Introduction to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

For the first time educational materials on the International Treaty are produced under the coordination of its Secretariat, through a participatory process involving international experts and stakeholders from all regions. Module 1 provides an up-to-date introduction to the main components of the International Treaty and related instruments and concepts in an easily understandable language to newcomers to the policy area of agricultural biodiversity. It was launched on the occasion of the Fourth Session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty (March 2011). A version of the course is available online.

Conservation and Sustainable Use under the International Treaty

This second educational module enters into detail about the International Treaty’s provisions related to the conservation and sustainable use of crop diversity. It provides technical background related to conservation and sustainable use and illustrates various examples of implementation at international, regional, national and local levels. Explaining technical aspects within the legal framework for crop diversity management, the module targets both political and scientific stakeholders, as well as other stakeholders in the agriculture sector. It was published in December 2011.

The Funding Strategy of the International Treaty

This educational module provides a historical synopsis of the establishment of the Funding Strategy and substantiates its importance for the achievement of the objectives of the International Treaty. In particular, the module explains the rationale and operation of the Benefit-sharing Fund of the Funding Strategy, and contains an entire lesson explaining the grant-making process of the Benefit-sharing Fund. The module was published in December 2013, just before the launch of the Third Call for Proposals of the Benefit-sharing Fund.

Farmers’ Rights

This module is designed to strengthen stakeholders’ capacities for implementing Farmers’ Rights as reflected in Article 9 of the International Treaty. It provides information and helps to raise awareness among other interested parties, including academia and the media. The Module has been authored and reviewed by experts who have long experience in this area and have written numerous papers about Farmers’ Rights. An interactive course version of this module is also available at the InforMEA Portal (https://e-learning.informea.org/course/index.php?categoryid=8).

The Multilateral System of Access and Benefit-sharing

The fourth educational module on the International Treaty focuses on the Multilateral System functions provides an overview of the legal and historical perspectives that lead to the development of the Multilateral System and the list of Annex I crops. It also illustrates the core concepts and articles of Section IV of the International Treaty. The first two lessons are aimed at a broad target learner group, especially at learners that are new to the Multilateral System. Lessons three and four contain practical elements related to the day-to-day operations and may be of interest to those exchanging material and involved in the planning and implementation of the Multilateral System at the national level. All lessons provide an extensive list of resources and references for further reading and learning. It has been designed to contribute to supporting the implementation of the International Treaty and also the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.