EUFORGEN 2-3

EU Regulation 4

ECP/GR 8-10

News from the Regions 11

IPGRI news 12-15

Forthcoming meetings 16

International Plant Genetic Resources Institute

No 30 - June 2005

Inside this issue

The International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) is one of the 15 Centres of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). IPGRI’s vision is that: “People today and in the future enjoy greater well-being through increased incomes, sustainably improved food security and nutrition, and greater environmental health, made possible by conservation and the deployment of agricultural biodiversity on farms and in forests.”

IPGRI’s Regional Office for Europe provides the Coordination Secretariats for the European Cooperative Programme for Crop Genetic Resources Networks (ECP/GR) and for the European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN).

IPGRI publishes two issues of the Regional Newsletter for Europe a year. This Newsletter is intended to serve as an informal forum for the exchange of news and views, and to create closer ties within the genetic resources community in Europe. Previous issues are available from the IPGRI Web site. www.ipgri.cgiar.org/regions/europe/news.asp

A Russian version of this Newsletter is being produced and disseminated in collaboration with the N.I. Vavilov Research Institute of Plant Industry (VIR) in St. Petersburg.

We invite you to send your ideas and contributions for this Newsletter to IPGRI’s Regional Office for Europe. Please send all contributions for Issue 31 by 15 September 2005.

About this Newsletter

newsletterfor Europe

IPGRI recently presented the “EURISCO status” analysis at the joint meeting of the ECP/GR Documentation and Information Network Coordinating Group and the EURISCO Advisory Group held on 11 April 2005 at the Information Centre for Biological Diversity, ZADI/IBV, Bonn Germany (see page 9 of this NL).

The EURISCO Advisory Group, whose function is to monitor the progress of EURISCO and provide advice on its further development, along with the ECP/GR Network Coordinating Group, took into consideration the status analysis and the list of actions proposed by IPGRI to re-establish the momentum in the development of EURISCO.

The European germplasm Search Catalogue, EURISCO, holds passport data on ex situ collections maintained in Europe and is composed of frequently updated data from the National PGR Inventories (NI). It is easily accessible via the Internet and provides access to ex situ PGR information maintained in Europe.

The EURISCO Catalogue is an end product of the three-year EPGRIS project (2000-2003) and is presently maintained and managed by IPGRI on behalf of ECP/GR.

The EURISCO Catalogue may only contain partial information from the European NI, therefore the status analysis was intended to develop not only the possibilities and potentialities for searches, but also to increase the number of NI to be included, as well as updates. Besides the quantity, the quality of data is also one of the priorities to better serve the EURISCO users.

In September 2003, at the last meeting of the EPGRIS project, in Prague, Czech

Republic, 27 National Focal Points (NFP) uploaded about 810 000 accessions to EURISCO. Since then, around 110 000 accessions have been added. As of May 2005, EURISCO holds data on 1272 genera, 7870 species and 920 147 accessions.

The Catalogue has on average 20 visits per day; 630 a month; these are results from the ongoing monitoring of the number of visitors.

As for the Status of National Inventories, there remain some discrepancies in the quantity of data available from the on-line NI Web sites and the data for the same countries made available via EURISCO. In all but in one case (Austria) the number of accessions listed in EURISCO is substantially lower than the number of accessions listed in the on-line NI. It is still unclear whether this difference is due to national options or to a technical gap. Overall, considering the difference in the on-line data, in addition to that of countries that have not yet uploaded their data, more than 700 000 accessions are missing from EURISCO, and even this figure is under-estimated.

From the analysis carried out of the different types of errors identified by the system, it appears that the most frequent number of errors is related to: the use/misuse of codes; invalid formats for the date, latitude and longitude; and missing mandatory descriptors.

Regarding the frequency of updates, since the launch of the Catalogue in 2003, when 27 NI were uploaded, only 7 NI have since updated their data in 2004.

As a summary of the analysis, a prioritized list of actions was agreed to further improve and develop the Catalogue. Some of the high priority actions were to: review NFP status; review, improve and update the Web site and make downloading easier; and develop public awareness materials.

