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The CGIAR System-wide Genetic Resources Programme (SGRP) is a mechanism for collective action that impacts on
the work of individual Centres, on the CGIAR System
as a whole, and beyond. Its outputs can be
classified as below into five thematic areas:
These outputs provide valuable momentum and quality to the
genetic resources activities of the Centres and of
other practitioners. However, beyond these material
outputs, the SGRP fulfils a valuable convening role
that:
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facilitates activities of individual CGIAR
Centres and maximizes their synergy
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brings coherence, effectiveness and efficiency
to the genetic resources activities of the CGIAR
System in pursuit of its development goals
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focuses the application of the human and
financial resources of the CGIAR System to the
most important genetic resources challenges of
global importance
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offers leadership to the genetic resources
community as a whole in working towards a global
system for conservation and use.
Thus, SGRP is at the same time a rallying point, a
think-tank and a workshop that identifies, develops
and delivers innovative solutions to practical and
policy challenges. The individual CGIAR Centres are
engaged in a massive task of managing the largest
collection of agricultural biodiversity in the
world. SGRP provides a powerful means of improving
how that responsibility is discharged as part
of the collective global effort to put genetic
resources to work for development.
Funding conservation efforts is an ongoing challenge for
the CGIAR Centres as well as for genebanks in
national systems. SGRP has addressed this challenge
by working through Bioversity International
(formerly IPGRI) representing the Centres, and with
the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO) to establish the
Global Crop Diversity Trust.
This public-private partnership is raising an
endowment fund of US$260 million to support in
perpetuity the conservation of globally important
collections, including the in-trust collections
housed by the CGIAR Centre genebanks. Costing
studies initiated by SGRP have informed the resource
projections for the endowment and SGRP has made
technical and intellectual inputs to the concept and
coverage of Trust activities.
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Policy
Genetic resources practitioners within the CGIAR and beyond
are confronted by a complex working environment in
which success will depend on solving not only
scientific and technical challenges but also
parallel policy and legal issues. This is
particularly important for the collections of plant
genetic resources held in CGIAR Centre genebanks
under agreements with the Governing Body of the
International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for
Food and Agriculture. Find out more about SGRP and
the
in-trust collections.
SGRP recommends policies for System-wide adoption that are
in harmony with the Treaty and other international
agreements and that represent the best practices in
the management of genetic resources. This involves
researching and formulating policy instruments and
guidelines for the CGIAR Centres to use in the
acquisition, management, use and transfer of genetic
resources.
Debate around plant genetic resources is more advanced than
in other sectors of agricultural biodiversity, but
many of the broad policy questions that relate to
plant diversity also apply to livestock, fish and
microbial resources. With FAO and other partners, SGRP
investigates policy options for these sectors as a
contribution to international negotiations to
develop an effective global genetic resource policy
framework. A key part of this involves organizing
representation of the CGIAR Centres at meetings
through which they
contribute to international agendas. This includes
coordinating scientific, technical and policy inputs
to the work of, for example, the FAO Commission on
Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and the
Convention on Biological Diversity.
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Public awareness and representation
SGRP works to make sure that other organizations and
policy-makers are well informed about what the CGIAR
Centres are doing in the field of genetic resources.
Donors are an important target for information on the
achievements of the CGIAR Centre genebanks to both
secure adequate financing for the upkeep and
operations of the genebanks and meet duties of
accountability. SGRP collaborates with the CGIAR and
all of the Centres to inform donors about the vital
contributions that the CGIAR System is making to
conserve biodiversity and ensure that genetic
resources are used sustainably in ways that benefit
the poor and hungry.
SGRP also fulfils an internal awareness-raising function,
keeping the CGIAR Centres aware of major policy and
practical developments in the area of genetic
resources, supporting their efforts to remain
up-to-date and relevant.
