IISD RS @ Special Information Seminar & CGRFA-12 - 17 & 19-23 October 2009 - FAO Headquarters - Rome

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IISD Reporting Services (IISD RS) has produced a summary report of the Special Information Seminar.

IISD Reporting Services (IISD RS) has produced a summary report of the “Special Information Seminar” and a summary and analysis from CGRFA-12. To download our reports, please click below on the HTML or PDF icons.

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26 October

Twelfth Regular Session of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

17 & 19-23 October 2009 | UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Headquarters, Rome, Italy

Summary Highlights of the Meeting:

Friday, 23 October 2009

Delegates to the twelfth regular session of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA-12) met at 5:00 pm on Friday to continue discussions on the Commission's mode of operation, including its draft rules of procedure and the date and place of the Commission’s thirteenth regular session. They also examined and adopted the meeting’s draft report and its appendices, heading-by-heading and sub-heading by sub-heading. After examining the text and suggesting minor amendments, delegates adopted the report late in the evening. Chair Mozafari then thanked the Secretariat for organizing the session and for working “day and night” to accomplish the tasks assigned to it, highlighted the importance of genetic resources for their central role in achieving food security, combating hunger, developing the agricultural sector, increasing livelihoods and promoting human health; and wished all delegates safe travels home. Chair Mozafari gaveled the meeting to a close at 9:21 pm.

Visit the full ENB web coverage for Friday, 23 October.

Delegates in a rush to pick up the CGRFA-12 report before the start of the evening plenary.

Patrick Mulvany, Practical Action, congratulates Chair Mozafari at the conclusion of the meeting.

Thursday, 22 October 2009

Delegates to the twelfth regular session of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA-12) continued to discuss issues relating to the multi-year programme of work (MYPOW), including the adoption of the Strategic Plan 2010-2017 for the implementation of the MYPOW. Delegates also discussed cooperation with other international instruments and organizations, and the Commission’s mode of operation. In the evening, delegates met to further consider the Strategic Plan and policies and arrangements on ABS for GRFA.

Visit the full ENB web coverage for Thursday, 22 October.

Fadila Al-Salameen, Kuwait, discussing text with Massoud Jaralla Al Marri, Qatar.

PRACTICAL ACTION asked the Secretariat to facilitate the inclusion of civil society organizations in activities leading up to the SOW on Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture.

L-R: Patrick Mulvany, Practical Action, with Wilhemina Pelegrina, SEARICE

Wednesday, 21 October 2009

Delegates to the twelfth regular session of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA-12) continued to discuss issues relating to the multi-year programme of work (MYPOW), including on animal genetic resources for food and agriculture (AnGR) and the Funding Strategy for the Global Plan of Action (GPA) for AnGR, forest genetic resources (FGR), micro-organisms and invertebrates, aquatic genetic resources, and biotechnology. In an evening negotiating session, delegates continued discussing proposed text on the policies and arrangements for ABS for GRFA.

Visit the full ENB web coverage for Wednesday, 21 October.

L-R: François Pythoud (Switzerland) consulting with Bert Visser (the Netherlands) during plenary night session.

L-R: The dais during the morning session was chaired by Grethe Evjen (Norway) with Alvaro Toledo and Dan Leskien, CGRFA Secretariat.

Participants browsing for CGRFA-12 related publications in the FAO atrium.

Tuesday, 20 October 2009

Delegates to the twelfth regular session of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA-12) continued to discuss issues relating to the multi-year programme of work (MYPOW), including on plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA), and specifically relating to: the state of the world’s PGRFA; progress since CGRFA-11; and future work, including on policies and arrangements for enhancing utilization of PGRFA, and on underutilized crops and wild relatives. In the afternoon, delegates discussed animal genetic resources for food and agriculture (AnGRFA)in relation to the follow-up to the Interlaken Conference, which includes the implementation and financing of the Global Plan of Action for animal genetic resources, and future work. They also met for an evening session to discuss proposed text on policies and arrangements for ABS for GRFA.

Visit the full ENB web coverage for Tuesday, 20 October.

L-R: Chair Javad Mozafari Hashjin (Iran) consulting with Dan Leskien, CGRFA Secretariat.

L-R: Lamis Chalak, Lebanon and Fadila Al-Salameen, Kuwait

L-R: Jose "Pepe" Esquinas, Spain in a discussion with Linda Colette, FAO

Monday, 19 October 2009

The twelfth regular session of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA-12) opened on Monday, 19 October, at the headquarters of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in Rome, Italy. Delegates elected the meeting’s chair and vice-chairs, adopted the agenda and timetable, and considered agenda items relating to the multi-year programme of work (MYPOW), including the cross-sectoral matter of access and benefit-sharing (ABS) for GRFA, and the Commission’s mode of operation, namely the draft rules of procedure.

Visit the full ENB web coverage for Monday, 19 October

L-R: View of the opening dais with Antonio Taveras, FAO Legal Office; Shivaji Pandey, FAO; Ichiro Nomura, Assistant Director-General, Fisheries and Aquaculture Department of FAO; Alexander Müller, Assistant Director-General, Natural Resources Management and Environment Department of FAO; Bert Visser, Commission Chair (the Netherlands); Dan Leskien, Alvaro Toledo, and Richard Laing, CGRFA Secretariat.

Bioversity International banner on Agricultural Biodiversity.

FAO banners on Food Security in the atrium.

Saturday, 17 October 2009

On Saturday, 17 October 2009, in the prelude to the twelfth regular session of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA-12), an information seminar was held at the headquarters of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome, Italy. The event, titled “Policy Arrangements for Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) for Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture,” offered delegates and observers, along with experts, the opportunity to discuss one of CGRFA-12’s agenda items, ABS for GRFA.

Participants addressed the status and challenges of ABS, with presentations on the status of the negotiations on the International Regime on ABS, food security and ABS, recent developments in intellectual property law and policies, and the impact of climate change on genetic resources for food and agriculture. There was also a panel discussion on the use and exchange of genetic resources for food and agriculture, which includes the domains of plant, animal, forest and microbial genetic resources and biological control agents. After brief statements by relevant experts, a lively discussion followed on the many issues raised. The event came to a close with a sense of anticipation on how the discussions would feed into CGRFA-12, with one delegate expressing satisfaction over the relevance and importance of the seminar for informing the upcoming Commission session. Chaired and facilitated by Bert Visser (the Netherlands), Commission Chair, the event was well-attended by delegates and observers to CGRFA-12, and showed the broad range of interest in ABS and the issues it seeks to address, including food security and biodiversity conservation.

Visit the full ENB web coverage for Saturday, 17 October

Alexander Müller, Assistant Director-General, Natural Resources Management and Environment Department of FAO, noted the need for an open and frank debate on ABS for GRFA.

Bert Visser, Chair of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA), the Netherlands, welcomed participants to the special event, saying it is a notable moment since it is the first time within FAO that the issue of ABS for GRFA will be addressed across the various domains.

L-R: Robynne Boyd, Tanya Rosen, Claudio Chiarolla, Marie-Annick Moreau, Renata Foltran and Franz Dejon