The EURISCO Status presentation can be viewed at www.ecpgr.cgiar.org/Networks/Info_doc/Presentations.htm(continued on page 6)

Brasilia, Brazil was the setting for the consultation on the CBD cross-cutting initiative on biodiversity for food and nutrition, organized by the Convention on Biological Diversity in cooperation with FAO and IPGRI, which was hosted by the Ministério do Desenvolvimento Agrário, on 12-13 March 2005.

The conclusions of the consultation include a call for action on issues of biodiversity, food and nutrition, and explain the rationale for explicitly recognizing the linkages among these. The statement also outlines the proposals for action put forward by participants at the consultation, as well as guiding principles and challenges to be faced in the development and implementation of these activities. Finally, the conclusions identify organizations that should be invited to incorporate biodiversity concerns in their work, and the next steps participants have agreed to undertake in order to advance the initiative. (continued on page 6)

Biodiversity for food and nutrition

EURISCO - an update

2IPGRI Newsletter for Europe

Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis).Photo: J. Koskela, IPGRIEUFORGEN

Phase III of EUFORGEN (2005-2009) started with a new Network structure in January 2005. Following the Steering Committee decision, EUFORGEN now has three species Networks and one thematic one:

• Conifers Network;• Scattered Broadleaves Network;• Stand-forming Broadleaves;• Forest Management Network.

The Scattered Broadleaves Network continues the work of the earlier Noble Hardwoods and Populus nigra Networks, while the Stand-forming Broadleaves does the same for the Mediterranean Oaks and Temperate Oaks and Beech Networks. The new Forest Management Network will focus on promoting closer integration of gene conservation into practical forest management and national forest programmes.

EUFORGEN Networks during Phase III

The Cyprus Forestry Department hosted the fifth meeting of the Conifers Network in Larnaca, Cyprus, on 7-9 April 2005. Participants from 25 countries discussed the overall activities of the Network during Phase III (2005-2009) of EUFORGEN and initiated the development of a new workplan. The meeting also discussed the challenges in managing conifer forests and their genetic resources in Cyprus and the whole Mediterranean Basin.

The Conifers Network welcomed the focus of Phase III to promote practical implementation of gene conservation and appropriate use of genetic resources as an integral part of sustainable forest management. It was highlighted that using appropriate genetic material in regenerating forests (either artificially or naturally) has an important role in maintaining sustainable forestry in Europe. Sustainable forest management can also contribute significantly to the conservation of forest genetic diversity. Therefore, the Network decided to review various silvicultural practices to promote ‘best practices’ for maintaining genetic diversity in production forests. Furthermore, it was pointed out that forest genetic diversity helps to mitigate the negative effects of climate change and ensures that forests adapt to changing environmental conditions.

The meeting agreed that there is a need to define and harmonize minimum requirements for gene conservation units of forest trees at pan-European level. Such requirements should be developed based on both scientific knowledge and practical considerations. Harmonized requirements make it possible to compare the gene conservation units among European countries and identify gaps and overlaps

in gene conservation efforts from the pan-European point of view. This would create a sound basis for further development of common action plans for target tree species. The common action plans are an effort to link existing gene conservation units of forest trees throughout their entire distribution ranges in Europe. This means managing tree populations in their natural sites (in situ) within the environment to which they are adapted or artificial but dynamically evolving populations elsewhere (ex situ). The common action plans are based on the dynamic gene conservation approach which emphasizes maintenance of evolutionary processes within tree populations to safeguard their potential for continuous adaptation, instead of trying to preserve the present genetic diversity in genebanks.

Development of minimum

requirements for the gene conservation units and other efforts to strengthen information management between the EUFORGEN Networks will receive special attention during Phase III. The Conifers Network expressed its support for this initiative and also stressed the need to increase awareness on the importance of forest genetic resources among policy-makers, forestry professionals and the general public.

The meeting discussions also touched upon the role of gene conservation in the context of managing forest biodiversity. Many of the efforts to promote conservation of forest biodiversity focus solely on habitats and species, while it is common that gene conservation receives much less attention. The meeting concluded that synergies between nature conservation and gene conservation should be further explored and that the Network participants should facilitate the establishment of closer linkages between various conservation efforts in their own countries.

The meeting report is available through the EUFORGEN Web site. The next meeting of the Conifers Network will be held in Iceland in autumn 2006.