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Knowledge and
information
Over the past three decades the CGIAR Centres
have generated vast reserves of knowledge and
information through the experience of their
day-to-day work on managing the Centre genebank
collections, paralleled and complemented by studies
and expert consultations. Through these means the
Centres harness knowledge and explore new frontiers
in research in a continuous effort to improve the
conservation and use of genetic resources in
agriculture, forestry and fisheries.
SGRP plays a coordinating and convening role,
and helps to deliver knowledge and information to
stakeholders. SGRP maintains a portfolio of on-line
and printed
publications covering scientific,
technical and policy topics. These range from
seminal manuals on germplasm management to studies
on the application of cutting edge molecular
technologies to conservation and use of genetic
resources.
Information on the accessions held in a
collection is as valuable as the accessions
themselves and the key to their wise and effective
use. The central element of SGRP’s work in this area
has been the development of
SINGER, the
System-wide Information Network on Genetic
Resources.
SINGER provides access to data on the
characteristics of the germplasm held in trust in
the CGIAR Centre genebanks and is a key component of
the Centres’ role in managing the collections.
SINGER provides access with transparency, helping
users search the databases of all of the Centres
through a single entry point for material with
particular characteristics.
Above and beyond providing an information
network for the CGIAR system, SINGER is a model and
key component for building a global information
network to link national and international genetic
resources information systems on a regional and crop
basis. This will contribute to the information
system required to meet the needs of the
International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for
Food and Agriculture.
To access the
SINGER website,
click here.
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Strategies and
methodologies
SGRP provides a forum for debate, strategic analysis and
planning on topics of common concern to the CGIAR
Centres, national programmes and other partners. The
scope of activities ranges from promoting optimal
management of individual genebank collections to
promoting a rational global system of conservation
and use. SGRP’s vision is of a system with the CGIAR
Centre genebanks at the core, in partnership with
other international and national collections,
working to common objectives and standards.
Expert workshops organized by SGRP produce updates on
research advances and provide the opportunity to set
agendas for collaboration. SGRP’s approach is
holistic, recognizing and promoting the
complementarity of ex situ and in situ
conservation through research to improve the
management of plant, animal, forest and aquatic
genetic diversity in genebank collections and
ecosystems.
By increasing the knowledge of genebank management and
developing better technologies, SGRP provides
critical support to international and national
genetic resource programmes. The products of the
Centres’ experience and research are available to
partners through guides on, for example, seed, in
vitro and field genebanks, and on regeneration
of seed collections. See the
genebank management
publications.
SGRP recognizes the crucial role of conservation of
diversity in production systems within a holistic
conservation strategy, particularly for forest,
livestock and aquatic genetic resources. SGRP is
sponsoring a
Platform for Agrobiodiversity
Research to network existing
initiatives and coordinate efforts to fill gaps in
understanding of the interactions between components
of agrobiodiversity (soil, plant, animal,
pollinator, etc.) and their roles in sustaining
production. Through the Platform, SGRP is working
with partners to develop improved approaches to
sustainable, community-based management of genetic
resources in production systems.
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Capacity building
and institutional support
Conserving and using genetic resources sustainably is a
complex and demanding undertaking depending on
precision and consistency in the application of
methodologies. SGRP is dedicated to defining and
promoting best practices in the CGIAR Centre
genebanks and beyond, in the interests of security,
efficiency and economy.
The CGIAR Centre genebanks have a long and solid record of
training partners to promulgate best practices and
enhance research capacity in national programmes.
SGRP supports this effort at a practical level by
disseminating the Centre genebanks’ know-how in
manuals, guidelines and other
publications, and by
developing specialized materials such as a
training-trainers
module on Law and Policy of Relevance to the
Management of Plant Genetic Resources.
The scale of the future capacity-building needs within a
global conservation and use system is daunting.
Training all partners individually through courses
or workshops would overstretch the financial and
human resources of the Centre genebanks. SGRP is
addressing this challenge by the development of a
training strategy and plan for partners to channel
the Centres’ training and information resources
optimally.
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