Summary
The sixteenth session of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA 16) opened on Monday, 30 January 2017, at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) in Rome, Italy. Delegates met in plenary to address cross-sectoral matters under the Commission’s Multi-Year Programme of Work (MYPOW), including the preparation of the report on the State of the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture (SOW-BFA); the role of genetic resources for food security; and access and benefit-sharing (ABS) for genetic resources for food and agriculture (GRFA). Delegates also agreed to establish an open-ended committee to discuss the Commission’s Strategic Plan 2018-2027 and elements to be included in the next version of the Commission’s MYPOW covering the same period.
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, provided digital coverage and a summary report of the Special Event: The Contribution of Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture to Resilience. In addition, IISD Reporting Services produced daily reports, daily digital coverage, and a summary and analysis report from CGRFA 16. The summary and analysis report is available in HTML and PDF format.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth
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Morning Plenary
View of the panel (L-R): Eva Müller, FAO; Ren Wang, FAO; Árni Mathiesen, Assistant Director-General, Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, FAO; Daniel Gustafson, Deputy Director-General, FAO; Cho Chang Yeon, CGRFA 16 Chair; Irene Hoffmann, CGRFA Secretary, FAO; René Castro Salazar, Assistant Director-General, Climate, Biodiversity, Land and Water Department, FAO; CBD Executive Secretary Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias; and Anna Lartey, FAO
Cho Chang Yeon, CGRFA 16 Chair
Daniel Gustafson, Deputy Director-General, FAO
René Castro Salazar, Assistant Director-General, Climate, Biodiversity, Land and Water Department, FAO
Irene Hoffmann, CGRFA Secretary, FAO
CBD Executive Secretary Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias
Dan Leskien, CGRFA Secretariat
Christine Dawson, US
Kim van Seeters, the Netherlands
Médi Moungui, Cameroon
Hesiquio Benítez Díaz, Mexico
Manrique Altavista, Argentina
Brad Fraleigh, Canada
Lupiño Lazaro, the Philippines
Julie Bélanger, CGRFA Secretariat
Afternoon Plenary
View of the dais during the afternoon plenary
W.L.G. Samarasinghe, Sri Lanka
Cheikh Alassane Fall, Senegal
Cristina Grandi, International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements
Cesar Tapia, Ecuador
Desterio Nyamongo, Kenya
Delegates raise their placards to speak during the session
Alwin Kopŝe, Switzerland
Svanhild-Isabelle Batta Torheim, Norway
Larissa Maria Lima Costa, Brazil
Marciano Da Silva, International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty
Michael Halewood, Bioversity International
Tashi Yangzom Dorji, Bhutan
Marcos Alberto Medina Britos, Paraguay
Javad Mozafari Hashjin, Chair, Team of Technical and Legal Experts on Access and Benefit-Sharing (TTLE-ABS)
Pierre du Plessis, Namibia
Around the Venue
Delegates attend a side event entitled 'Country reports for the State of the World's Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture (SOW-BFA) – experiences, outcomes and the way forward'
Delegates speak informally before the start of plenary
Irene Hoffmann, CGRFA Secretary, FAO, speaks with Dan Leskien, CGRFA Secretariat, and Cho Chang Yeon, CGRFA 16 Chair
Eva Müller, FAO, speaks with CBD Executive Secretary Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias
Delegates from Sudan
Delegates from Canada
Delegates between sessions
Materials on display around the venue
Delegates attend a reception hosted by the FAO in the evening
Photography exhibition on display
