The International Union of Forest Research Organisations (IUFRO) Working Party S.2.02.21 on Legislation of Forest Reproductive Material and the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (Kenya Forestry Seed Centre), in technical collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), organized the above symposium from 4 to 10 October 1992 in Nairobi, Kenya. More than 70 participants from 30 countries attended the symposium, which was sponsered by the Federal Republic of Germany through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ).
Different aspects of the production, quality, trade and movement of forest reproductive materials in tropical and subtropical countries and the necessity of establishing regulations for the movement and use of forest reproductive materials, were discussed in three working sessions. Additional sessions dealt with the role of tree improvement programmes in the production of forest reproductive materials, and with the role of tree seed centres in the provision of quality seed.
The symposium recommended:
The development of national laws and regulations for forest reproductive materials, using international, recognized schemes as models; the establishment and financing (by revolving funds) of national systems for supervising and controlling such schemes (including registration of approved basic materials, collectors and dealers); and the development of rules governing the use of forest reproductive materials. All laws, regulations, rules and recommendations, when disseminated, should be accompanied by explanatory material giving background and reasons for their issue.
The development and application of guidelines and standards for the collection and processing of seed; and the establishment of a national Designated Authority in each country, charged with the selection, establishment and management of seed sources, record keeping and storage of all relevant data, as well as with the commercialization of reproductive materials which meet the genetic, physiological and phytosanitary standards set.
Continued stress on research on widely used exotic tree species; and strengthening of research efforts in indigenous tree species in tropical and sub-tropical countries. This would include: the evaluation of species, sub-species and varieties; the delineation of ecozones; studies on genetic diversity (including species and provenance testing and selection, and development of methods for identification and “finger-printing” of genetic materials); studies on the reproductive biology of indigenous and exotic species; handling and storage of recalcitrant seeds; seed testing and issues related to plant protection and quarantine; the development of mass propagation methods, and the evaluation of risks and benefits potentially derived from their application; and the establishment of a seed information network.
The Proceedings of the symposium will be available in late 1993 from the Kenya Forestry Seed Centre, P.O.Box 20 412, Nairobi, Kenya. The Proceedings will be published in English. Keynote Papers will also be printed in French and Spanish. The cost of the Proceedings will be $US 20.
A follow-up workshop on African Tree Seed was organized by the Kenya Forestry Seed Centre and the National Tree Seed Project, Morogoro, Tanzania, from 24 to 7 August 1993, in Kenya and Tanzania.
Forest Genetic Resources Information no. 21. FAO, Rome (1993)
Manuscript received May 1993 from Kenya Forestry Seed Centre
