5 May 2015: A statistics and spatial tool to support in situ conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture has been developed within the programme to support capacity development (CAPFITOGEN) of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGR). The tool, titled ‘Complementa,’ was presented to plant breeders and researchers during a regional workshop organized recently by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and Bioversity International, in Pretoria, South Africa.

Complementa is designed to perform complementarity and coverage analysis for target crop or wild relative species in order to determine the most important zones or protected areas with regard to taxonomic-genetic richness conservation. The tool can help identify areas with a high probability of containing landraces or crop wild relatives, and also be used to determine the current degree of protection provided. It is also designed to support the optimization of activities related to ex situ conservation; and to analyze data on protected areas. [ITPGR News Release] [CAPFITOGEN Webpage] [Downloadable CAPFITOGEN Tools, including Complementa]