02/08/2013

Panama City, Panama – The Ministers of the Agricultural Council of Central America (CAC) announced their unanimous support for a Strategic Action Plan for Plant Genetic Resources in Mesoamerica and declared their intention to incorporate the Plan into their national agendas during their regular meeting in Panama City in August.

The preparation of a Strategic Action Plan (SAP) for Mesoamerica was funded by the International Treaty’s Benefit-Sharing Fund (BSF) and implemented by Bioversity International, in cooperation with many leading national institutions in the region was also in the agenda for discussion. The conservation and use of crop genetic diversity is crucial for the region which faces major for food security challenges, including the loss of unique and irreplaceable crop biodiversity needed for adapting to climate change. 

The ministerial meeting, which was attended by six ministers and two vice ministers of agriculture from Central America, remarked upon the vital importance of the Strategic Action Plan for the region and unanimously agreed to promote its implementation in their individual countries.

Director-General Victor Villalobos of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) emphasized the importance of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture’s SAP, particularly in terms of allowing access to much-needed plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. He said, “The Strategic Action Plan for Mesoamerica and the Treaty are crucial in providing our countries access to the genetic resources needed to face the challenges of changing climates.”

“We are delighted with the CAC Ministers’ decision to adopt the Strategic Action Plan for Mesoamerica as a regional priority,” said Shakeel Bhatti, Secretary of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, “and we are confident that this will lead to a beneficial cooperation for the region.”

David Williams, Manager of the Agriculture, Natural Resources and Climate Change Program at IICA said that the Plan would be used as a roadmap for the program he manages.

The Ministers instructed the Council’s Secretariat to facilitate the articulation of the region’s Strategic Action Plan with the Thematic Group on Climate Change, the Central American Integration System for Agricultural Technology (SICTA) and other complementary initiatives.

The International Treaty’s Benefit-Sharing Fund (BSF) is currently sponsoring its 2nd round of the project cycle, comprising 19 projects in 31 countries around the world. The focus of these projects revolves around two windows: Window 1 – Strategic Action Plans (SAPs), and Window 2 – Immediate Action Projects (IAPs). The overall objective is to help ensure sustainable food security by assisting farmers to adapt to climate change through a targeted set of high impact activities on the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.

Seven Strategic Action Plans have been approved for funding, involving 25 countries across Africa, Latin America and Asia. These are currently being implemented through existing national, regional and international institutions, including networks, multi-stakeholder groupings and consortia and multilateral partners of the Fund such as the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

The partners of the Benefit-Sharing Fund are at work to set out clear priorities on a regional, sub-regional and eco-regional basis and identify information exchange, technology transfer and capacity building activities. Activities include analyses of future climate scenarios, downscale of climate change models and the identification of those areas where food and nutritional security are most fragile.

These activities are consistent with national strategies and priorities, and rely on scientific and policy support. They are envisaged to have the potential to be scaled-up across agro-ecological zones and replicated in other areas, ensuring maximum positive impact and the best use of current scientific knowledge and data. National and international resources can thus be mobilized to sustainably address the priorities identified and contribute towards a global knowledge base for innovative approaches and mechanisms to address the intertwined challenges of food security and climate change.