ContentsDiversity for development: A newstrategy for a new era .............. 1

Treaty on PGRFA enters intoforce ............................................ 2

Egypt and Cape Verde signAgreement to Estabilish FoodSecurity Fund ............................. 3

Global Challenge ProgrammeUnloking Crop GeneticDiversity ...................................... 4

From face- to-face to web-basedtraining on PRG .......................... 5

Revealing the potential ofhighland papayas ....................... 6

Passion fruit and papayadiversity in the coffee-growing areaof Colombia ................................ 8

Understanding community-basedseed supplysystems ..................................... 10

Molecular tools help provesignificance of geneticdiversity in home gardens ....... 11

Adding value to Andeangrains ........................................ 12

Useful tools to collect

germplasm ............................. 13

New germplasm informationsystems ..................................... 14

Vavilov-Frankel Fellowships2004 and 2005 ........................... 15

Supporting great ideas ............ 16

PGR in the Internet .................. 17

Readings on PGR ..................... 18

Diversity for DevelopmentA new strategy for a new era

Ten years ago, the International Plant Genetic ResourcesInstitute (IPGRI) published its first institutional strategy.

Diversity for Development focused on the conservation of theplant diversity that underpins agriculture. Six years later, IPGRIrevisited its vision in the context of the Convention on BiologicalDiversity and the FAO Global Plan of Action, placing the conser-vation of plant genetic resources for use at the center of its work.

Against the background of a changing policy framework forgenetic resources and the Millennium Development Goals, IPGRIrecognizes that if it is to rise successfully to the challenges facingour world today, it needs to reassess its goals and objectives andthe means by which these are accomplished. For these reasons,IPGRI is developing a new strategy. IPGRI’s new vision will beone that places people firmly at its center. Diversity is the founda-tion required for building improved agricultural systems. Webelieve people will need improved agricultural systems to worktheir way out of hunger and poverty and to build themselves asustainable future.

Since its earliest days, IPGRI has sought to work primarilythrough partnerships. The organization acts as a catalyst, afacilitator, working with others to achieve shared goals. As such,the process of developing IPGRI’s strategy has also been highlyinclusive and consultative to ensure that all our partners andstakeholders share IPGRI’s view of how it will achieve its vision ofthe future.

The process has been based on external consultations withIPGRI’s traditional partners in genetic resources, but also withnew and potential partners in agricultural development, as well aswith a wide range of stakeholders. The aim of these consultationshas been to assess the global context, challenges and opportuni-ties that IPGRI will face in the foreseeable future and to ensurethat these shape the new strategy.

Volume 10, Nº 1, English, July 2004

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F OA

FIAT PANIS

Newsletter for the AmericasVolume 10, Nº 1, English,

July 2004

The Newsletter for the Americasis published by the IPGRI Ameri-cas Group. It highlights activitieson plant genetic resources con-ducted by IPGRI and its partnersin the region. It is also publishedin Spanish as Boletín de lasAméricas. its contents may bereproduced giving credit to thesource.

For contributions and further infor-mation, please contact Newsletterfor the Americas, IPGRI AmericasGroup, A.A. 6713, Cali, Colombia.Phone: (57-2) 445 0048/9; Fax: (57-2) 445 0096; E-mail:ciat-ipgri@cgiar.org. Web address :http:/www.ipgri.org.

The International plant GeneticResources Institute (IPGRI) isan autonomous international sci-entific organization, supported bythe Consultative Group on Inter-national Agricultural Research(CGIAR). IPGRI’s mandate is toadvance the conservation and useof plant genetic resources for thebenefit of present and future gen-erations. IPGRI operates throughthree programmes: (1) the PlantGenetic Resources Programme,(2) the CGIAR Genetic ResourcesSupport Programme and (3) theInternational Network for the Im-provement of Banana and Plan-tain (INIBAP). The internationalstatus of IPGRI is conferred un-der an Establishment Agreementsigned by 48 countries.

For the consultation process IPGRI has employed a range of infor-mation-seeking tools. External input has been sought in meetings,virtual and live, workshops, conferences, expert consultations, andvia the Internet. Opportunities to comment on the strategy have beenoffered in many modalities, including, for example, a web-basedsurvey. In this way, IPGRI has heard the opinions of 650stakeholders of the widest range possible.

The document with the new strategy is currently being refined andwill be published in the next few months. For further information,visitour website at http://www.ipgri.org.

Treaty on PGRFA enters into forceAt the end of March 2004, eleven European countries, Egypt and

the European Community as a FAO member organization signedthe International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food andAgriculture (PGRFA). This fact triggered the countdown for the Treatyto enter into force. The Treaty became law on 29 June, 2004, after 48eight developing and developed countries had ratified it. Fortyratifications were needed for the Treaty to enter into force.

The Treaty will ensure that plant genetic resources for food andagriculture, which are vital for human survival, are conserved andsustainably used and that benefits from their use are equitably andfairly distributed. Scientists, international research centers and plantbreeders from public and private organizations will benefit fromenhanced access to genetic biodiversity.

“The Treaty provides an international legal framework that will be akey element in ensuring food security, now and in the future. Thechallenge is now to ensure that the treaty becomes operational in allcountries,” said José Esquinas-Alcázar, Secretary to the Commissionon Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

The Treaty will institute, for the first time, a multilateral system offacilitated access and benefit sharing for the crops and forages mostimportant for food security. This system will also ensure the fairdistribution of benefits derived from the use of genetic resources, inparticular for farmers in developing countries that have for centuriescontributed to conserving world’s food storage.

The system also provides for the obligatory sharing of monetarybenefits arising from utilization, including from commercialization ofnew varieties by the private sector.

Adapted from a FAO press release from 31 March, 2004 (http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2004/39887/index.html)

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Egypt and Cape Verde signAgreement to Establish Food Security Fund

An ambitious plan to set up a global fund to conserve the diversity ofcrops took a major step forward inearly March, when Cape Verde andEgypt became the first governments

to sign the agreement to establish theGlobal Crop Diversity Trust.

The Global Crop Diversity Trust willprovide a permanent source of fund-ing for collections of crop diversity

around the world. This diversity is anessential source of the traits needed by

farmers and plant scientists to adapt cropsto their food and livelihood needs and to chang-ing environmental conditions.

The goal of the Trust is to raise a US $260 millionendowment from governments, foundations andcorporations. The proceeds of the endowmentwill support the ongoing conservation costs of theworld’s most important crop diversity collections,many of which are in desperate need of financialassistance.

“This is an important day for agricultural develop-ment,” said Geoff Hawtin, Interim ExecutiveSecretary of the Trust. “We are delighted thatCape Verde and Egypt have signed the Estab-lishment Agreement. This brings us an importantstep closer to our goal of ensuring that farmerscan use crop diversity to improve their diets, theirincomes and their food security, both now andlong into the future.”

