The above Technical Conference was held at FAO, Rome from 6 to 10 April 1981. The Conference passed a number of recommendations, some of which on forestry. The forestry recommendations were as follows:
"Concerning Forestry, the Conference recommends:-
that emphasis should continue to be placed on forest genetic resources, particularly species used in arid and semi-arid zones for fuel, and other tree species of wide social and economic importance or potential;
that countries and agencies responsible for reserves should consider whether or not additional areas are needed for special needs such as the conservation of wild relatives of cultivars, related weeds and the maintenance of genetic diversity within species;
that guidelines should be set out for planners and managers of protected areas to advise them on measures that should be taken to conserve genetic resources and at the same time leave them available for use;
that UNEP and the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) should encourage in situ conservation in areas that can be used for educational, recreational and other purposes;
that as a first step towards the establishment of a data bank for crop genetic resources maintained in protected areas, a comprehensive inventory of the wild relatives of crops should be compiled and other information essential for in situ conservation of plant genetic resources should be assembled;
that an ad hoc committee consisting of representatives of FAO, UNEP, IBPGR, UNESCO/MAB and IUCN should be formed to advise on all aspects of the conservation of genetic resources in protected areas and to assist in the coordination of this work with the conservation of forest and range land genetic resources.
A Report has been published by FAO on the Conference (Report on the FAO/UNEP/IBPGR Conference on Crop Genetic Resources. FAO, Rome 1981).
