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• Dr. Stefan Schröder
• Gabriele Blümlein
• Marliese von den Driesch
• Dr. Daniela Schröder
  

• Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
• FAO - Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA)
• FAO, Agrobiodiversity
• Bioversity International
• Multi-Year Programme on Agrobiodversity (MYPOW)
• The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
• Biodiversity Strategy of the EU
• Biodiversity Action Plan for Agriculture
• Council Regulation 1698 on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Enviroment (EAFRD)
  (German only)
• LEADER German Contact Point
  (German only)

• Creating the political and economic framework at international level with the goal of achieving better conservation and broader and more sustainable use of genetic resources for food and agriculture, the ultimate aim being to secure food supply, combat rural poverty and achieve sustainable development.
  This involves inter alia: Giving greater consideration to social and environmental needs in WTO activities, devising systems for labelling products of sustainable production or with specific origin and for quality assurance, improved protection of indigenous knowledge on agrobiodiversity as well as support to the implementation of farmers' rights in developing countries.
• Promoting of access to genetic resources for food and agriculture and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their use and the use of associated indigenous knowledge.
• Supporting the international network of in-situ and on-farm conservation initiatives.

The UN Organisation for Food and Agriculture (FAO) plays a crucial role in this process:

International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

In 1983 the FAO adopted the International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources as a legally non-binding agreement. The Undertaking was based on the generally accepted principle that plant genetic resources are a heritage of mankind and consequently should be available without restriction.
In the light of the provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), that grants national sovereignty over their genetic resources, a revision of the IU was necessary, ending up in the adoption of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. The International Treaty went into force in 2004. The Treaty defines the legally binding global framework for the conservation of plant genetic resources. The Parties to the Treaty commit themselves to the conservation (ex situ and in situ), characterisation and evaluation, and to the sustainable utilisation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. One core element of the Treaty is the Multilateral System of Access and Benefit Sharing (MLS), that facilitates access to plant genetic resources and an equitable benefit sharing.

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

With the UN-Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro (1992) the international efforts on agrobiodiversity, and biodiversity in general, changed significantly. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) went into force in 1993.
Substantial innovations of the CBD are:

• The conservation of genetic resources in situ was given priority over ex situ conservation
• It defines three equal aims: 1. Conservation 2. sustainable utilisation of genetic resources and 3. the equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources
• It confirms the principle of national sovereignty of States over their genetic resources, it recognises, that States have the right to establish national regulations for the access to genetic resources, it commits States to an fair and equitable benefit sharing.
• The traditional knowledge of indigenous and local communities needs to be protected.

Another milestone of the follow-up process of Rio was the adoption of a Multi-year Programme of Work on agrobiodiversity (MyPoW). Of particular interest are the following issues:

• The cooperation between FAO and CBD should be strengthened
• The integrated ecosystematic approach
• Improved consideration of agrobiodiversity-relevant issues in the WTO

European Union (EU)

The EU-Commission developed a European Strategy on Biodiversity in 1998, and sectoral Plans of Action, including one for agrobiodiversity in 2001.
The instruments of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) are the framework for the integration of biodiversity in agricultural policies. The extend of biodiversity protection depends on the extend of implementation of the existing funding instruments. Of particular importance are funding instruments for less favoured areas and agri-environmental measures. Priorities are the funding of the application of agricultural production methods compatible with the protection and improvement of the environment, the support for sustainable production in regions of high species diversity, as well as the funding for the conservation of plant and animal genetic resources.
The main funding for these measures results from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).

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