National and regional conservation strategies – an

overview

H. Fitzgerald & N. Maxted

Nordic/ECPGR Joint Workshop

Plant genetic resources for food security and ecosystem services

CWR CONSERVATION STRATEGIES

19-22 September 2016, Vilnius, Lithuania

National and regional conservation strategies – an overview

• In situ conservation

• Establishing CWR networks

• National strategies

• Regional strategies

• Global strategy

In Situ CWR Conservation

• Objective: to ensure maximum range of CWR genetic diversity is represented within minimum number of in situ conservation sites / populations

• Identifying target species and populations, locating site, planning, establishment, management, monitoring and utilization

• Methodologies for planning and implementing in situ conservation: Gadgil et al. (1996), Safriel et al. (1997), Maxted et al. (1997) & Iriondo et al. (2008)

• Genetic reserves or other protected areas

• “Genetic Reserve Conservation - the location, management and monitoring of genetic diversity in natural wild populations within defined areas designated for active, long-term conservation.” (Maxted et al., 1997)

Farmers field, Cyprus, N. Maxted Færder National Park, Norway, Lena Ansebo

Færder National Park, Norway,

H. Fitzgerald

• Diverse approaches to in situ CWR conservation

• Basic geographic scope:

→ → →

• Each actively conserves CWR diversity in genetic reserves or other conservation sites, networks enhances conservation value, ex situ storage for back-up and use

• Management actions implemented at national level

Individual site or

population

Regional network

National network

Global network

Establishing CWR networks

Bottom-up

National Strategy for a CWR Network

Progress in Europe: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Rep., Finland, Greece, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Norway, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom

Progress in outside Europe: Bolivia, Madagascar, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan, Middle East, Mexico, Peru, Mauritius, India, South Africa, Zambia

Back-up

National CWR Strategy example: Finnish national strategy

• Target taxon and target area (National inventory of 1905 CWR taxa present in

Finland)

• Ecogeographic and threat analysis

• Prioritization of the checklist

• In situ gap analysis

• Ex situ gap analysis

• Recommendations for in situ and ex situ conservation action

Picture: Jouko Lehmuskallio

7.10.2016 7

Heli Fitzgerald/ Status of CWR conservation in Finland

Finnish national strategy - Ecogeographic and threat data

Picture: Jouko Lehmuskallio Picture: Jouko Lehmuskallio

7.10.2016 8

Heli Fitzgerald/ Status of CWR conservation in Finland

Finnish national strategy- Prioritization

Picture: Jouko Lehmuskallio

Threat

- Finnish Vascular Plant Red List Category 2010

- National protection status

- Species listed in EU Habitats Directive Annexes II, IV and V and EU Annex Priority species

- Socio-economically important European endemic species

- OEK species

Value

- Yield of CWR-related main crops in Finland in 2010

- Yield of CWR-related herb crops in Finland

- High priority human food crops in Europe

Use

- Medicinal/pharmaceutical use, food, forage/fodder plants

- Species listed in Annex I of the ITPGRFA

- Nordic mandate species of root, oil and fibre plants, vegetables, fruits and berries, cereals and

forages

- Species in GP1b, GP2, TG1b, TG2 and TG3

Wild apple, Finland

• Distribution data for the 208 priority taxa (10x10 km grid squares)

• Identification of the key CWR areas with complementarity analysis

• Overlapping with conservation area maps

• 2 different analysis: Åland and continental Finland together and separately

• 5 most CWR taxa rich areas as genetic reserves would conserve over 60% of the priority species

Finnish national strategy – in situ gap analysis

Finnish national strategy – Ex situ gap analysis

• Collected diversity of CWR priority taxa vs. existing diversity

• Identification of taxa in conservation and taxa in need of conservation

Conservation Gaps:

• 75% of priority taxa not in collections

• Many CWR taxa in collections is not sufficiently conserved ex situ

• Further analysis can provide detailed species specific ex situ collection maps to fill the gaps.

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(sub) Regional CWR conservation strategies: Nordic CWR conservation action plan

• Project ’Ecosystem services: genetic resources and crop wild relatives’

• Nordic CWR checklist for the 5 countries

• Common priority list

• Gap analysis for in situ conservation of CWR in the Nordic region

• Action plan and policy recommendations

Allium in Vasikkasaari, Finland, H. Fitzgerald

Maxted et al., 2013, 2015

Regional CWR conservation strategies: Europe

• European Cooperative Programme for Plant Genetic Resources (ECPGR) • Concept for in situ conservation of crop wild relatives in Europe (Maxted at al., 2015)

Global CWR conservation strategies

Global sites identified for in situ CWR conservation Global Crop Diversity Trust Project - http://www.cwrdiversity.org/checklist/

Vincent et al., 2017

1,392 CWR species from

194 gene pools,

representing 37 families

and 109 genera

Thank you

CWR hotspot, Bull Island, Ireland, H. Fitzgerald