Programmes and Activities
Regional Forest Genetic Resources Workshops and Action Plans
Regional approaches to the conservation of forest biological diversity and forest genetic resources are especially useful when countries have similar institutional conditions, ecological needs and societal requirements. In addition to essentially national cooperative programmes, such as the one established between the Instituto de Pesquisas e Estudos Florestais (IPEF), Brazil and more than 20 forest industries in the country, many cooperative tree improvement programmes involve institutions in several countries. Activities of these may be linked by geographical closeness, ecological similarities or common interest in certain species. Both national and regional cooperatives have often been established with a broad perspective, including seed exchange and tree improvement as well as conservation of genetic resources.
In some regions, formalized collaborative programmes have been developed to coordinate work among countries. An example is the European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN), established as follow-up to a resolution of the first Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe, held in Strasbourg, France in 1990. EUFORGEN is coordinated by IPGRI with technical support from FAO. Five networks have been established within the framework of the programme, which supports the development of methodologies and “best practices” in in situ and ex situ conservation of genetic variation in targeted pilot species or groups of species, the exchange of reproductive materials for research and conservation purposes and the exchange of information and expertise (Annex 2).
The Technical Cooperation Network on Plant Biotechnology in Latin America and the Caribbean, REDBIO, based at the FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, was established in November 1990 at the request of FAO Member Nations in the region. The aim of this coordinating mechanism is to assist collaborating countries in the formulation of national and regional policies on biotechnology, and to help promote the exchange of information and research results. The Network Secretariat also helps organise regional training activities, and maintains a computerized database on plant biotechnology laboratories in the region.
Other examples of regional and sub-regional programmes and projects are shown in Box 2. In recent years, regional approaches have been complemented by eco-regional approaches and by action focused on common priority species or groups of species (see examples in Box 3).
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Box 1 REFORGEN: FAO GLOBAL INFORMATION SYSTEM ON FOREST GENETIC RESOURCES The FAO Worldwide Information System on Forest Genetic Resources (REFORGEN) makes available reliable, up-to-date information for use in planning and decision-making at the national, regional and international levels. The system, which has been developed through the close collaboration of FAO, governments and national institutes, included by early 2000 information from 146 countries, on more than 1 600 tree species. The system includes information on: · institutions dealing with conservation and utilization of forest genetic resources;All information is aggregated at the species and country levels. The information system, which is now available through the Internet, complements information contained in national databases and information systems as well as databases on threatened and endangered trees administered by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC). REFORGEN can be accessed on-line at |
Since 1996, FAO, in collaboration with national and international partners, has helped convene a series of regional and sub-regional workshops to support countries in the development of action plans for the conservation and sustainable use of forest genetic resources within a regional framework. Since national plans and programmes will vary according to local environmental and institutional conditions and national needs and priorities, the aim of these workshops is not the development of a single conservation model for all countries and all regions, but the elaboration of a framework for national action which would be valid at the regional level and which should be as consistent among regions as possible. Coordination of action at regional level will help make best use of scarce resources by avoiding duplication and overlap of effort, and by facilitating the sharing of technologies, information, know-how and genetic materials, on mutually agreed terms. The sub-regional and regional action plans on forest genetic resources which will be developed in the planned workshops and which will serve as dynamic tools underpinning action by countries concerned could later, if countries so wish, be placed within a larger context, contributing to a comprehensive, international framework for action (FAO 1997a, 1999a; Palmberg-Lerche 1997).
The above flexible, country-driven, step-by-step process towards coordinated action in forest genetic resources complements other initiatives currently undertaken at the national, regional and global levels, such as the elaboration of National Biodiversity Status and Action Plans within the framework of the CBD.
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Box 2 REGIONAL PROGRAMMES AND PROJECTS ON FOREST GENETIC RESOURCES · Central America and Mexico Coniferous Resources Cooperative (CAMCORE), hosted by North Carolina State University, Raleigh, USA, deals with the exploration, collection, exchange, testing, improvement and conservation of conifers and some broadleaved species originating in Mexico and Central America (Dvorak et al. 1996, Dvorak 1999). · The South Pacific Regional Initiative on Forest Genetic Resources (SPRIG) has helped develop comprehensive strategies and coordinated action in five island countries (FAO 1996b; Thomson 1998, 2000). · The Integrated Regional Strategy for Seed Procurement in Central America and the Dominican Republic, implemented by concerned countries with the support of the DANIDA Forest Seed Centre, aims at strengthening national forest seed programmes and to enhance sub-regional cooperation. · The Tree Seed Centre Network of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), coordinates and supports the work of national tree seed centres in twelve countries in Eastern and Southern Africa (Brouard and John 1995; Shumba and Mwale 1999) · The Central Asian and Transcaucasian Network on Plant Genetic Resources (CATCN-PGR), coordinated by IPGRI, focuses on the conservation of genetic resources of crops and forest trees in eight countries of the sub-region. It benefited during its establishment from the experience and assistance of the EUFORGEN programme (Turok 1997). · The newly established
Sub-Saharan African Programme on Forest Genetic Resources, SAFORGEN, coordinated
by IPGRI in collaboration with FAO, partly modelled on EUFORGEN, aims at
strengthening national research institutes and regional forest research
