The above study was published in June 1996 by the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, IPGRI ("Issues in Genetic Resources" Nº 4). The report was prepared at the request of the FAO Commission on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, as a contribution to the on-going debate on how to ensure that plant germplasm continues to be available internationally in the best interests of all concerned.
The exchange system currently widely used for all kinds of plant germplasm, including food crop and forest germplasm, is largely informal. It is generally considered that flexibility in approach has benefited both developing and developed countries over the past two decades. However, more recently concern has been expressed by some parties about the relative lack of clarity related to the rights and obligations associated with such informal exchange of germplasm, and about its conformity with the principles on benefit-sharing of the Convention on Biological Diversity. This has lead to the need to develop alternative approaches.

After considering alternative exchange mechanisms, the IPGRI report proposes the use of a flexible, multilateral framework - referred to as the Multilateral System for Exchange (MUSE) - that would be governed by mutually agreed rules. MUSE is not an exchange system per se; rather it is the framework for a system, which could accommodate options, from purely bilateral arrangements to informal multilateral approaches to exchange.

Copies of the report are available from IPGRI, Via Delle Sette Chiese 142, 00145 Rome, Italy.