EARTH NEGOTIATIONS BULLETIN PUBLISHED BY THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT (IISD) WRITTEN AND EDITED BY: Ian Fry Aarti Gupta Désirée McGraw Daniel Putterman, Ph.D. Managing Editor Langston James Goree VI "Kimo" Vol. 9 No. 40 Monday, 17 June 1996 FOURTH INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL CONFERENCE ON PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES 17-23 JUNE 1996 The Fourth International Technical Conference on Plant Genetic Resources (ITCPGR-4), will meet in Leipzig, Germany from 17-23 June 1996, to agree on an international programme of activities for the conservation and utilization of plant genetic resources (PGR). To this end, the meeting is expected to consider a progress report on the revision of the International Undertaking (IU) on PGR, a key component of the FAO Global System for the Conservation and Utilization for Plant Genetic Resources. Governments will also be presented with the first comprehensive Report on the State of the World’s Plant Genetic Resources and will consider for adoption the Leipzig Declaration. Governments will endeavor to complete the negotiation of the Global Plan of Action (GPA) on PGR as well as review possibilities for its implementation and financing. This document is expected to be the major substantive output of the Conference. A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE PROCESS While PGR have been sought after, collected, used and improved for centuries, it has only been since the 1930s that concern has been voiced over the need for conservation. Concerted international efforts to promote conservation, exchange and utilization are somewhat more recent. The FAO established an intergovernmental Commission on Plant Genetic Resources in 1983, and adopted a non-binding International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources, which is now being revised in light of the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). In 1995, the Commission was renamed the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA), a body which is currently comprised of the 143 member States of the FAO. The Commission and the International Undertaking constitute the main institutional components of the Global System for the Conservation and Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, which also includes other international instruments and technical mechanisms being developed by the FAO. A series of international technical conferences on PGR have been convened by the FAO, in cooperation with other organizations, in order to facilitate technical discussions among scientists and to create awareness about PGR issues among policy-makers at the national and international levels. The first significant meeting was held in 1961 and focused on plant exploration and introduction. The 1967 Conference formulated a number of important resolutions that were subsequently adopted by the 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment. The most recent international technical conference, which took place in 1981, catalyzed the development of the FAO Global System. By the early 1990s, it was becoming evident that another international conference was needed to assess progress, identify problems and opportunities, and give direction to future activities for the conservation and utilization of PGR. At its fourth session in 1991, the Commission proposed the convening of ITCPGR-4. The FAO established a multi-donor trust-fund project to coordinate the preparatory process for the ITCPGR-4. In April 1993, the fifth session of the Commission noted that the Conference process would "transform the relevant parts of the UNCED process (including Agenda 21 and the CBD) into a costed GPA based on the first FAO Report on the State of the World’s Plant Genetic Resources." The Commission also noted that the process would "make the Global System fully operational." At its most recent regular session, held in June 1995, the Commission concentrated on negotiations for the revision of the IU (the focus of the First Extraordinary Session of the Commission in November 1994) and preparations for the Leipzig conference. SECOND EXTRAORDINARY SESSION OF THE COMMISSION ON GENETIC RESOURCES FOR FOOD AND AGRICULTURE The Second Extraordinary Session of the FAO Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA-EX2) was held at FAO Headquarters in Rome from 22-27 April 1996. During the week-long meeting, delegates addressed several issues in preparation for ITCPGR-4. These included: the first comprehensive Report on the State of the World’s PGR, which will be forwarded to the Conference; and a heavily bracketed GPA, which was further consolidated by a three-day working group meeting held from 10-12 June in Rome. The draft text of the Leipzig Declaration, which is expected to be one the Conference’s key outputs, remains subject to substantial negotiation. Delegates also agreed to hold the Commission’s third extraordinary session on the IU in early December 1996, immediately preceded by a meeting of a working group that will prepare a simplified text to serve as a basis for the Commission’s negotiations. STATE OF THE WORLD REPORT: The Commission’s discussion of this agenda item was based upon document CGRFA-EX2/96/2, the first Report on the State of the World’s PGR. This document, the first world-wide assessment of the state of conservation and utilization of PGR, is based upon information gathered through a country-driven process, including 150 Country Reports and 11 regional and sub-regional meetings. Additional information was provided by the FAO World Information and Early Warning System, international institutions, NGOs and the private sector. In discussing the Report, delegates commended the "bottom-up" and cooperative approach between countries and institutions that was utilized in its preparation. The Report’s content and its status were the two foci of discussion. In addressing content, delegates made general comments in the Plenary on the Report as a whole, rather than reviewing it paragraph-by-paragraph. Debate regarding its status centered around whether it should be endorsed by the Commission, or serve as an informative background paper. It was finally decided not to endorse the Report formally, but to recognize it as a background document, which would be periodically updated and revised, in order to serve as a comprehensive source of