Global Crop Diversity Trust
Encyclopedia
Global Crop Diversity Trust is an independent international organization
which exists to ensure the conservation and availability of crop diversity
for food security
worldwide. It was established through a partnership between the United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
(CGIAR) acting through Bioversity International
.
. The Agreement recognizes the Trust as an "essential element" of the Treaty's funding strategy in regards to the ex situ conservation and availability of plant genetic
resources for food and agriculture. It also confirms the autonomy of the Trust as a scientific organization in raising and dispersing funds.
The Trust is assembling an endowment
(trust) fund, the income from which will be used to support the conservation of distinct and important crop diversity
, in perpetuity, through existing institutions. Crop diversity is the biological foundation of agriculture, and is the raw material
plant breeders and farmers use to adapt crop varieties to pests and diseases. In the future, this crop diversity will play a central role in helping agriculture adjust to climate change and adapt to water and energy constraints.
, Italy
. The organization is headed by Dr. Cary Fowler
. The executive board is chaired by Margaret Catley-Carlson
(Canada), Chair of the Global Water Partnership
, and the International Advisory Committee for Group Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux and the Vice chair is Wangari Maathai
(Kenya), Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her contribution to sustainable development
, democracy
and peace
. The Trust also has a Donors' Council, chaired by Peter Waddell-Wood (Australia). The organization has raised approximately $150 million. Main donors include: Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, U.S., and the Grains Research and Development Corporation
(Australia). A number of developing countries have also provided support, including Ethiopia and India. And, contributions have been received from several private corporations and foundations.
In 2007, the Trust began a global initiative to rescue threatened, high-priority collections of crop diversity in developing countries and to support information systems to improve their conservation and availability. These efforts included providing support to developing countries and international agricultural research centers to deposit shipments of seed samples in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault
for safety duplication purposes.
In 2010, the Trust launched a global 10-year program to find, gather, catalog and save the wild relatives
of 22 major food crops. These wild species contain untapped diversity to help address future challenges to agriculture.
The Trust does not accept unsolicited applications for funding.
, a "fail-safe
" facility located at Svalbard
, Norway. This facility provides a safety back-up for existing genebank collections, which are vulnerable to war, civil strife, natural disasters and even to equipment failure and mismanagement. The Vault has also been touted as providing a means for restoring agriculture in the event of a global catastrophe of some sort. It is designed to hold 4 million samples of different varieties (in the form of seed
) of agricultural crops.
International organization
An intergovernmental organization, sometimes rendered as an international governmental organization and both abbreviated as IGO, is an organization composed primarily of sovereign states , or of other intergovernmental organizations...
which exists to ensure the conservation and availability of crop diversity
Crop diversity
Crop diversity is the variance in genetic and phenotypic characteristics of plants used in agriculture. Crops may vary in seed size, branching pattern, in height, flower color, fruiting time, or flavor. They may also vary in less obvious characteristics such as their response to heat, cold or...
for food security
Food security
Food security refers to the availability of food and one's access to it. A household is considered food-secure when its occupants do not live in hunger or fear of starvation. According to the World Resources Institute, global per capita food production has been increasing substantially for the past...
worldwide. It was established through a partnership between the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Food and Agriculture Organization
Food and Agriculture Organization
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is a specialised agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and...
(FAO) and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
The CGIAR is a strategic alliance that unites organizations involved in agricultural research for sustainable development with the donors that fund such work. These donors include governments of developing and industrialized countries, foundations and international and regional organizations...
(CGIAR) acting through Bioversity International
Bioversity International
Bioversity International is one of 15 agricultural research centres supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research . It is dedicated to the conservation and use of agricultural biodiversity to improve the livelihoods of poor people. The organization is highly...
.
Overview
In 2006, the Trust entered into a Relationship Agreement with the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and AgricultureInternational Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture , popularly known as the International Seed Treaty, is a comprehensive international agreement in harmony with the Convention on Biological Diversity, which aims at guaranteeing food security through the conservation,...
. The Agreement recognizes the Trust as an "essential element" of the Treaty's funding strategy in regards to the ex situ conservation and availability of plant genetic
Plant genetics
Plant genetics is a very broad term. There are many facets of genetics in general, and of course there are many facets to plants.The definition of genetics is the branch of biology that deals with heredity, especially the mechanisms of hereditary transmission and the variation of inherited...
resources for food and agriculture. It also confirms the autonomy of the Trust as a scientific organization in raising and dispersing funds.
The Trust is assembling an endowment
Financial endowment
A financial endowment is a transfer of money or property donated to an institution. The total value of an institution's investments is often referred to as the institution's endowment and is typically organized as a public charity, private foundation, or trust....
(trust) fund, the income from which will be used to support the conservation of distinct and important crop diversity
Crop diversity
Crop diversity is the variance in genetic and phenotypic characteristics of plants used in agriculture. Crops may vary in seed size, branching pattern, in height, flower color, fruiting time, or flavor. They may also vary in less obvious characteristics such as their response to heat, cold or...
