Document(s) 19 of 20

Lim Engsiang and Michael Halewood

1993–1994

Resolution 7/93 of the FAO Conference requested the Director General of the FAO to 'provide a forum for negotiations among governments' for the adaptation of the IU in harmony with the CBD, and for 'consideration of the issue of access on mutually agreed terms to plant genetic resources, including ex-situ collection not addressed by the Convention'. At that point, the potential scope of coverage of what would later be called 'the multilateral system of access and benefit sharing' was open; it could have applied to all PGRFA without reference to, or reliance on, explicitly listed genera or species. Nor was there explicit discussion of such a list during the two first international meetings addressing the adaptation of the IU (the Ninth Session of the Working Group, and the First Extraordinary Session of the CPGR). A Secretariat paper submitted to the First Extraordinary Session highlighted the need for delegates to consider whether access arrangements under the revised IU should apply to: a) all PGR in a country, b) all PGRFA in a country, or c) specific genera, species or accessions decided upon by each country. But that paper was not actually considered until later meetings.

1995

In May 1995, during the Tenth Session of the Working Group, the option for a list of crops was proposed 'to add a list of mutually agreed species to which specific provisions of the IU would apply, particularly in relation to access to and the distribution of benefits'. There was also discussion about the criteria for selecting species or gene pools being based on their relevance to food security and strong interdependency between countries. In June 1995, at the Sixth Regular Session of the CGRFA, the EU proposed a list including 231 genera, including major grain crops and grasses.

1996

In December 1996, at the Third Extraordinary Session of the CGRFA, the US submitted a list of 25 crops (at the level of genus) and forages selected according to the criteria of being essential to global food security. Brazil submitted a list of 25 crops selected on the basis of their basic importance for human world food consumption. The African Group proposed that the list should be comprised of whatever species individual state members decided should be included. France suggested that for each species there should be a differentiation between: a) designated material with unrestricted access through an international network of collections and b) non-designated material with negotiated access on a case-by-case basis. No decision was made about which concept was most appropriate: all of these options were included in the negotiating text.

1997

The options remained in the text throughout the negotiations of the Seventh Regular Session of the CGRFA in May 2007. In December, during the Fourth Extraordinary Session of the CGRFA, there was a breakthrough, with everyone agreeing to

combine the lists into one tentative list for further negotiation. This list included 37 crops (41 genera), grass forages (28 genera) and legume forages (33 genera).

1998

The content of the list was not altered in 1998, during the Fifth Extraordinary Session of the CGRFA, though two information documents concerning taxonomy (including exploration of the 'gene pool concept') and relevant characteristics of the crops and genera in the tentative list of crops were drawn up.

In January 1999, at the Informal Meeting of Experts of PGRFA in Montreux, Switzerland, there was agreement that the two principal criteria for inclusion in the list of crops should be: a) their importance for food security at local or global levels and b) countries' interdependence with respect to PGR. In April, the Eighth Session of the CGRFA confirmed these criteria.

1999

The Second Intersessional Meeting of the Contact Group, in April 1999, included a statement from the EU that it would have preferred the MLS to include all PGRFA. Brazil made a statement linking the size of the 'window' they were opening 'on the bilateral benefit sharing arrangements of the CBD' through the creation of the MLS to 'meaningful finance and benefit sharing'. Nonetheless, the tentative list annexed to the composite draft text of the revised IU was unchanged.

2000

In August 2000, at the Third Intersessional Meeting of the Contact Group, regions were invited to submit a list of materials that they would like to see included in the MLS. The Africa Group submitted a list of 10 crops; Asia a list of 20 crop genera, two forage genera, and 298 crops including fruits, vegetables, nuts, herbs, spices and forages; and Latin America and the Caribbean 29 crops. North America and Korea were supportive of the tentative list already agreed to and included in Annex I of the consolidated draft text. The Secretariat compiled a list from the preferences of the different regions and submitted it as an information paper.

2001

In April 2001, at the Sixth Intersessional meeting of the Contact Group in Spoleto, Italy, there were protracted negotiations concerning the list by a working group. The working group used the criteria of food security and interdependence to select the crops for the list, which they drew from the compilation of regional submissions put together in 2000. The working group first identified those crops that were commonly identified by all regions. Then it compiled a second list – of crops under discussion – where one or more regions had reservations. The group agreed that the working basis should be crops, with genera as indicative of crops, and species designation in cases where required. Following this method, the working group achieved consensus on 30 food crops. A further group of widely consumed food crops, for which there was considerable support from most regions, remained under discussion. The group recommended that considerable further work had to be done to identify forages.

