29/03/2023

Rome, Italy, 29 March 2023 – The International Treaty has released a new tool to facilitate the documentation and global exchange of information on crop wild relatives’ (CWRs’) genetic resources conserved in situ. The tool, called the CWR Descriptor Tool v.1, is available for free, and helps create national databases of populations of CWR in the wild.

This tool was developed by the Secretariat of the International Treaty in response to a request by the Scientific Advisory Committee on the Global Information System, thanks to the project “Development of a globally agreed list of descriptors for in situ Crop Wild Relatives Documentation,” funded by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture of Germany.

At its Ninth Session, the Governing Body of the International Treaty took note of the publication of the “Descriptors for Crop Wild Relatives conserved in situ.” It also noted the limited availability of national databases of CWR conserved in situ and invited the Contracting Parties that still need to do so to consider their development. In this context, the Treaty Secretary was requested to support Contracting Parties in the documentation, including building capacities in data collection from the wild, of crops and their wild relatives, and in making that information available, and to support the relevant programmes to increase public awareness about the value and role of CWR in plant breeding.

Creating national databases of crop wild relatives is fundamental to document and exchange information about populations, to help monitor their persistence in the wild, and facilitate access to and use of CWR. 

This tool, developed as a spreadsheet, is intended to promote the use of the descriptors. Its wide adoption will facilitate and streamline the data collection needed for documenting CWR in situ in a standardized manner. It also supports local and national documentation teams to share standard data with other groups through the Global Information System on a voluntary basis.  During 2022 and 2023, the Secretariat interacted with and supported selected Contracting Parties in four regions on these activities through the project.

@PlantTreaty 

#ItAllStartsWithTheSeed #CropWildRelatives