The initiative to establish the Trust is led by theFood and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations (FAO) and the International Plant Ge-netic Resources Institute (IPGRI) on behalf of theFuture Harvest Centres of the ConsultativeGroup on International Agricultural Research.The Establishment Agreement will come intoforce once it is signed by seven governmentsfrom five FAO-designated regions. Four of thesignatories must be from developing countries.Cape Verde is from the African region and Egyptfrom the Near East region.

Emile Frison, Director General of IPGRI, wel-comed the first signatures on the EstablishmentAgreement, which came just one day after twelveEuropean countries and the European Communityratified the International Treaty on Plant GeneticResources for Food and Agriculture, an event thattriggered the 90-day countdown to the Treaty’sentry into force. “The Trust is an important ele-ment of the funding strategy of the InternationalTreaty,” said Frison. “It is very apt that the firstformal steps to establish the Trust should takeplace just as the Treaty is set to come into force.”

The Establishment Agreement was signed at FAOby H.E. Jorge Maria Costódio Santos, Ambassa-dor and Permanent Representative of Cape Verdeto FAO, and by H.E Helmy Bedeir, Ambassador ofthe Arab Republic of Egypt to Italy and the UnitedNations Organizations in Rome.

Ambassador Fernando Gerbasi, Chair of theTrust’s Interim Panel of Eminent Experts, ex-pressed his pleasure at the fact that Cape Verdeand Egypt were the first countries to sign theAgreement. “Africa has been extremely generousin sharing its crop diversity with the world. It issupremely fitting that two African nations shouldbe the first to support the establishment of theTrust as an initiative to safeguard this diversity,for the benefit of African food security as well asfood security in every country around the world.”

Given the benefits the Fund may bring to gene-banks in Latin America and the Caribbean, wehope that countries in this region also sign theEstablishment Agreement. For further informationvisit page www.startwithaseed.org orwww.globalcropdiversitytrust.org.

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Rich genetic resources, whose diversity couldbenefit the global community, are kept in

trust for humanity by Future Harvest Centres ofthe Consultative Group on International Agricul-tural Research (CGIAR). National genebanks,too, hold immense reserves of untapped riches.

Advances in molecular biology can put thisdiversity to work in powerful and exciting ways.But at present, the power of modern biology israrely used to improve crops grown by poorpeople in the developing world. The ChallengeProgramme Unlocking Crop Genetic Diversity,one of the three Global Challenge Programmesrecently launched by the CGIAR, aims to createa public platform that will use molecular methodsto unlock genetic diversity and put it to use inbetter crops for the world’s poorest farmers.IPGRI, together with the International Maize andWheat Improvement of Center (CIMMYT) and theInternational Rice Research Institute (IRRI), is afounding partner of this Programme, geared toplace more emphasis on international, multi-institute, cross-disciplinary collaboration.

The Programme will address the need for in-creased food security and improved livelihoods indeveloping countries by unlocking the geneticpotential, and enhancing the use, of publicgenetic resources in plant breeding programmes.This will be accomplished through the concertedgeneration, management, dissemination andapplication of comparative biological knowledge.Drought tolerance has been chosen as the pilotcharacteristic for genomic analysis and cropimprovement because it is a difficult trait toimprove by traditional breeding and it is importantfor both virtually all developing countries andvirtually all 22 crops under investigation by theProgramme.

The major output will be a unique public platformfor accessing and developing new genetic re-sources using both molecular technologies andmore traditional means. New science-based

enabling and intermediate technologies will begenerated and made available and an unprec-edented array of genomic and genetic resources,ready for direct use in plant improvement, will bemade available as public goods. The result willbe to contribute to the closing of the biotechnol-ogy divide between North and South.

A technology transfer plan will be designed toensure that the products of research undertakenby the Challenge Programme be delivered to andused by plant breeders and farmers in develop-ing countries. The plan will include considerationof joint venture agreements, license agreementswith humanitarian clauses and market segmenta-tion provisions, as well as material transferagreements.

By virtue of its modus operandi, based on work-ing with partners from developing as well asdeveloped countries, IPGRI is well-placed to playa leadership role in the Challenge Programme.IPGRI also houses the coordination of theCGIAR’s System-wide Genetic Resources Pro-gramme (SGRP), which enables it to play aninfluential role in determining how the wealth ofdiversity housed in the CGIAR germplasm collec-tions can be unlocked to solve the problemsbeing addressed by the Challenge Programme.

In addition to IPGRI, CIMMYT and IRRI, theGeneration Challenge Programme consortiumincludes another five CGIAR Centres–the Inter-national Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT),the International Potato Center (CIP), the Interna-tional Center for Agricultural Research in the DryAreas (ICARDA), the International Crops Re-search Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics(ICRISAT) and the International Institute forTropical Agriculture (IITA). Advanced researchinstitutes participating include WageningenUniversity in the Netherlands, Cornell Universityin the United States, the Agropolis in France, theNational Institute of Agrobiological Sciences(NIAS) in Japan and the John Innes Centre in the

Global Challenge ProgrammeUnlocking Crop Genetic Diversity

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United Kingdom. The national agricultural sys-tems of China and Brazil are also participating.The Global Forum for Agricultural Research(GFAR) plays an important advisory role. TheChallenge Programme is based at CIMMYT inMexico and is led by Dr. Robert Zeigler.

To meet its objectives and carry out its plan ofwork, the Generation Challenge Programme isdivided into five sub-programmes: Genetic Diver-sity of Global Genetic Resources, led by Agro-polis; Comparative Genomics for Gene Discov-

ery, led by IRRI; Gene Transfer and Crop Im-provement, led by ICRISAT; Genetic Resources,Genomic, and Crop Information Systems, led bythe University of Wageningen; and CapacityBuilding, led by IPGRI.

The Challenge Programme is expected to lastbetween five and ten years. Its first year ofoperation began in October 2003 with a fundingbase of US$7,500,000. For more detailed infor-mation, visit page http://www.generationcp.org/.

From face-to-faceto web-based training on PRG

Human learning occurs within the learners’minds regardless of the physical conditions

in which it is provided. Traditional learning envi-ronments gather trainees at the same time andplace to deliver instruction but, provided there aremedia to facilitate different learning conditions,learning can occur simultaneously for a groupthat is not receiving instruction at the same timeor at the same place. Information and communi-cation technologies allow the creation of virtualenvironments to learn at a distance.

E-learning, or learning in a virtual environment, isa form of distance education that uses webbrowsers to access content from remote loca-tions on the Internet. Besides allowing a numberof people in different places to gather virtually tolearn, it fosters interaction between learners and

content, between learners and instructors, andamong learners themselves, making the learningexperience more pleasant, relevant and applica-ble to reality. Compared to face-to-face learning,e-learning is more cost efficient because it allowsto reach economies of scale. Though it requiresan initial investment in the development of thecourses, materials and making the deliverysystem operational, it does not have the highestcosts associated with traditional face-to-facetraining in an international setting, such as trans-portation and lodging.

