Bioversity International

Newsletter for Europe [No. 37, December 2008]

Bioversity's Regional Office for Europe provides the Coordination Secretariats for the European Cooperative Programme for Plant Genetic Resources (ECPGR) and for the European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN). Bioversity publishes two issues of the Newsletter for Europe a year. This Newsletter is intended to serve as an informal forum for the exchange of news and views, and to create closer ties within the genetic resources community in Europe.
 

Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter

Cherimoya

An overview of the international regulatory frameworks that influence the conservation and use of underutilized plant species

Authors:Nyasha E. Chishakwe

"An overview of the international regulatory frameworks that influence the conservation and use of underutilized plant species" was prepared by the Global Facilitation Unit for Underutilized Species (GFU), in cooperation with the Genetic Resources Policy Initiative (GRPI).

This publication is an effort of the GFU to set the scene and provide an instrument for policy and decision makers.

The principal objective of this study is to review and analyze some of the important international policy instruments that affect the conservation and extended use of underutilized plant species. It examines international treaties and conventions and, where necessary, some regional treaties and regulatory instruments. This is done with the aim of identifying gaps or constraints that impede the conservation and extended use of underutilized plant species and also to highlight opportunities which these legal frameworks offer to enhance the conservation and greater use of these species.

A separate publication "The role of policy in the conservation and extended use of underutilized plant species: a cross-national policy analysis" is available in hardcopy or on line and emphasizes on the impact of national policies on the use of currently underutilized plant species and is based on the analysis of existing policies in eight different countries. The policy studies commissioned and carried out by the GFU are to be found here.

The role of policy in the conservation and extended use of underutilized plant species: a cross-national policy analysis

Authors:Nyasha E. Chishakwe

"The role of policy in the conservation and extended use of underutilized plant species: a cross-national policy analysis" was prepared by the Global Facilitation Unit for Underutilized Species (GFU), in cooperation with the Genetic Resources Policy Initiative (GRPI).

This report, an effort of the GFU to set the scene and provide an instrument for policy and decision makers, presents a cross-national analysis of policies that hinder or promote the conservation and use of underutilized species. It is based on national policy studies undertaken in Ghana, Jordan, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zambia. These studies are published on the GFU web site and links to each study are included in the References section of this report.

A separate publication "An overview of the international regulatory frameworks that influence the conservation and use of underutilized plant species" is available in hardcopy or on line and analyzes some of the important international policy instruments that affect the conservation and extended use of underutilized plant species.

Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter

Geneflow 2008

Geneflow is an annual magazine that contributes to promoting awareness of the importance of the Earth's agricultural biodiversity and the role it plays in improving people's lives and livelihoods. It is produced by Bioversity International, but carries stories from all around the globe, from a wide range of sources including national, regional and international development agencies, non-governmental organizations and research workers.

ECPGR Report of a Working Group on Leafy Vegetables

Authors:L. Maggioni, A. Lebeda, I. Boukema and E. Lipman (compilers)

Chirimoyo

Promoting Value Chains of Neglected and Underutilized Species for Pro-Poor Growth and Biodiversity Conservation Guidelines and Good Practices

Authors:Margret Will

This publication has been commissioned by the Global Facilitation Unit for Underutilized Species (GFU), created to ease and increase information and knowledge exchange in the field of neglected and underutilized species (NUS). GFU's mission is to promote and facilitate the sustainable deployment of underutilized plant species to increase food security and alleviate poverty among the rural and urban poor. Its objective is to support and strengthen organizations and networks working on different aspects of underutilized species through:

• providing improved access to information and financial resources;
• increasing public awareness on the role of underutilized species for improving livelihoods; and
  
• giving advice to policy-makers on how to create an enabling policy environment for the deployment of underutilized species.

By doing so, GFU aims to attract an increasing number of assistance agencies, research institutions, extension services, policy- and decision-makers to include neglected and underutilized species in their development programmes.