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Origin and Establishment

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International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources

• CBD (1993) stimulated interest in biodiversity conservation and use

• Need for instrument geared to needs of agricultural genetic resources

• Negotiations initiated Nov. 1993 by FAO Commission on PGRFA

• International Treaty text adopted 2001 and entered into force 2004

• CGIAR collections covered under Article 15 – replacing earlier agreements with FAO

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CGIAR Collections

• Diverse, global• Well used• Increasing funding restrictions

– 1995 External genebank review raised serious funding concerns

– Following another review, an investment and upgrading plan was agreed in 1999 (funded by World Bank)

• However, still no guaranteed long term funding

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The Crop Trust idea emerges

By the early 2000s:

• Clear need for long-term, sustainable funding (CGIAR and other genebanks)

• Endowment fund - appropriate mechanism

• Policies becoming clearer: access, benefit sharing (ITPGRFA imminent)

• CGIAR roles and responsibilities increasingly accepted internationally

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Creation of the Crop Trust

May 2000: CGIAR endorsed the recommendation of Bioversity International to explore possibility of an endowment fund to support the in-trust collections.

Wide consultations followed with FAO, OECD countries, developing countries, GFAR and various NGOs: in general strong support for the idea

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The growth of an idea

October 2000: Feasibility study initiated, contracted to Community Counseling Service (CCS), funded by SGRP, Future Harvest Foundation and World Bank.

Interviews with >130 individuals from governments, foundations, corporations etc. in >30 countries

Provided backing by CGIAR, FAO and World Bank, feasible to raise endowment for CGIAR and other key collections

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Taking the next steps

• 2001-2003: extensive discussions with all major stakeholders, spearheaded by Bioversity International on behalf of the CGIAR and FAO

• July 2002: report published by Imperial College, London: Diversity at Risk: the Case for Sustaining Crop Collections.

• August 2002: World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg - FAO and CGIAR formally committed to establishing the Crop Trust

• Sept. 2002: Website launched

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Oct. 2003, FAO CGRFA endorsed the initiative:

…. on the joint efforts of FAO and the CGIAR to establish a Global Conservation Trust, to provide, in perpetuity, a flow of funds for ex situ conservation by national and international institutions …. The Trust would operate in the framework of the International Treaty, and be an essential element of its Funding Strategy. The overall policy guidance to the Trust would come from the Governing Body of the Treaty.

This initiative was universally appreciated and supported, and appeals were made to donors to assist in the establishment of the Trust…..

Governance

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The first “Board”

• Following a stakeholder meeting in London in July 2002, FAO and Bioversity International set up an interim board, known as the Interim Panel of Eminent Experts (IPEE).

• IPEE held its first meeting in February 2003:– Trust to be an independent international

organization– Initiated negotiations of Establishment

Agreement, Constitution and Relationship agreement with FAO

– Contracted CCS for fundraising services– Initial funds received from Brazil

Colombia and Australia

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Interim Panel of Eminent Experts

• Ambassador Fernando Gerbasi (Venezuela): Chairman, Former Chair of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

• Andrew Bennett (UK), Executive Director, the Syngenta Foundation

• Lukas Brader (the Netherlands) Former Director General, IITA, Nigeria

• Lewis Coleman (United States) President, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

• Tewolde Egziabher (Ethiopia): DG, Environmental Protection Authority, Ethiopia

• Walter Fust (Switzerland): DG, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation

• Chebet Maikut (Uganda): President, Uganda National Farmers Federation

• Mohammad H. Roozitalab (Iran): DDG, Agricultural Research and Education Organization, Iran and Chair, GFAR

• Setijati Sastrapradja (Indonesia): Scientist, Indonesian Institute of Sciences

• Ismail Serageldin (Egypt): ex Chair, CGIAR and a senior VP, World Bank

• Geoff Hawtin (UK/Canada): DG, IPGRI

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The Crop Trust is born

• IPEE approved the Constitution and Establishment Agreement in October 2003

• By early 2004, 11 countries signed the Establishment Agreement: Cape Verde, Egypt, Ethiopia, Mali, Togo, Ecuador, Jordan, Morocco, Syria, Samoa, and Tonga.