The final negotiation session concerning the text of the Treaty, including the list, was the Sixth Extraordinary Session of the CRGFA. Not surprisingly, the meeting was dramatic, with a number of bargaining twists and turns. As far as the list was concerned, two genera 'under discussion' in Spoleto were added to the list (the grass pea Lathyrus and the eggplant Solanum melangena, Brassica complex), but the following were not: onion, garlic et al (Allium); groundnut/Peanut (Arachis); oil palm (Elaeis); soya bean (Glycine); tomato (Lycopersicon); sugarcane (Saccharum); minor millets (various); olive (Olea); pear (Pyrus); vine/grapes (Vitis); fruit trees (Prunus); melon, cucumber (Cucumis); pumpkins, squashes (Cucurbita); flax (Linum).

The full list of what was finally included in Annex I of the Treaty is given below.

Annex 1 of the International Treaty: List of crops covered under the MLS

FOOD CROPS (listed by crop,genusplus any observations

Breadfruit Artocarpus. Breadfruit only.

Asparagus Asparagus

Oat Avena

Beet Beta

Brassica complex Brassica et al. Genera included are:Brassica, Armoracia, Barbarea, Camelina, Crambe,Diplotaxis, Eruca, Isatis, Lepidium, Raphanobrassica,Raphanus, Rorippa, and Sinapis. This comprises oilseed and vegetable crops such as cabbage, rapeseed, mustard, cress, rocket, radish and turnip. The species Lepidium meyenii (maca) is excluded.

Pigeon pea Cajanus

Chickpea Cicer

Citrus Citrus. Genera Poncirus and Fortunella are included as root stock.

Coconut Cocos

Major aroids Colocasia, Xanthosoma. Major aroids include taro, cocoyam, dasheen and tannia.

Carrot Daucus

Yams Dioscorea

Finger millet Eleusine

Strawberry Fragaria

Sunflower Helianthus

Barley Hordeum

Sweet potato Ipomoea

Grass pea Lathyrus

Lentil Lens

Apple Malus

Cassava Manihot. Manihot esculenta only.

Banana/plantain Musa. Except Musa textilis.

Rice Oryza

Pearl millet Pennisetum

Beans Phaseolus. Except Phaseolus polyanthus.

Pea Pisum

Rye Secale

Potato Solanum. Section tuberosa included, except Solanum phureja.

Eggplant Solanum. Section melongena included.

Sorghum Sorghum

Triticale Triticosecale

Wheat Triticum et al. Including Agropyron, Elymus, and Secale

Faba bean/vetch Vicia

Cowpea et al Vigna

Maize Zea. Excluding Zea perennis, Zea diploperennis and Zea luxurians.

FORAGES (listed by genera – and species)

LEGUME FORAGES

Astragalus – chinensis, cicer, arenarius

Canavalia – ensiformis

Coronilla – varia

Hedysarum – coronarium

Lathyrus – cicera, ciliolatus, hirsutus, ochrus, odoratus,sativus

Lespedeza – cuneata, striata, stipulacea

Lotus – corniculatus, subbiflorus, uliginosus

Lupinus – albus, angustifolius, luteus

Medicago – arborea, falcata, sativa, scutellata, rigidula,truncatula

Melilotus – albus, officinalis

Onobrychis – viciifolia

Ornithopus – sativus

Prosopis – affinis, alba, chilensis, nigra, pallida

Pueraria – phaseoloides

Trifolium – alexandrinum, alpestre, ambiguum, angustifolium, arvense, agrocicerum, hybridum, incarnatum,pratense, repens, resupinatum, rueppellianum, semipilosum, subterraneum, vesiculosum

GRASS FORAGES

Andropogon – gayanus

Agropyron – cristatum, desertorum

Agrostis – stolonifera, tenuis Alopecurus pratensis

Arrhenatherum – elatius

Dactylis – glomerata

Festuca – arundinacea, gigantea, heterophylla, ovina, pratensis, rubra

Lolium – hybridum, multiflorum, perenne, rigidum, temulentum

Phalaris – aquatica, arundinacea

Phleum – pratense

Poa – alpina, annua, pratensis

Tripsacum – laxum

OTHER FORAGES

Atriplex – halimus, nummularia

Salsola – vermiculata

Document(s) 19 of 20