April 2014: In the report, ‘Conservation of fruit tree diversity in Central Asia: Policy options and challenges,’ Bioversity International investigates the legal and policy frameworks affecting the conservation of horticultural and wild fruit species’ genetic diversity in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

The report summarizes the findings of a project implemented from 2005 to 2010, which focused on in-situ conservation and use of agricultural biodiversity in Central Asia. The project report documents farmers’ natural coping mechanisms to assure the success of their crops, and in particular, their reliance on the abundance of wild relatives of apple, pear, plum, almond, pomegranate and grape. The report then discusses, for each focus country, the effectiveness of national policies addressing agro-biodiversity conservation, support for farmers’ management of local varieties, and farmers’ rights.

The publication also outlines measures for protecting wild species and landraces. These include: establishing protected areas; incentives for farmers to conserve wild races; improved legislation for classification and management of wild races as threatened and endangered species; land reform; seed legislation and the recognition of intellectual property; and capacity building for farmer-based conservation efforts.

The project was implemented by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and Global Environment Facility (GEF), and coordinated by Bioversity International, a member of CGIAR. [Publication: Conservation of fruit tree diversity in Central Asia: Policy options and challenges]