David E. Williams, Coordinator of the CGIAR System-wide Genetic Resources Program.

Q: After adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at the Earth Summit in 1992, as countries began regulating access to plant genetic resources, what overall effect did this have on the use of genetic resources for rural development?

DEW: The tragic irony of the CBD was that it significantly decreased international access to genetic resources and their benefits. Of course, that was hardly the intention. Many developing countries rushed to adopt policies and implement legislation to "protect" their sovereignty over their genetic resources. But they soon found themselves in the uncomfortable position of being unable to adequately conserve and sustainably use their local varieties, while at the same time blocking international efforts to help with these key tasks. As a result, native crop varieties and related wild species have been gradually but permanently lost due to replacement by introduced varieties, deforestation and other changes in land use. Often, this has happened before those unique varieties and wild relatives could be conserved and studied. Such materials are, by their nature, genetically diverse. They are invaluable raw materials for local development of varieties that address the needs of poor farmers and national markets.

Q: In what ways have developing countries progressed toward implementation of the 20 priority activities called for by the Global Plan of Action for the Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture?

DEW: The priority activities of the Global Plan of Action were adopted by 150 countries more than 10 years ago. They remain the best technical guidelines for national action in conserving and using plant genetic resources. Some developing countries chose to wait for the arrival of external funding before taking action. Many others have undertaken their own activities, while also taking part in internationally funded projects and in regional genetic resources networks. The new International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture will strengthen countries' ability to obtain national and international support for activities outlined in the Global Plan of Action. More and more developing countries are becoming parties to the Treaty. They form part of the new multilateral system for exchanging genetic resources and sharing the benefits.

Q: What do you imagine will be the main elements of a new global system for crop diversity conservation and use?

DEW: The new global system will involve a broad spectrum of actors worldwide. So, at this early stage, it's difficult to predict what the exact structure will be. And obviously, the global system will have to evolve over time as more and more stakeholders are engaged. Yet, some fundamental elements are already in place that will be indispensable for the success of this ambitious initiative. The Global Plan of Action will serve as the technical blueprint. The International Treaty and its multilateral system for equitable exchange of genetic resources provide us with the political framework. And the large in-trust collections, maintained as global public goods in the genebanks of the CGIAR Centers, will provide the infrastructural foundation for global research, conservation and distribution. This will better enable national organizations to focus their efforts on issues that are priorities for them. Another key element is information. We already have SINGER, the System-wide Information Network for Genetic Resources. It links information on all of the collections held by the CGIAR Centers, offering easy access online through a single entry point. The CGIAR is now updating SINGER's structure and expanding its capacity to include data from other genebanks, including national genebanks. This is being done under the auspices of the SGRP, the System-wide Genetic Resource Programme, and with support from the Global Crop Diversity Trust. The idea is to make SINGER a truly comprehensive global information resource that facilitates the documentation, exchange and management of genetic resources worldwide.

Q: How has the Global Crop Diversity Trust contributed so far to building the new global system?

DEW: The Trust is still in the process of obtaining funds needed to reach its endowment goal. Nonetheless, it has already begun providing grants for strategic activities, with the express purpose of building the global system for plant genetic resources. Aside from the work I already mentioned on global information, the Trust has awarded grants to CGIAR genebanks to help sustain the maintenance of the in-trust collections in perpetuity. Other grants are being awarded to regenerate, duplicate for safety and evaluate unique and endangered germplasm collections, mostly held in small genebanks in developing countries. In supporting those activities, the Trust collaborates closely with the Secretariat of the International Treaty, national organizations, regional networks and with the CGIAR, including both the SGRP and individual Centers.

Q: What role could the SGRP and individual CGIAR Centers play in the new global system?

DEW: The CGIAR Centers must play a central role in the creation and operation of the global system. They are guardians of the in-trust collections and have a mandate to use them for combating hunger and poverty and protecting the environment. The global system will enable the Centers to do that job more effectively by making the complementarity of their efforts with those of other organizations far more explicit. This will also enable the CGIAR to interact more coherently with other global partners, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Secretariat of the International Treaty, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Global Crop Diversity Trust. Individual Centers will be able to engage more effectively with national and regional partners, providing them with technical and policy assistance, strengthening local technical capacity and involving these partners in collaborative research that addresses their specific needs.

Q: Describe a few of the most important opportunities in developing countries for making more effective use of crop diversity for sustainable rural development.

DEW: In my opinion, the greatest and most frequently overlooked opportunities for developing countries involve making better use of their unique native crops and local crop diversity. In many countries, the notion persists that introduced commercial varieties are somehow automatically superior. As a result, national research organizations frequently neglect traditional crops and the diversity of local varieties, even though these are well adapted to local conditions, fit local culinary traditions and possess other valuable traits, such as resistance to drought, frost, diseases and pests. Because of those traits, local varieties are important for advancing rural development. Moreover, they offer developing countries comparative advantages in agricultural trade. The unique traits of local varieties are often quite exceptional. If studied, developed, produced and marketed to urban and international consumers at premium prices, such value-added varieties could create new sources of income for poor farmers. These local crops and varieties have been patiently developed over centuries by generations of traditional farmers, both women and men. As such, they form an essential part of each nation's unique agricultural patrimony. It is vital that these genetic resources be conserved and used more effectively to enhance agricultural production and diversification, improve human nutrition, strengthen food security and raise developing countries' share of agricultural export markets.