Europe

Bioversity’s work in the European region is carried out through well-established regional programmes, ECPGR (European Cooperative  Programme for Genetic Resources) and EUFORGEN (European Forest Genetic Resources Programme). These programmes are funded by member countries, including those with economies in transition of eastern and south-eastern Europe as well as the independent states of the former Soviet Union and Israel.

A total of 45 countries currently participate in the ECPGR and/or EUFORGEN activities which focus on promoting the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.  

Many crops have their primary centres of diversity in the European region and some of them also have a secondary centre of diversity in other parts of the world, e.g. cereals, legumes, fruits, nut trees, vegetables, industrial crops, oil crops, forages, medicinal and aromatic plants and condiments.

Europe is a secondary centre of diversity for species brought here in classical times (Citrus) or in later periods (tomatoes, maize).  These have since further diversified through the selection work of farmers.  The most important crops grown in the region are cereals (wheat, barley and rye), vegetables, root crops (potatoes), forages/fodder species, industrial crops (cotton and sugar beets) and fruit trees. 

The variety of agricultural ecosystems present in Europe has favoured the accumulation of a unique array of genetic diversity within cultivated crops. In the case of forest ecosystems, numerous tree species provide a vast array of products, socio-economic benefits and environmental services. Tree populations across Europe harbour large amounts of genetic diversity, needed to maintain the vitality of forests and to ensure that they can adapt to climate change.

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The Regional Office for Europe also contributes to specific initiatives and EU-funded projects on genetic resources: