19 April 2013: The fourteenth session of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA 14) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) was held from 15-19 April 2013, at FAO headquarters, in Rome, Italy, and marked the Commission’s 30th anniversary.

The Commission addressed a series of sectorial and cross-sectorial issues under its Multi-Year Programme of Work (MYPOW) including: the preparation of state of the world reports on biodiversity for food and agriculture, and on forest, animal and aquatic genetic resources; targets and indicators; climate change; access and benefit-sharing (ABS) arrangements for genetic resources for food and agriculture; biodiversity and nutrition; and various issues related to plant, forest, animal and aquatic genetic resources, and micro-organisms and invertebrates. It also reviewed its relationship with the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGR) and cooperation with other international instruments and organizations, as well as the CGRFA’s status and mode of operation. Finally, the Commission reviewed issues related to its MYPOW implementation, including human and financial resources, and adopted the Strategic Plan 2014-2021.

CGRFA 14 adopted two new documents, the Global Plan of Action on forest genetic resources, and the genebank standards for plant genetic resources, which are expected to provide valuable guidance for national action on genetic resource conservation and sustainable use. Delegates also participated in lengthy debates exploring the Commission’s role and place in an interconnected international policy environment on ABS, climate change and aquatic genetic resources. Through a series of mostly procedural decisions, the Commission will continue to address these issues, aiming to provide targeted input to policy-makers, as well as mainstream genetic resources for food and agriculture across relevant international processes.

The meeting was preceded by a special information seminar, held on 13 April 2013, on biodiversity for food and agriculture. The morning panel discussion addressed the state of the world’s biodiversity for food and agriculture, including presentations on related global environmental challenges, the economic value of biodiversity for food and agriculture, human livelihoods and the importance of global assessments. In the afternoon, a panel discussion on ‘The contribution of biodiversity for food and agriculture: taking stock’ addressed: the specificities, challenges and achievements of different components of biodiversity for food and agriculture, including animal, plant, forest and aquatic genetic resources; and issues related to information and indicators on biodiversity for food and agriculture. Discussion then focused on challenges and opportunities for biodiversity for food and agriculture and the production of the report on the State of the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture. [IISD RS Coverage of CGRFA 14][IISD RS Summary Report of the Special Information Seminar][FAO Press Release][Video and Presentations of the Special Information Seminar][Interviews on the CGRFA 30th Anniversary]