; Nepal; Pakistan; The Philippines; Sri Lanka; Thailand; and Vietnam.

The meeting was coordinated and supported by the Secretariat of the International Treaty, the FAO Regional Office of Bangkok, Bioversity International and the International Rice Research Institute. The meeting resulted in a commitment to revamp the Asian network on plant genetic resources, and identified issues for further cooperation among the Asian countries, including the possible drafting of joint multi-country project proposals for the next round of the Benefit-sharing Fund.

The meeting also offered an opportunity to national Treaty focal points to get acquainted with the latest Treaty initiatives. Invited participants from countries that are not yet Contracting Parties, explained national processes and actions to promote Treaty membership. The Report contains a brief summary of the situation of each country in relation to the implementation of the Treaty and a series of follow-up actions in each country.