The need to disseminate research results to avariety of audiences at a lower cost motivatedIPGRI, the International Center for TropicalAgriculture (CIAT) and Universidad Nacional deColombia to explore ways to use information andcommunications technologies to deliver training.Starting in 2003, IPGRI and CIAT joined forces tolook for alternatives to offer genebank staff inLatin America and the Caribbean distance train-ing on ex situ conservation of plant geneticresources, taking advantage of IPGRI’s experi-ence in delivering face-to-face training in thisarea, sometimes done in collaboration with CIAT.

IPGRI and CIAT established an alliance with twokey partners–REDCAPA and Universidad Nacio-nal de Colombia (Palmira campus). REDCAPA isa network of organizations in Latin America and

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Revealing the potentthe Caribbean concerned with training in agricul-tural economics, policies and sustainable ruraldevelopment. It has ample experience in dis-tance education and a platform to deliver coursesin a virtual environment. Universidad Nacional deColombia is a highly reputed scientific and tech-nological organization, which currently offers aM.Sc. programme in Plant Genetic Resources.The outcome of this alliance is the first e-courseon ex situ conservation of plant genetic re-sources. The course will be offered from mid-August to mid-November 2004 at the virtualcampus of REDCAPA (http:/ www.redcapa.org.br).

The course, on fundamentals of ex situ conserva-tion, is aimed at professionals and technicianswho work in genebanks, botanic gardens orarboreta. Curators and support staff and profes-sionals working on projects or programmes onthe conservation and use of plant genetic re-sources in Latin America and the Caribbean willalso be able to participate. The geographiclocation of the target audience is Latin Americaand the Caribbean but participants from Spain,Portugal and the Lusophone countries of Africawill be able to participate, provided they canconnect and follow instruction in Spanish.

The course will be run by a group of profes-sionals from IPGRI, CIAT and UniversidadNacional. Professors Rigoberto Hidalgo, fromUniversidad Nacional, and Benjamín Pineda,from CIAT’s Genetic Resources Unit, bothspecialists in genetic resources and genebankmanagement, will be the permanent tutors.Advisors from partner organizations will leaddiscussions in the various modules and respondto students’ queries.

By delivering this course, IPGRI and its partnersin this initiative expect to enhance the geneticresources management capacity of staff in the230 genebanks that exist in Latin America, thatall together maintain over 200,000 samples ofnative and introduced materials. An interestingaspect of this experience has been the creationof a community of practice among professionalsin the partner institutions, in which its membersare sharing their knowledge and experience onplant genetic resources conservation, anddeveloping a methodology for distance learningthat can eventually be available to others.

For further information, contact Margarita Baena,Information and Training Specialist in theAmericas Group <m.baena@cgiar.org>.

Highland or mountain papayas belong to thegenus Vasconcellea (family Caricaceae),

recently upgraded from a section of the genusCarica, that remained with only one species–Caricapapaya. The 21 species in the genus Vasconcelleaare native to the Americas and are found fromMexico to Chile, between 0 and 2500 masl.

Highland papayas are smaller and less succulentthan the common papaya, but very tasty. Themost important species are Vasconcelleacundinamarcensis, found at higher altitudes fromPanama to Bolivia, the natural hybrid V. xheilbornii, highly appreciated in Ecuador, and V.goudotiana, locally marketed in Colombia.

Highland papayas have an unexploited potentialfor use. They grow in small Andean farms forhome consumption of their aromatic fruits. How-ever, they could increase the income and nutri-tional contents of the diet of farmers in developingworld highlands. They are also considered asource of papain, a proteolytic enzyme used bythe food and pharmaceutical industries, and agenetic resource to breed common papayas.

In Andean households, highland papayas areeaten fresh, roasted, in juice, marmalades, pre-serves and dairy products, or cooked in sauces,pie fillings and pickles. Most fruits and processedproducts are rarely marketed, except in the caseof the hybrid V. x heilbornii, known as babaco, thatis commercially important in Ecuador and hasbeen introduced with limited success to NewZealand, Australia, Italy, Spain, France and SouthAfrica. V. cundinamarcensis is marketed locally inEcuador, Colombia and Peru, and has beensuccessfully introduced to northern Chile, where ithas gained local importance and from where it isexported to Europe and the United States.

Little research on the commercial potential ofhighland papaya latex has been conducted so far,despite the claim that they could be grown as asource of papain. The few studies done so farconfirm that the latex extracted from green fruitsof V. stipulata, V. cundinamarcensis and V. xheilbornii does indeed have a high proteolyticactivity, superior to that of papaya latex, the mainsource of papain at present.

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Woman selling fruits of V. cundinamarcencis in Pasto, Colombia Jonh Albeiro Ocampo, IPGRI

otential of highland papayasBreeding efforts involving highland papayas aremainly targeted to improving the characteristicsof common papayas. Highland papayas havedesirable traits that can be introduced to papayagenotypes such as their organoleptic characteris-tics, their resistance to the papaya ring spot virusand their tolerance to cold weather.

Knowledge about the taxonomy, ecology, distri-bution and potential uses of highland papayas iscurrently limited. IPGRI started its activities onhighland papayas in 1999, with a regional projectfunded by the Regional Fund for AgriculturalTechnology (FONTAGRO), in which partnersfrom Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Ven-ezuela participated. Diversity studies usingmorphological, biochemical, molecular, cytoge-netic and palinologic characterization showedbiochemical differences among V. cundinamar-censis accessions from Ecuador and Colombia.Natural hybrids also posed problems to identifymany accessions at the species level.

Phytopathological research confirmed that sev-eral species of Vasconcellea are less suscepti-ble, and even resistant, to nematodes, bacterialcanker and the papaya ring spot virus, confirmingtheir potential as a genetic resource to improve

common papayas. Interspecific and intergenerichybridization trials using in vitro culture of ovulesor embryos have allowed the development oftechniques to transfer resistance genes fromVasconcellea to Carica.

A project on Vasconcellea, funded by the Colom-bian Centro Nacional de Investigaciones del Café(CENICAFE) and coordinated by IPGRI, startedin 2003, to enhance knowledge from previousstudies and to analyze the potential of highlandpapayas in the coffee-growing area of Colombia.In collaboration with partners from Colombia,Ecuador, Venezuela, Belgium and France, geo-referenced data from 1553 collecting sites ofVasconcellea were analyzed to obtain a detailedmap of the distribution, diversity and ecology ofthese species in Latin America.

IPGRI expects that the results of this projectincrease the interest of the international scientificcommunity in these underutilized fruits. Work onhighland papayas will continue, focusing oncultivation and market potential.

For further information contact XavierScheldeman, Tropical Fruits Specialist in theAmericas Group <x.scheldeman@cgiar.org>.

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Passion fruit and papaya diversityin the coffee-growing area of Colombia

Post-harvest processing of papaya J. Ocampo, IPGRI

The coffee-growing area of Colombia islocated in the Andean region of the country,

at between 800 and 1800 masl, and covers overfifteen departments. Besides coffee, this regionis planted to maize, beans and tropical fruits, thelast being the main option for crop diversificationand generation of farmers’ income. Because it isalso the most disturbed area of the country, ithas fragmented forests and reduced populationsof wild plants and animals. As the area of distri-bution of some species in this region has de-creased, their risk of extinction has increased.

The coffee-growing area of Colombia is rich inPassiflora and Caricaceae. Passiflora species

are herbaceous or woody vines, rarely bushy orarborescent, supported by diverse ecologicalniches. Caricaceae are monoic or dioic trees,sometimes hermaphrodite, with succulent trunkand abundant latex, attractive for their brightcolors.

Both Passiflora and Caricaceae are native toColombia and highly diverse–Colombia is thefirst country in Passiflora diversity and the sec-ond in Caricaceae diversity. For this reason, theyare considered promising fruit or medicinalspecies and potential bioindicators. Forty-five ofthe 140 species of Passiflora reported for Co-lombia are endemic; 28 Andean passifloras are

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Landscape of the coffee-growing area of Colombia J. Ocampo, IPGRI

threatened and five are considered extinct, evenif they have not been properly studied.

Among the goals of the Colombian Ministry ofHousing, Land Development and the Environ-ment are enhancing knowledge of the wild andcultivated biodiversity of the country and lookingfor ways in which it can be maintained andmonitored. In the context of these objectives, aproject to study the diversity of Passiflora andCaricaceae in the coffee-growing area of Colom-bia started in 2003. The project is being con-ducted by IPGRI in collaboration with the CentroNacional de Investigaciones del Café (CENICA-FE), the Centre de Coopeération Internationaleen Recherche Agronomique pour le Dévelop-pement (CIRAD) and the International Center forTropical Agriculture (CIAT).

The project also aims at using Passiflora andCaricaceae as indicators to assess geneticerosion in the area under study as well as theirimpact in the development of conservationstrategies and environmental management.Bioindicator and promising species of Passifloraand Caricaceae, that can become alternatives toimprove farmers’ livelihoods and favoragrobiodiversity, will thus be identified. Consider-ing that the wealth and stability of an ecosystemis reflected on its biodiversity, the project pro-poses to use some Passiflora species to monitornatural biodiversity and look for conservationalternatives.

The project started with an inventory of thetarget species in herbaria and on the field. Byreviewing herbarium data and by doing fieldobservations, the geographic origin of 2744Passiflora and 416 Caricaceae samples wasrecorded to study their distribution in the coffee-growing area of Colombia. Within the 145Passiflora and 15 Caricaceae species reportedto be present in Colombia, 83 and 12, respec-tively, were found in the area under study, with ahigher concentration of diversity in the centralmountain range. Within the genus Passiflora,subgenera Plectostemma and Passiflora werebetter represented.

Two new Colombian species of Vasconcelleahave been reported. New samples of the tar-geted species were collected using a distributionmap done with geographic information systems;

data were recorded in 69 locations in 12 depart-ments, along with herbarium specimens for thereference herbarium of the project that nowcontains over 150 exciccata.

The over 150 newly collected samples ofPassiflora and Caricaceae have been planted intwo experimental substations of CENICAFE toevaluate them and identify promising species.These materials are being characterized throughstudies of their morphology, anatomy, pollen,number of chromosomes, meiotic behavior andDNA. These studies will allow a better under-standing of how these species behave and thedevelopment of management and conservationstrategies as well as breeding programmes.

After finalizing characterization work, partners inthe project will confirm in the field if the speciesstudied are still available in the places wherethey were reported in the past. Herbarium datafrom previous collecting trips will be comparedwith current observations to test the currentecological niche and geographic distribution ofPassiflora and Caricaceae, and to infer theirdegree of genetic erosion and likely changes ingeographic distribution. This knowledge, as wellas the risk factors identified to have greaterimpact on biodiversity, will be used to develop amethodology to monitor the coffee-growing areaof Colombia and to define efficient environmentalpolicies.

For further information contact Creuci MariaCaetano, IPGRI consultant on Passiflora andCaricacae and expert in cytogenetics and plantgenetic resources <cmcaetano@cgiarrog>.

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Understanding community-basedseed supply systems

Ashaninka women select the cassava cuttings they will store to plant in the next seasonLuis A. Collado

On-farm conservation of local crop varietiesrests, to a large extent, on seed supply and

gene flow systems. These systems refer to thearray of strategies small farmers use and theactions they perform to get planting material forthe next cultivation cycle.

When looking for seed of a local or improvedvariety, with minimum quality and desirablecharacteristics, farmers either multiply and selecttheir own seed, or get it from their neighbors orrelatives, in local markets, in other communitiesand even from commercial or government suppli-ers. Seed multiplication, selection and storage aswell as the means to obtain seed are key ele-ments of seed supply systems.

Seed systems, combined with farmers’ decisionsto continue planting local varieties, have madepossible to maintain a vast gene pool in farmersfields. Understanding how these systems workcan help design actions to strength them, im-prove them and reduce genetic erosion risks.IPGRI acknowledges the importance of commu-nity-based seed supply systems for on-farmconservation of agrobiodiversity and has included

this topic in its projects on in situ conservationconducted in the Americas.

In the central Amazon forest of Peru, for exam-ple, a project on in situ conservation is beingconducted with mestizo and indigenous commu-nities (Ashaninka, Shipibo-Conibo and Cashibo-Cacataibo) that grow cassava, peanuts, beans,maize, chili peppers and some cotton. Farmers inthese communities obtain seed within their localsystems and to a lesser extent from neighborcommunities. The long distance between com-munities settled along the rivers in the PeruvianAmazon influences seed exchange and accessto markets. Seed is given for free, exchanged(seed for seed or for another product), purchasedand loaned. Farmers also multiply and selecttheir seed of local varieties.

The seed supply flows through the social net-works or links among members of the community,that is, among relatives, friends and neighborsand at the local markets. Some weaknessesfound in the seed systems of the communitiesstudied include size of the sample of plantingmaterial and storage conditions.

At the end of 2003, IPGRI convened ameeting in Pucallpa, Peru, where agroup of professionals from the Ameri-cas, Africa, Europe, Asia and Australiamet to discuss seed systems and ex-change their experiences. Some of thetopics discussed were the variousstrategies farmers use to multiply, select,storage and exchange seed, community-based seed multiplication and supply,and the impact of local seed systems inagrobiodiversity conservation.

For further information contact Jose LuisChávez-Servia <j.l.chavez@cgiar.org>or Devra Jarvis <d.Jarvis@cgiar.org>, insitu conservation specialists in IPGRI.

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Home gardens are known to play a significantrole in supplying people in rural areas with

food, home remedies and a variety of products.Awareness of the fact that the genetic diversitykept in home gardens is unique has motivatedtheir study to better understand their role in thein situ conservation and management of diver-sity.

Home gardens are dynamic ecosystems thatmaintain a diversity of adapted species. Under-standing what they contain, how they work andhow they are managed by farmers offers possi-bilities to include them in conservation strategies.IPGRI and the Deutsche Gesellschaft furTechnis-che Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) conducteda study to assess the potential of home gardensas in situ conservation environments foragrobiodiversity in Cuba, Ghana, Guatemala,Nepal, Venezuela and Vietnam. A number ofspecies typically grown in home gardens ofthese countries were chosen. Peppers (Capsi-cum spp.) and lima beans (Phaseolus lunatus)were among those selected for Cuba and Guate-mala.

The genetic variation of home gardens in Cubaand Guatemala was evaluated with traditionalme-thods and with a molecular marker technol-ogy known as AFLP (amplified fragment lengthpolymorphism). Molecular markers allow diver-sityanalysis at the basic level, the ADN molecule,which carries and transfers heritable informationfrom one generation to the next.

The analysis of Guatemalan peppers consistedin comparing the genetic diversity of 34 materialscollected in home gardens in Alta Verapaz with asample of 30 materials conserved ex situ, repre-senting 13 departments throughout the country.The diversity of peppers found in the homegardens of Alta Verapaz was found equivalent tothat of the national collection, suggesting thatthis site could be regarded as a priority to main-tain in situ the pepper diversity of Guatemala.Similar results were obtained when assessing

Molecular tools help prove significance of genetic diversity in home gardens

pepper diversity maintained in the home gardensof Cuba. Fifty-two materials collected in the threemain regions of the island (West, East and Cen-tral) were compared with 11 materials from thenational ex situ collection, selected at random.Home garden peppers proved to represent thediversity of the country, the Central region beingidentified as the minimum unit of conservation.

Lima beans are a very important legume in theCuban diet, although the national collection of thiscrop virtually vanished in the last decade. Theprospect of recovering the genetic resources of P.lunatus was the driving force to assess the diver-sity still present in home gardens. Sixty lima beanmaterials were collected in 25 home gardensspread in the three main regions of Cuba, whichrepresented three of the four morphological typesavailable in the island–Sieva, Sieva-Potato,Potato and Big Lima, which was not included.The study showed that the three morphologicaltypes analyzed are comparable in terms of ge-netic diversity; no variation pattern was found todifferentiate among geographical regions. Mo-lecular markers were able to separate threegroups of lima beans with different genetic com-position, indicating that this aspect should betaken into account when planning future collect-ing trips to re-establish the P. lunatus collection ofthe country.

These examples of research involving the use ofmolecular technologies to assess genetic diversityof crops in home gardens show that they areenvironments that deserve being taken into ac-count when designing plant genetic resourcescomplementary conservation strategies.

For further information contact FélixGuzmán, Research Assistant<f.a.guzman@cgiar.org> orM. Carmen de Vicente,Molecular Genetics Special-ist <c.devicente@cgiar.org> at the IPGRI Ameri-cas Group.

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Adding value to Andean grains

Peasant family exhibits quinoa and cañahua grains at the Tiwanakudiversity fair in Bolivia Fundación PROINPA

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) and cañahua(Chenopodioum pallidicaule) are Andean

crops whose main center of diversity is locatedin Bolivia and Peru, around Lake Titicaca,shared by both countries. They were widelycultivated in pre-Hispanic times but are currentlyunder extinction.

In a survey to study the genetic variability of qui-noa and cañahua, conducted by the Fundaciónpara la Promoción e Investigación de ProductosAndinos (PROINPA) among 467 households inthe area surrounding Lake Titicaca in Bolivia,these crops ranked third in farmers preferenceafter lima beans and oca (Oxalis tuberosa). Thefamilies surveyed reported to grow only 40 localvarieties of quinoa and 20 of cañahua, thenumber of varieties grown per family rangingfrom one to four.

The survey also revealed that 85% of the farm-ers only plant one variety, which gives an idea ofthe extent to which genetic diversity of quinoaand cañahua is decreasing in the region studied.The most preferred quinoa and cañahua varie-ties are grown in 32% and 22% of the house-holds, respectively. Measures to prevent theirdisappearance have been taken as a follow-upto the survey.

With support from a project to enhance thecontribution of neglected and underutilizedspecies to food security and increase the incomeof poor farmers, conducted by IPGRI and fundedby the International Fund for Agricultural Devel-opment (IFAD), an annual biodiversity fair isbeing held in Tiwanaku, Bolivia, to recoverquinoa and cañahua diversity as well as thetraditional knowledge that farmers still have onthese invaluable genetic resources.

The fair convenes farmers from the countryhighlands, where they show and exchange theirdiversity of quinoa and cañahua, as well as theirtraditional recipes. The fair also helps improvethe image of these crops among urban consum-ers and is a way to find out why they accept orreject the products exhibited.

The fair is also used to show and disseminatetechnological advances in the production andutilization of these crops, and strengthens linksbetween production, processing and commer-cialization. Exhibiting processed products in thefair is increasing the value of Andean grains andpromoting their consumption.

Maintaining and using quinoa and cañahuadiversity in farmers fields is the responsibility ofwomen. They plant them, store the grain sepa-rating the one devoted to seed from the one forconsumption or sell, and process the grains toprepare food. Women also decide which varie-ties to plant in the following cycle, taking intoaccount taste and cooking characteristics.

Women participation in the fairs also contributesto recover knowledge on traditional uses. Olderwomen, for example, share a great deal ofknowledge they have on how to use quinoa andcañahua for medicinal and ritual purposes.

Making the fair a yearly event has been a goalfor farmers, agribusiness and organizationsworking with quinoa and cañahua. With supportfrom the local authorities of Tiwanaku as well asthe Council of Ayllus and Communities of the

13

Useful toolsto collect germplasm

region, a decree to make the fair official wasrecently issued, on occasion of the Aymara NewYear. This will allow the continuous promotion ofconsumption and use of Andean grains amongrural and urban families.

For further information contact Wilfredo Rojas,Focal Point for Genetic Resources at PROINPA,Regional Altiplano <w.rojas@proinpals.org>,

José Luis Soto, Focal Point for Gender andSocioeconomic Issues inPROINPA, Regional Altiplano<jl.soto@proinpalp.org> orWilfredo Marín, Director ofAgronomy at the TihuanakuFarmer Academic Unit ofUniversidad Católica Boliviana<wpmp74@hotmail.com>.

When collectinggermplasm, defining the

geographic coordinates of thesite as well as its altitudeabove the sea level are funda-mental to complete the pass-port of an accession, toanalyze the outcome of acollecting trip, to assess thediversity of a collection or toidentify spots where specificgenetic traits prevail.

Germplasm collectors have traditionally usedmaps and compasses to determine the geographiccoordinates of a collecting site. Technology cur-rently available in the market, such as the globalpositioning system (GPS), records these dataquickly, accurately and easily. The GPS, a deviceas small as a cell phone, gives the exact locationof a place or object based on signals it receivesfrom a network of at least 24 satellites located20,000 km away from the Earth. In its early days,the GPS was used for military purposes but it hasbeen available to the civil society since the 80’s.Today, it is widely used in aerial and maritimenavigation, in cartography and even in recreationalactivities such as hiking and biking.

Defining the geographic coordinates and altitudeabove the sea level of a collecting site is themost common function of a GPS that germplasmcollectors know. This tool, however, has otheruseful functions such as showing on a mini-

screen how the collector has moved during atrip, at what speed and the distance covered.

Another useful characteristic is its ability todefine and record routes towards a collectingsite. As a collector moves to a place of interest,the GPS can record the most relevant referencepoints in a route, even if these do not follow astraight line and regardless of the distancecovered. To go back to the point of departure,the germplasm collector only has to select thetrack back function. This function will activate anavigation system that will visually and accu-rately guide the collector to the beginning, thesame way a navigation system would guide anairplane or a ship pilot to their destination.

Users of a GPS may define routes according totheir needs and use them in future collectingtrips. Alternatively, they can record referencepoints manually, as long as they move from oneplace to another, and then create routes suitedto their needs using the information recorded.

GPS tools come in simple and sophisticatedmodels that range between US$ 100 and 350dollars. Simple models contain the basic functionsdescribed above while more sophisticated oneshave color screens, built-in digital maps, greatermemory to store reference points and mapsdownloaded from external sources. Regardless oftheir price, most recent GPS models come with adevice to plug them in to a computer to allowtransferring data or maps between the computerand the GPS.

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Finding information systems that link inde pendent germplasm databases in a networkenvironment is getting more and more common.In this issue we would like to introduce twoexamples of germplasm information systems,developed in a collaborative way, each with asingle entry point that allows users to browsegroups of germplasm databases maintained byorganizations in various countries.

The Musa GermplasmInformation System

The International Network for the Improvement ofBanana and Plantain (INIBAP), one of the threeIPGRI programmes, has established the MusaGermplasm Information System (MGIS) to allowexchange of germplasm data. MGIS is a data-base containing detailed and standardized infor-mation on the accessions stored in different Musagenebanks around the world.

MGIS is based on a network of genebanks whosecurators are responsible for entering data into thesystem. All data in MGIS remains the property ofthe genebanks. INIBAP compiles, verifies theinformation provided by curators and dissemi-nates it on CD-Rom and through the MGISwebsite. MGIS contains data from 16 organiza-tions in 14 countries.

MGIS is a valuableresource for research-ers. It provides aninventory of ex situcollections of Musaand related researchresults, such as taxonomicdescriptions, agronomicperformance of varieties invarious environments, molecular characterization,disease resistance, health status, origin andenvironment in collecting sites. MGIS can beused in association with geographic informationsystems to generate maps illustrating the distribu-tion of Musa diversity. It allows identification ofduplicates or unique materials in conservationand helps identify data gaps and problems inclassification.

For further information, visit page http:// mgis.grinfo.net/.

Eurisco: A window onEurope’s PGRhttp://eurisco.ecpgr.org

Europe, a continent with a large diversity ofcultures, languages and infrastructure, hasmanaged to create one common window on itsplant genetic resources as part of a project

New germplasminformation systems

When collecting in dense forests or in placessurrounded by high mountains, GPS devices mayexperience difficulty in receiving satellite signals.Some will perform better than others underdifficult topographical and climatic conditions.Considering that collecting trips are not usuallydone under ideal geographic and topographicconditions, it is important to know your GPS welland to search the market for alternatives beforepurchasing one. GPS manufacturers have websites where potential users can find informationon models, specifications and prices. There arealso sites where you can find evaluations con-ducted by independent users that comment on

the advantages and disadvantages of the vari-ous brands and models available in the market.

The GPS has certainly become an indispensabletool for a germplasm collector because of itsaccuracy, relatively low cost and easy datamanagement functions. Using it skillfully requiresa few hours of training and practice that shouldbe complemented with reading about the basicconcepts of terrestrial navigation.

For further information contact Tito Franco, PlantGenetic Resources Documentation Specialist atthe Americas Group <t.franco@cgiar.org>.

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Vavilov-Frankel Fellowships for 2004 and 2005

The winners of the IPGRI annual awards foryoung scientists, the Vavilov-Frankel Fellow-

ships for 2004 were Ms. Tamar Jinjikhadze fromGeorgia and Mr. Orou Gaoué from Benin. Shewill study the molecular basis of resistance torust diseases in Triticum timopheevii, a speciesof wheat endemic to Georgia, and he will mapthe distribution of diversity and responses toexploitation in two species of African mahoganyin his home country.

IPGRI established the fellowships to commemo-rate the contributions made to plant science byNikolai Ivanovich Vavilov of Russia and Sir OttoFrankel of Australia. The fellowships are in-tended to enable young scientists to carry outrelevant and innovative research outside theircountries, thus contributing to their own profes-

sional development and to the ability of theircountries to manage and conserve their cropdiversity.

In 2004, for the first time, the Grains Researchand Development Corporation (GRDC) of Aus-tralia and Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., aDuPont company, are supporting the fellowships.

GRDC is supporting Jinjikhadze’s study of thelittle-known wheat T. timopheevii, which holds thepromise of improving the performance of modernbread wheats grown by farmers around theworld, including in Australia. It could be extremelyimportant in Georgia, where wheat yields are lowpartly because of losses inflicted by rust fungi. T.timopheevii has already contributed to somewidely used modern wheat varieties, but breed-ing is difficult because the genetic structures ofthe two species differ considerably. Jinjikhadzehopes to gather a collection of about 150 sam-ples from her native Georgia and take them toSydney University to assess their resistanceagainst a panel of known races of rust.

She will also be trained to see how differences inresistance translate into molecular differencesamong the various samples. Capacity building isa crucial component of the Vavilov-FrankelFellowships, which will give the Georgian Insti-tute of Farming Plant Genetic Resources Centre,Jinjikhadze’s home institute, the ability to use

IPGRI

funded by the European Commission. EPGRIS,the European Plant Genetic Resources Informa-tion Infra-Structure, coordinated by the Center forGenetic Resources in the Netherlands (CGN),links with the national inventories of plant geneticresources of member countries of the project andwith a searchable catalogue of ex situ collectionsmaintained by genebanks in Europe. The searchengine is called EURISCO and stands for Euro-pean Internet Search Catalogue.

EURISCO, which in ancient Greek also means ‘Ifind’, is the first regional catalogue of plant ge-netic resources. It offers a single entry point forresearchers worldwide to access the plant diver-sity maintained by the 41 countries. Many ofthese countries are from Eastern Europe and the

new independent states of the former SovietUnion. EURISCO allows users to reach morethan one million accessions maintained in over590 European organizations, that is, 15% of thetotal germplasm holdings conserved worldwide.