information. Delegates also requested the Secretariat to forward a revised version of the Report to Leipzig, based upon written submissions by governments. GLOBAL PLAN OF ACTION: The Commission used the draft GPA (document CGRFA-EX2/96/3) as the basis of negotiations. Since Plenary discussion on the GPA proceeded slowly, the Chair established a parallel open-ended drafting group to consider written submissions and oral comments put forward during the plenary. Under the direction of the Rapporteur, F.J. Marroni de Abreu (Brazil) , the drafting group met nine times but completed only a partial reading. As a result, the drafting group was unable to submit successive sections to the Plenary for a second reading, as originally planned. Further discussion on the heavily bracketed text was referred to a working group to be convened just prior to the Leipzig Conference. Financing of the GPA was a major point of debate. The Plenary was temporarily suspended to allow for informal consultations among delegations on this issue. Heads of regional groups were requested to keep the Bureau informed of deliberations and on this basis, a Chair’s text was presented to the Friday afternoon plenary as follows: "We recognize the need for financial resources in order to implement the GPA and we commit ourselves to discuss this matter during the Leipzig Conference." There was considerable discussion as to whether or not the IU should be referred to within the GPA. The issue of forest genetic resources was a further point of debate, as some countries stated that they did not believe that forest genetic resources fell within the mandate of the Commission. It was finally agreed that all reference to forests be deleted from the GPA. The reference to Farmers’ Rights within the context of in situ conservation of PGR was an area of debate, as were the linkage between ex situ collections, the need to respect national sovereignty over genetic resources and the ongoing transfer of genetic resources. LEIPZIG DECLARATION: The Commission’s discussion of this agenda item was based upon document CGRFA-EX2/96/4, which contained a preliminary draft of "a declaration that might be adopted during the Fourth International Technical Conference". Following a brief discussion in the Plenary of this document, the AFRICAN GROUP, GRULAC and the EU each tabled their own written versions of the Leipzig Declaration (LD). These regional drafts were consolidated into a new draft declaration. Following the Plenary’s discussions, countries made general comments and then worked through the LD paragraph-by-paragraph. By the end of the meeting, however, large sections of the LD remain bracketed and open to further negotiation in Leipzig. INTERNATIONAL UNDERTAKING: The Commission addressed the revision of the IU (document CGRFA-EX2/96/6) in preparation for substantive negotiations to be held at the Third Extraordinary Session of the Commission in early December 1996. In order to focus further negotiations, a working group will meet immediately prior to this meeting to prepare a simplified draft text on the three main issues of scope, access and equitable benefit-sharing. This text will draw on further comments made by governments and technical information contained in agreements made at the Leipzig Conference. PRE-CONFERENCE CONSULTATIONS A working group of the Commission consisting of two representatives from each of the seven FAO regions, met from 10-12 June in Rome in order to resolve the substantially bracketed text in the GPA. Completing its work at 1:00 a.m. on 13 June, the meeting made substantial progress in resolving a large number of issues. The final text of the Working Group deliberations will be presented to the Leipzig Conference, not as a formally negotiated text, but as a guide to help the deliberations. The major unresolved issues relate to costing of the GPA and sources of funding. A number of G-77 countries are keen to see finances directed towards developing national capacities for ex situ collections rather than consolidating international gene banks. Some countries want more financial resources for in situ conservation. The brief reference to Farmers’ Rights in the GPA remains unresolved. Some countries believe that Farmers’ Rights is better left to the renegotiation of the IU, and should not be an integral part of the GPA. THINGS TO LOOK FOR TODAY OPENING PLENARY: FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf will open the Conference, followed by presentations from three German officials: the Federal Minister for Food, Agriculture and Forestry, the Minister of Agriculture for the Federal State of Saxony, and the Lord Mayor of Leipzig. Diouf will then deliver the keynote address and will announce the results of the Bureau elections. It is expected that the Chair will be a representative from the host country and that the Vice-Chairs will be drawn from the remaining six FAO regions. After an acceptance speech, it is expected that the Chair will seek approval of the proposed agenda and will open discussion on the organization of work. This issue of the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (c) is written and edited by Ian Fry , Aarti Gupta , Désirée McGraw , Daniel Putterman, Ph.D. . The Managing Editor is Langston James "Kimo" Goree VI . The sustaining donors of the Bulletin are the International Institute for Sustainable Development , the Dutch Ministry for Development Cooperation and the Pew Charitable Trusts. General support for the Bulletin during 1996 is provided by the Overseas Development Administration (ODA) of the United Kingdom, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, the Swedish Ministry of Environment, the Swiss Federal Office of the Environment, the Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Environment of Iceland, and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. Specific funding for coverage of this Conference is provided by Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) and FAO. The authors can be contacted at their electronic mail addresses and during the Leipzig Conference at tel: +49 341 52520 ext. 310 and fax: +49 341 5252528 or at tel: +1-212- 644-0204; fax: +1-212-644-0206. IISD can be contacted at 161 Portage Avenue East, 6th Floor, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 0Y4, Canada; tel: +1-204-958-7700; fax: +1-204-958-7710. 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