programmes in countries in sub-Saharan Africa (IPGRI 2000a, 2000b). |
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Box 3 SPECIES-SPECIFIC NETWORKS · The Project on Genetic Resources of Arid and Semi-Arid Zone Arboreal Species for the Improvement of Rural Living, initiated in the early 1980s, coordinated by FAO in collaboration with the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), UNEP and the DANIDA Forest Seed Centre, focuses on exploration, collection, exchange, evaluation and conservation of genetic resources of dry-zone multipurpose species, with special reference to Acacia and Prosopis spp. (Palmberg 1981, 1984; Graudal 1995). · The International Neem Network, coordinated by FAO, aims at characterizing the extent and patterns of genetic variation of Azadirachta indica and at helping collaborating countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, make appropriate use of the potential that this species offers in arid lands (Hansen et al. 1996; FAO 1997d, 1998a). · The International Network for Leucaena Research and Development (LEUCNET), based at the University of Queensland, Australia (FAO 1995). · TEAKNET, focused on Tectona grandis, is hosted by the Forest Department of Myanmar, with close links to the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (Bangkok, Thailand) (FAO 1996a). · The International Network for
Bamboo and Rattan, INBAR; and the recently established International Centre for
Research and Training on Seabuckthorn, ICRTS, are both headquartered in Beijing,
China (Hunter 2000; ICRTS 1998). |
Following the first three of these workshops which covered temperate North America, Boreal Zone forests and Europe, held in 1996 (FAO 1997a), FAO in collaboration with IPGRI, ICRAF and the DANIDA Forest Seed Centre facilitated the organization of a workshop of countries in the Sahelian and North-Sudanian zones of Africa held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in September 1998, in which the main components of a forest genetic resources action plan for the sub-region were identified. A synthesis report on the state of forest genetic resources in the sub-region, based on national reports prepared by participating countries, provided the background for discussions and for the elaboration of the sub-regional plan (FAO 1998a, 1999c, 2000a). It was noted that implementation of research components of the action plan can potentially be supported by the IPGRI/SAFORGEN network (see Box 2 and Annex 2), for which a preparatory meeting was held in Burkina Faso back-to-back with the forest genetic resources workshop.
A sub-regional workshop for the Pacific was convened in April 1999 as follow-up to recommendations made by Heads of Forestry of Pacific Island countries and territories. The organizers included FAO, the Australia-funded South Pacific Regional Initiative on Forest Genetic Resources project (SPRIG), the Forestry Division of Samoa, the South Pacific Community/UNDP Pacific Islands Forests and Trees Support Programme, and the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme. A sub-regional action plan on forest genetic resources was prepared based on national reports from countries and territories concerned. A sub-regional synthesis on status and priorities in forest genetic resources is under preparation (FAO 1999d, 1999g, 2000b).
A workshop of the countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) was held in June 2000 in Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania. The workshop was supported by FAO, IPGRI, ICRAF and the DANIDA Forest Seed Centre (Sigaud and Luhanga 2000). Based on country reports on the status of forest genetic resources and on-going activities and priorities, participants identified specific joint actions in the exploration, collection and exchange of forest germplasm; evaluation, tree improvement and safeguarding of seed supply; and conservation in and ex situ. These actions will constitute the elements of a sub-regional plan to be implemented by countries under the overall coordination of the SADC Forestry Sector Technical Coordination Unit, FSTCU. Implementation of the action plan will be underpinned by the already operational SADC network of national tree seed centres (Brouard and John 1995; Shumba and Mwale 1999).
Information on the three workshops held 1998-2000 is summarized in Table 1.
FAO plans to help facilitate similar workshops to those mentioned above also in other regions, pending identification of international, regional and bilateral partners and of necessary funding. Attention will be given to those regions in which countries have explicitly requested support, where institutional networking mechanisms already exist and, ideally, where common policy frameworks are in place, as these can greatly facilitate both the development and, above all, the subsequent implementation of the action plans.
A major need highlighted in all the regional workshops held to date was the development of common approaches to priority setting, especially in relation to prioritization of species targeted for genetic management. This need is also evident in the global dialogue on forest biological diversity and is debated and discussed in many countries, at national and local levels.
Priorities are to a large extent determined by the primary beneficiaries of the conservation efforts and by the users of the resources, and will depend on value judgements. In addition to determining the technical and scientific management options that are available, the values placed on genetic resources by a range of interested parties must therefore also be considered (Namkoong 1986). To ensure a holistic view, it is clear that dialogue and involvement of all stakeholders is of utmost importance. Such a dialogue should include government services, national academic and research institutions, private forest owners, industry and national non-governmental organizations. Mechanisms must also be in place to ensure that needs and aspirations of local communities are duly considered (Ouédraogo 1995, 1996, 1997; Palmberg-Lerche 1999). As priorities will change over time, even within given stakeholder groups, the approach to priority setting and action needs to be flexible enough to accommodate likely dynamic change.
Table 1. Workshops on the management of forest genetic resources, including their conservation, enhancement and sustainable utilization
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Regional Workshops on Forest Genetic
Resources |
Sahelian Dry-Zone Africa 1998 |
South Pacific Islands 1999 |
Southern and Eastern Africa 2000 |
|
Number of participants |
35 |
60 |
22 |
|
Number of countries (national institutes) |
15 |
18 |
9 |
|
Number of country reports submitted |
18 |
16 |
10 |
|
Number of international/regional institutes |
6 |
10 |
6 |
|
Availability of priority list of species |
yes |
yes |
yes |
|
Regional Synthesis available |
yes |
yes |
in preparation |
|
Regional Action Plan developed |
yes |
yes |
in preparation |