IPGRI coordinated the development of EURISCOthrough its Regional Office for Europe. TheSystem-wide Information Network for GeneticResources team of the CGIAR (SINGER) devel-oped the technical infrastructure. EURISCO ishosted at and maintained by IPGRI on behalf ofthe European Cooperative Programme for CropGenetic Resources Networks (ECP/GR). It is inuse since 2003 and may serve as a model for thedevelopment of similar projects outside Europe.

Tamar Jinjikhadze from Georgia (left) and Ourou Gaoué fromBenin (right), winners of the Vavilov-Frankel Fellowships in 2004.

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modern techniques in its efforts to make use ofcrop diversity. Jinjikhadze also hopes to start abreeding programme that will transfer new sourcesof rust resistance into favored Georgian cultivars.

Orou Gaoué is currently pursuing a PhD at theUniversity of Hawaii. His fellowship, which issupported by Pioneer Hi-Bred, will look in detailat the status of Khaya senegalensis and K.grandiflora, two African mahoganies exploitedextensively by people in Benin. The Red DataBook lists both species as vulnerable and somestands have been heavily exploited for genera-tions. Heavy harvesting can affect the reproduc-tion of tree species. Gaoué plans to use molecu-lar techniques to map the genetic diversity of thetrees in areas that have experienced differentlevels of use, thus discovering whether there is infact a link between the harvesting pressure on apopulation and its genetic diversity. In addition hewill be asking to what extent the trees in pro-

tected areas represent a richer sample of diver-sity than trees elsewhere, and whether planta-tions of Khaya contribute to the conservation ofgenetic diversity.

The project will give Benin its first detailed analy-sis of the diversity of forest tree species, anoutcome that Gaoué believes will be importantthroughout West Africa. The map of geneticdiversity will be a vital input into discussionsbetween the Sub-Saharan Forest Genetic Re-sources Network SAFORGEN and local authori-ties to plan effective conservation.

The 2005 round of fellowships will be announcedin July with a closing date of 1 November 2004.For further details on the Vavilov-Frankel Fellow-ship scheme, including application forms, contactDimary Libreros <d.libreros@cgiar.org> at theIPGRI Americas Group or visit web pagewww.ipgri.cgiar.org/training/vavilov.htm.

Supporting great ideasIPGRI-sponsored scientists have won four of the

10 awards recently announced by IFAR, a founda-tion that seeks to foster scientific excellence in the15 Future Harvest Centres of the Consultative Groupon International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) andtheir partners. The awards are intended to supportthe professional development of scientists fromdeveloping countries.

“The applications we received this year were out-standing,” said Professor Ruth Haug, Chair of theIFAR Evaluation Committee and Director ofNORAGRIC, the Agricultural University of Norway.“The grantees are exceptional professionals andtheir work is focused on delivering global publicgoods.”

Dr Emile Frison, Director General of IPGRI, said,“these scientists will make a real contribution to theuse of diversity to improve the livelihoods of poorpeople throughout the developing world. I am de-lighted that IFAR has recognized the importance andquality of the work of IPGRI and its partners.”

One of the four winners is Ms. Helga Rodriguez vonPlaten from Costa Rica, who is currently working forthe Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación yEnseñaza (CATIE). She will develop molecularfingerprints to identify hybrid bananas made by theFundación Hondureña de Investigación Agrícola

(FHIA) in Honduras. Although the FHIA bananahybrids have been widely distributed, with greatimpact, their identity can sometimes be in doubt.Rodriguez says the award will benefit the entirebanana research community worldwide, and thusthe millions of smallholder farmers who depend onbananas.

The other three winners are Dr. Xue-Jun Ge, fromthe South China Botanical Garden and the ChineseAcademy of Sciences, Reuben Muasya, Dean ofthe Faculty of Agriculture at Moi University inKenya, and Geetha Rani, genebank manager at theM.S. Swaminathan Foundation in India. They will doresearch on banana, maize and millet, respectively.

These four awards to IPGRI-sponsored scientistsembody the goals of the IFAR agenda. “We areconfident that one of the best ways we can fostereffective partnerships is through awarding fellow-ships which benefit both the individual and theCGIAR Centres where the fellows will work, andwhich produce knowledge and expertise for thepublic good, focusing on the needs of developingcountries,” said Francisco Reifschneider, Presidentof IFAR.

For more information, visit the IFAR web site (http://www.ifar4dev.org/index.htm) or page http://ipgri-pa.grinfo.net/.

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Plant genetic resourcesin the Internet

http://www.idrc.ca/awardsThis site connects to the various training andawards programs of the InternationalDevelopment Research Centre (IDRC). Somegrants in agronomy, forestry or biology areinteresting for students or researchers indeveloping countries working with farmercommunities.

http://www.cies.org/about_fulb.htmThis is the site of the Fulbright Program, theUnited States government’s flagship program ininternational educational exchange. It grantsscholarships on various disciplines includingbiology, agriculture, ecology and ruraldevelopment, and in topics of interest for thoseworking on plant physiology, molecular biologyand plant pathology.

http://www.fas.usda.gov/info/borlaug/borlaugfellow.htmThis link connects to the site of the Borlaugprogram for scientific exchange with developingcountries. Fellowships are granted for a shortterm to agronomists or biologists interested instrengthening agricultural practices through thetransfer of science and technology.

http://www.foreignaid.com/foundations_db/This is an on-line directory of more than 700donors in the United States and Europe that fundresearch in various disciplines includingenvironmental sciences, biodiversity andcommunity work. For those interested insubscribing to it, the site contains examples ofhow to search in the directory and shows a donorprofile.

Funding and training opportunities

http://pgrdoc.ipgri.cgiar.org/taxcheck/grin/index.htmlThe Taxonomic Nomenclature Checker is aprogram that contains more than 65,000 recordsof vascular plant names from all over the world. Itis mainly focused on plants of commercialinterest or agricultural importance and allowsusers to standardize data when developingbotanic databases.

http://www.isb.vt.edu/The Information Systems for Biotechnologyfocuses on responsible use of biotechnology inagriculture. It contains links to over 80 web sitesrelated to plant biotechnology and to databaseswith information on genetically modifiedorganisms, including plants.

Plant genetic resources databases

http://www.salvias.net/SALVIAS is a database with geographicinformation for plants of the world, developed by anetwork of ecologists, conservation biologists,biogeographers and botanists interested inunderstanding plant diversity patterns. It containsdata such as geographic coordinates, taxonomy,phenology and biogeography of plant species. It isuseful for researchers on plant diversity.

http://www.diva-gis.org/DIVA-GIS is a software to design maps of thedistribution of species. It allows users to analyzeplant diversity, calculate diversity indexes andpredict the presence of species in specific places.It is free of charge and comes with a tutorial and auser manual in English and Spanish.