• 21 October 2004: Crop Trust acquired international legal personality when Sweden signed

• July 2005 Geoff Hawtin stood down as the first Executive Secretary

• Cary Fowler – Executive Director (2005 – 2012)

• Marie Haga – Executive Director (2013 – present)

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The Crop Trust Now

• Independent autonomous international organization

– Secretariat in Bonn from January 2013

• Endowment to secure long-term funding for global system

– Complementary short-term project funding to overcome key

constraints

• Policy framework of International Treaty on PGRFA

– Element of the funding strategy of the Treaty

• Governed by Executive Board

– Treaty GB, Donors Council, FAO, CGIAR

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Pieces of the Puzzle

Global Crop Diversity Trust Globally

agreed framework

Information Systems

Svalbard Global Seed Vault

International Collections

International Treaty

onPGRFA

National Collections

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The Global System we need

Global back-up

Safety duplicate collection

Long-term international collection

National collection

Breeding collection

On-farm management

Conservation

Use

• Each unique crop sample housed in

– a genebank of international standards

– the Svalbard Global Seed Vault

• Key collections actively managed and curated

• Good information systems in place

• Timely, uncomplicated provision of quality material

• Reliable, long-term funding

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The Global System we need

Collaboration with CGIAR

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To conserve the diversity of plant genetic resources in CGIAR-held collections, to make it available to breeders and researchers in a manner that meets high international scientific standards,

is cost efficient, is secure, reliable and sustainable over the long-term and is supportive

of and consistent with ITPGRFA

Collaboration with CGIAR

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CGIAR collections, 2013 (number of samples per crop)

– Barley: ICARDA 27,000– Beans: CIAT

36,000– Chickpea: ICARDA + ICRISAT 34,000– Forages: CIAT + ICARDA + ILRI 66,000– Maize: CIMMYT +IITA 28,000– Potato: CIP

7,000– Rice: AfricaRice + IRRI 129,000– Wheat: CIMMYT + ICARDA 167,000

TOTAL for all crops ≈750,000

• Approx 100,000 samples distributed per year • Samples are freely available upon request

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Monitoring tools– Annual reports– QMS development– External review– Centre own

monitoring

Management and Governance

Online Reporting

External Reviews– 2012 – IRRI, ILRI– 2013 – CIAT, Bioversity,

CIMMYT– 2014 – IITA, AfricaRice,

ICRISAT

First round to be completed by 2015

Performance Indicators

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2012 Report

1.27 million samples used within the CGIAR and disseminated to 105 countries

AfricaRice

ICRISATCIMMYT

IRRI CIP CIAT

ICRAF

ICARDA

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Selected activities

Collecting Conservation Regeneration

Permanent backupDuplication

Information systems

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Saving at risk collections

REGENERATION• 79,725 regenerated• 4,268 put in vitro• 12,619 not viable• Involving 86

institutes in 77 countries

SAFETY DUPLICATION• 43,676 accessions• 56 countries• 12 not Treaty parties

Genesys: A global information portal for crop diversity

Information Systems

• Searchable on passport, characterization, evaluation and ecogeographic descriptors

• Expandable to include all genebanks!

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• Online portal to accession-level information on the world’s genebank holdings

• Initially developed as investment from GCDT, Bioversity, and ITPGRFA-Secretariat

• Initially encompasses CGIAR/held International Collections, Eurisco and USDA

• Searchable on passport, characterization, evaluation and ecogeographic descriptors

• Plans for further development and improvement

• Expandable to include all genebanks!

Information Systems

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• An information management system for genebanks

• The new incarnation of USDA’s Genetic Resources Information System (GRIN)

• “Open source” software for continued development and maintenance by the user community

Information Systems

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Crop Wild Relatives

A wide spectrum of diversity can be found on the other side of the domestication bottleneck

• Many breeders are keen to reach back through time and get hold of some of the diversity in ‘crop wild relatives’

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• Identify , collect, conserve, document and use key CWR diversity for climate change adaptation

• 26 target crops

• Partnership with Millennium Seed Bank, Kew

• $50 million over 10 years pledged by Norwegian government, starting 2011

Timetable

Crop Wild Relatives

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Global Gap Analysis

Svalbard Global Seed Vault

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Phillippine National Genebank Typhoon Xangsane, 2006

More than 820,000 varieties stored in the vault

Seeds from nearly every country in the world deposited by 58 institutes

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Svalbard Global Seed Vault

2013 at a glance

• 29,155 new safety duplicates from 12 depositors were stored in the Vault. This increased holdings by about 4%; total holding by the end of the year was 801,752 samples.

• Six institutions signed the Standard Deposit Agreement: Australia (2), Japan, Thailand (2) and Uzbekistan.

• Chamber two is filled to 77% of its current capacity.

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Svalbard Global Seed Vault

Cost of a Global System

Only USD 34 million per year

or an

Endowment Fund of USD 850 million

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Thank you

www.croptrust.org

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