, in perpetuity, through existing institutions. Crop diversity is the biological foundation of agriculture, and is the raw material
Raw material
A raw material or feedstock is the basic material from which a product is manufactured or made, frequently used with an extended meaning. For example, the term is used to denote material that came from nature and is in an unprocessed or minimally processed state. Latex, iron ore, logs, and crude...
plant breeders and farmers use to adapt crop varieties to pests and diseases. In the future, this crop diversity will play a central role in helping agriculture adjust to climate change and adapt to water and energy constraints.
Management
The Global Crop Diversity Trust has its offices at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN in RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. The organization is headed by Dr. Cary Fowler
Cary Fowler
Cary Fowler is the executive director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, based in Rome, Italy. Previously, Fowler was Professor and Director of Research in the Department for International Environment & Development Studies at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences in Ås, Norway. Fowler holds...
. The executive board is chaired by Margaret Catley-Carlson
Margaret Catley-Carlson
Margaret Catley-Carlson, is a Canadian civil servant. She was Chair and is now a Patron of the Global Water Partnership, a working partnership among all those involved in water management formed in 1996 by the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program and the Swedish International...
(Canada), Chair of the Global Water Partnership
Global Water Partnership
The Global Water Partnership , is an international network that offers practical advice for sustainably managing water resources. It promotes and supports activities that operate at the national and regional levels of development...
, and the International Advisory Committee for Group Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux and the Vice chair is Wangari Maathai
Wangari Maathai
Wangari Muta Mary Jo Maathai was a Kenyan environmental and political activist. She was educated in the United States at Mount St. Scholastica and the University of Pittsburgh, as well as the University of Nairobi in Kenya...
(Kenya), Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her contribution to sustainable development
Sustainable development
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
, democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
and peace
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
. The Trust also has a Donors' Council, chaired by Peter Waddell-Wood (Australia). The organization has raised approximately $150 million. Main donors include: Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, U.S., and the Grains Research and Development Corporation
Grains Research and Development Corporation
Grains Research and Development Corporation is an Australian research statutory corporation founded in 1990 under the Primary Industries and Energy Research and Development Act, 1989 . It is funded by the Australian government and a levy on graingrowers, which is determined by the industry's peak...
(Australia). A number of developing countries have also provided support, including Ethiopia and India. And, contributions have been received from several private corporations and foundations.
Grants
Since its establishment the Trust has funded work in over 80 countries, and made its first grant for long-term conservation of a collection in late 2006. By 2011, the Trust has established in-perpetuity support (i.e. grants funded trough the Trust's endowment) for collections of 15 crops: rice, cassava, wheat, barley, faba bean, pearl millet, maize, forages, banana, aroids, grass pea, sorghum, yam and lentil.In 2007, the Trust began a global initiative to rescue threatened, high-priority collections of crop diversity in developing countries and to support information systems to improve their conservation and availability. These efforts included providing support to developing countries and international agricultural research centers to deposit shipments of seed samples in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault
Svalbard Global Seed Vault
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is a secure seedbank located on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen near the town of Longyearbyen in the remote Arctic Svalbard archipelago, about from the North Pole. The facility preserves a wide variety of plant seeds in an underground cavern. The seeds are...
for safety duplication purposes.
In 2010, the Trust launched a global 10-year program to find, gather, catalog and save the wild relatives
Crop wild relative
A crop wild relative is a wild plant closely related to a domesticated plant. It may be a wild ancestor of the domesticated plant, or another closely related taxon.-Overview:...
of 22 major food crops. These wild species contain untapped diversity to help address future challenges to agriculture.
The Trust does not accept unsolicited applications for funding.
Svalbard Global Seed Vault
The Trust is involved with the Government of Norway and the Nordic Gene Bank in the establishment of the Svalbard Global Seed VaultSvalbard Global Seed Vault
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is a secure seedbank located on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen near the town of Longyearbyen in the remote Arctic Svalbard archipelago, about from the North Pole. The facility preserves a wide variety of plant seeds in an underground cavern. The seeds are...
, a "fail-safe
Fail-safe
A fail-safe or fail-secure device is one that, in the event of failure, responds in a way that will cause no harm, or at least a minimum of harm, to other devices or danger to personnel....
" facility located at Svalbard
Svalbard
Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic, constituting the northernmost part of Norway. It is located north of mainland Europe, midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The group of islands range from 74° to 81° north latitude , and from 10° to 35° east longitude. Spitsbergen is the...
, Norway. This facility provides a safety back-up for existing genebank collections, which are vulnerable to war, civil strife, natural disasters and even to equipment failure and mismanagement. The Vault has also been touted as providing a means for restoring agriculture in the event of a global catastrophe of some sort. It is designed to hold 4 million samples of different varieties (in the form of seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
) of agricultural crops.