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Readings on plant genetic resources

Baena, M., S. Jaramillo and J.E. Montoya. 2003. Material de apoyo a la capacitaciónen conservación in situ de la diversidad vegetal en áreas protegidas y en fincas.International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Cali, Colombia.http:/www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/pubfile.asp?ID_PUB=905.

This is a training module that introduces the theoretical foundations of plant diversityconservation in protected areas and on-farm. It is divided in four chapters. Chapterone explains the general concepts on in situ conservation. Chapter two describes thesteps to design and manage a protected area. Chapter three explains how conserva-tion of agrobiodiversity occurs in traditional cropping systems and chapter four givessome conclusions on conservation in general and in situ conservation in particular.

De Vicente, C., T. Metz and A. Alercia. 2004. Descriptors for genetic markers technolo-gies. International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome, Italy. http:/ www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/pubfile.asp?ID_PUB=913.

In an effort to define standards to document information on genetic markers, IPGRIhas recently published a descriptors list for molecular characterization. Targeted toresearchers that use molecular techniques, this list intends to provide standards togenerate and exchange molecular data. The list defines a minimum set of initial infor-mation required to describe a genetic marker technology, and provides content andcoding schemes that allow exchange of computerized and replicable data. The list canbe modified to adjust it to specific needs.

IPGRI. 2003. Descriptores del ulluco (Ullucus tuberosus). International Plant GeneticResources Institute, Rome, Italy. http://www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/pubfile.asp?ID_PUB=904.

This publication starts with definitions of descriptors and their use followed by threesections in which specific descriptors for Ullucus tuberosus are introduced. The firstsection deals with passport data, descriptors for crop management, and descriptors forthe place and environment in which accessions are characterized and evaluated. Thesecond section contains morphological descriptors and the third contains biochemicaland molecular markers. A bibliography and a list of contributors to the descriptors listare included at the end.

http://www.gbif.org

The Global Biodiversity Information Facilitycontains links to organizations and websites onbiodiversity and to a database with taxonomicinformation that allows searching by scientificand common names of the various organisms, bycountry and by group of interest within a country,or by animal, fungus, plant, bacteria or virus. Itprovides full species taxonomic information.

http://www.conabio.gob.mx/remib/doctos/remib_esp.htmlREMIB, the international network for informationon biodiversity, is managed by a network ofacademic organizations holding biological collec-tions and data banks. It links to taxonomic, eco-logic, cartographic, bibliographic and ethno-biologic databases and to catalogues on naturalresources and other topics. It is useful for thoseinterested in knowing about global biodiversity.

Books

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Grau, A., R.O Dueñas, C. Nieto Cabrera and M. Hermann. 2003. Mashua(Tropaeolum tuberosum Ruíz & Pav.). Promoting the conservation and use ofunderutilized and neglected crops. 25. International Potato Center, Lima, Peru/Interna-tional Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome, Italy. http://www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publi-cations/pubfile.asp?ID_PUB=880.

This monograph highlights the importance of mashua (Tropaeolum tuberosum) withinthe underutilized Andean species. It is divided into eleven chapters that provide infor-mation on mashua’s history, dispersal, taxonomic classification and biosystematics.Agronomic aspects of the crop are highlighted as well as its limitations. The publica-tion contains information on the chemical composition and uses of mashua as well ason the genetic resources available for breeding. Trends for future research on thespecies are included as well as an extensive list of references and of researchers onmashua in various countries.

Engels, J.M.M. and L. Visser (eds). 2003. A guide to effective management ofgermplasm collections. IPGRI Handbooks for Genebanks No. 6. International PlantGenetic Resources Institute, Rome. Italy. http://www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/pubfile.asp?ID_PUB=899.

This handbook deals with the strategic management of a genebank. It is divided intonine chapters that explain the foundations of genebank management, the goals of agenebank in the context of the international treaties involving plant genetic resources,routine procedures to manage germplasm (including collecting strategies, conserva-tion methods, characterization and viability monitoring, and distribution to users) andthe costs of running a genebank. At the end, it includes six appendices with casestudies, a model for a germplasm transfer agreement and a synthesis of conservationstandards.

Biodiversity and conservation

Dehmer, K.J. 2003. Molecular genome analyses as tools for efficient ex situ-conserva-tion and utilization of plant genetic resources. Acta Horticulturae 623:151-160.

Engels, J.M.M. 2003. Plant genetic resources management and conservation strate-gies: problems and progress. Acta Horticulturae 623:179-191.

Medaglia, J.A.C. 2003. Access to genetic resources, protection of traditional knowl-edge, and intellectual property rights: lessons learned from the Costa Rican experi-ence. Gene Conserve No.10: 128-151.

Meilleur, B.A. and T. Hodgkin. 2004. In situ conservation of crop wild relatives: statusand trends. Biodiversity and Conservation Vol. 13(4):663-684.

ForestryCoomes, O.T. 2004. Rain forest ‘conservation-through-use’? Chambira palm fibreextraction and handicraft production in a land-constrained community, Peruvian Ama-zon. Biodiversity and Conservation Vol. 13(2):351-360.

McDonald, G.T. and M.B. Lane. 2004. Converging global indicators for sustainableforest management. Forest Policy and Economics Vol. 6(1):63-70.

Articles

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International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), Americas GroupA.A. 6713, Cali, Colombia. Phone: (57-2) 445-0048/9; Fax: (57-2) 445-0096;

Email: ciat-ipgri@cgiar.org; Web address: http://www.ipgri.org/regions/Americas

Ochoa-Gaona, S., M. González-Espinosa, J.A. Meave y V. Sorani-dal Bon. 2004.Effect of forest fragmentation on the woody flora of the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico.Biodiversity and Conservation Vol. 13(5):867-884.management. Forest Policy andEconomics Vol. 6(1):63-70.

Tropical fruits

Birnbaum, K., R. DeSalle, C.M. Peters and P.N. Benfey. 2003. Integrating gene flow,crop biology, and farm management in on-farm conservation of avocado (Perseaamericana, Lauraceae). American Journal of Botany Vol. 90 (11):1619-1627.

Rogez, H., R. Buxant, E. Mignolet, J.N.S. Souza, E.M. Silva and Y. Larondelle. 2004.Chemical composition of the pulp of three typical Amazonian fruits: araça-boi (Eugeniastipitata), bacuri (Platonia insignis) and cupuaçu (Theobroma grandiflorum). EuropeanFood Research and Technology Vol. 218(4):380-384.

Sebbenn, A.M., P.Y. Kageyama and R. Vencovsky. 2003. In situ genetic conservationand number of tree for seed collect in Genipa americana L. population. ScientiaForestalis No. 63:13-22.

Small, E. and P.M. Catling. 2004. Blossoming treasures of biodiversity 11. Cactus pear(Opuntia ficus-indica) - miracle of water conservation. Biodiversity Vol. 5(1): 27-31.