the international treaty on plant genetic resources for food and agriculture: A visual introduction The Plant Treaty The International Treaty for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, or ITPGRFA, came into force on June 24th, 2004. It addresses a concern to preserve and sustainably use plant genetic resources that are not covered under the Convention on Biological Diversity, and that are under the threats of erosion and enclosure. The Plant Treaty is relatively young and small. It came into force after other agreements over intellectual property rights, (or, more accurately named, business privileges,) biodiversity, and food security had been established. Therefore, one the main obstacles in its implementation is its relationship to these existing treaties and agreements.
farmer's rights
conservation and sustainable use of pgrfa
access and benefit sharing of pgrfa
Secretariat
governing body
131 Parties
CGIAR
These financial benefits are to be managed under the Benefit Sharing Fund. The Fund disburses these funds for projects that support the aims of the Treaty.
GLobal trust on crop diversity
Other Relevant International Institutions
The highest decision making body of the Treaty, the Governing Body meets every two years in changing locations. It is composed by the Contracting Parties, but it is also open to observers and non-governmental organizations.
The Secretary to the Plant Treaty is appointed by the FAO Director General, with the approval of the Governing Body. The Secretary performs administrative tasks to facilitate the work of the Governing Body, and it is also expected to maintain communication with the Contracting Parties. Finally, the Secretary is expected to maintain communication with the Secretariats of other treaties, such as the Secretary to the CBD.
IARCs
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benefit sharing fund
International Agricultural research centers This is a network of research centers around the world which used to work together informally, but that now form a Consortium under CGIAR. Some of them, like the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT, in Spanish) focus specifically on those crops while others like the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT, in Spanish), focus on a larger array of crops. These are considered some of the largest centers for ex-situ conservation.
who we are
Founded in 1945, the FAO is a specialized agency that works on collecting, analysing, and diseminating information about food, nutrition and agriculture. It produces materials and document related to food production and natural resources around the world, and it also, increasingly, hosts high/level political fora related to food security and nutrition. The FAO's Headquarters are in Rome, Italy.
Plant genetic resources for food and agriculture
Convention on biological diversity (CBD) The CBD was approved in 1992, and its main objectives are the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, as well as facilitating fair sharing of benefits arising from the use of biological diversity. The CBD , however, does not cover the use of genetic resources for food and agriculture.
mta
World Intellectual property organization (WIPO) This is a specialized agency whose forming treaty came into force in 1970. It seeks to promote 'creative intellectual activity’ as well as facilitating technology transfer related to industrial property, in the interest of advancing development in developing countries. It administers 26 treaties related to intellectual property.
breeding, training or commercialization
The Trust is an endowment fund set up to support and promote ex-situ conservation of germplasm over the long term. It has its own Executive Board, but it functions within the framework of the Treaty.
CGIAR is an organization that supports and steers research for agricultural development. It supports research through a Fund, and they execute research as an institution. Additionally, it coordinates a network of 15 IARCs around the world. CGIAR owns, according to their website, ‘the most comprehensive collection of genetic resouces around the world.’
food and agriculture organization of the united nations (FAO)
MLS
global trust on crop diversity
Consultative Group on International agricultural research
Once under the MLS, these PGRFA are available through the IARCs . These are accessed through the MTA, and they have to remain in the public domain in the form they were accessed. These PGRFA can be used for breeding, training or commercialization. If they are used for commercialization, then an ‘equitable share of the benefits arising from commercialization’ shall be made to the mechanism.
Governing Body
Secretariat
After countries sign on to the Treaty and become Parties to it, they agree to manage the plant genetic resources under the MLS as per the mandate of the treaty. Subsequently, they may contribute genetic resources to be put under the management of the MLS, as long as these PGR are under the control of the Parties and are in the public domain.
What it all means
The Governing Body oversees the work being done in order to reach the objectives of the Treaty, through adopting resolutions, but also providing policy direction and guidance, as expressed in the Text of the Treaty. Moreover, the Governing Body is able to adopt the establishment of subsidiary bodies, strategies, and other components needed to carry out the objectives of the Treaty, and within the budget of the Treaty. Finally, the Governing Body is responsible for coordinating work with with the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD.)
How It Works
Multilateral system Material Transfer of access and agreement benefit-sharing MTAs are contracts that are The MLS responds to the interdependence that all countries have in relation to their PGRFA. It addresses the need to guarantee access genetic resources which are subject to sovereign states, by establishing a common pool of genetic resources that can be accessed freely, in the interest of making PGRFA available to parties who need it. It also diminishes the costs that bilateral agreements imply. It is not a single physical storage system: it is comprised of the different International Agricultural Research Centers, and other ex-situ conservation centers around the world.
signed by any legal or natural persons that establish the terms of transfer and use of materials. MTAs were in use by IARCs before the entry into force of the Plant Treaty, and establishing a Standard MTA allowed for a set of conditions to be applied to all accessions to PGRFA under the MLS. Namely, 1) that the material accessed must remain available for other natural and legal persons, 2) that material should be accessed for utilization and conservation, breeding and training for food and agriculture, and that no intellectual property rights can be claimed over the PRGFA accessed.
funding strategy The Strategy seeks to create available funds for activities spurred by the Treaty. Funds may come from developed country Parties, international institutions, FAO, and funds generated by use of PGRFA under the Multi-Lateral System.
benefit-sharing fund As indicated by its name, this fund seeks to distribute the funds gathered by the Treaty to farmers fulfilling the Treaty's objectives of conservation and sustainable use of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. It has put out two calls for proposals and has funded 30 projects around the world. Its third call for projects opened in 2014.
plant genetic resources for food and agriculture
agreement on trade related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPs)
Humans have used genetic resources for food and agriculture long before we called them by that name. The Treaty defines PGRFA as "any genetic material of plant origin of actual or potential value for food and agriculture", but the conservation of such is to be achieved in harmony with the Convention on Biological Diversity, and along the lines of sustainable agriculture and food security. Therefore, economic and culturally important crops such as tea and coffee are not included in this treaty, given that they are not considered useful for food security. Moreover, economically important plants such as soy, are not included either.
Also known as TRIPs, this was an international agreement accepted at the end of the Uruguay Round of the World Trade Organization. It seeks to establish a minimum legislation around the world for Intellectural Property Rights, derived mostly from developed countries’ laws.
Earth in Brackets is a student organization engaging in international environmental and sustainable development politics. Since 2006, we have worked to bring a sense of justice—environment and social—to international negotiations on biodiversity, climate change, sustainable development, and food security. We believe another world is not only possible, but necessary, and we want to bring more young people into the fight for and celebration of that world.
international union for the protection of new varieties of plants (UPOV) It first entered into force in 1968, and underwent three sets of changes until it arrive to its current status in 1998. It was established as a product of plant breeders and intellectual property advocates, seeking to protect plant varieties. It is the first international treaty that covers the use of patents for plant varieties (PVP), a form of protection that often is in tension with patents.
Sources: The Future control of Food, by geoff tansey, www.planttreaty.org, IUCN explanatory guide to the international treaty for plant genetic resources for food and agriculture text, illustrations and layout by Khristian Méndez
earth in brackets - 2014
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