Fifth meeting of the Conifers Network

European Forest Genetic Resources Programme

3IPGRI Newsletter for Europe

FRAXIGEN, a research project funded under the EU 5th framework programme, has been underway for the last three years in six European countries to improve our understanding of the genetic resources of the three principal native Fraxinus species of Europe: F. excelsior, F. angustifolia and F. ornus. The FRAXIGEN project (EU contract no. EVK2-CT-2001-00108) has ten partners in Greece, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom carrying out parallel studies on the three species in different areas of their natural distribution.

The project addresses three central issues:

• Understanding population genetic structure and dynamics and the forces shaping them;

• Assessing the importance and scale of local adaptation;

• Guidance on selection of genetically appropriate planting material for maintenance of diversity and sustainability.

The first issue has been addressed through a combination of laboratory-based studies of neutral molecular variation and field-based research, which has investigated the complex reproductive biology of the three species. Firstly, nuclear microsatellite markers were used to estimate genetic diversity within populations, and the extent of differentiation between them, for 15 F. excelsior populations in the UK and Scandinavia, and for 30 populations each of F. angustifolia and F. ornus in the Mediterranean and across Central and southeastern Europe. For the same populations, plus some additional ones, haplotypes were also characterized using chloroplast microsatellites, to increase existing information (from previous research) on

post-glacial colonization routes of the three species. In addition, the same nuclear markers were used for detailed studies of within-population genetic structure, gene flow and mating system in 2-3 populations of each species.

These molecular studies have been complemented by phenological observations and controlled pollination experiments to investigate each species’ potential for self-fertilization, as well as the success of different genders as pollen parents (males vs. hermaphrodites in F. excelsior and F. ornus) and seed parents (hermaphrodites vs. females in F. excelsior). Together, these field studies are helping us to interpret the findings of the molecular studies of mating system and gene flow.

The second major component of FRAXIGEN concerns the scale over which localized adaptation occurs in Fraxinus: this has direct relevance to the issue of defining ‘local’ seed sources, in accordance with the Helsinki Guidelines developed by the second Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE, 1993), which state that "local provenances should be preferred where appropriate". However, there has been little scientific evidence on which to base the designation of seed collection zones for Fraxinus.

In FRAXIGEN, a reciprocal transplant experiment (RTE) has been set up at eight sites for each species (in UK for F. excelsior, in Greece for F. angustifolia and F. ornus) to investigate this issue. Seedlings were raised from seed collected at the eight autochthonous stands, chosen to be at varying distances apart, and these eight provenances were planted together in trials at the same

eight sites, so that at each site one ‘home’ population is compared with the other seven ‘away’ populations. The trials have been planted within the woodlands, fenced but with minimal site preparation or weeding, so that the plants are subjected to similar competitive pressures to those they would encounter under conditions of natural regeneration. This approach has been taken because the directives on local seed sourcing relate to planting for conservation and ecological objectives rather than production, so it is important to understand local adaptation in this context.

The project is due to end in June 2005 and it is now in the process of translating its findings into practical guidelines. An international meeting organized by the project in Valencia, Spain, in April 2005, brought together policy-makers and scientists from 17 European countries to help the project team in this process. A short book summarizing the FRAXIGEN project findings and recommendations will be published for practitioners and policy-makers. Further information is available from the Project Coordinator, Janet Stewart (email: janet.stewart@plants.ox.ac.uk) or from www.fraxigen.net

Narrow-leaved ash (F. angustifolia).Photo: M. Idzojtic, EUFORGEN Noble Hardwoods Network

Common ash (F. excelsior).Photo: M. Idzojtic, EUFORGEN Noble Hardwoods Network

Janet Stewart Oxford Forestry InstituteDepartment of Plant SciencesUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK

Ash for the future: defining European ash populations for conservation and regeneration

EUFORGEN www.euforgen.org

4IPGRI Newsletter for Europe

The European Council Regulation on genetic resources in agriculture (EC870/2004) will open its first call for proposals in 2005 and the second call will be launched in 2006. The documentation needed for the first call will be finalized before summer 2005, according to sources in the European Commission (EC) Directorate General for Agriculture. Following approval of the call by the Member States, it will be open for project applications. The first call is expected to have an indicative total EC contribution of about €3 million. The average amount spent by the EC on previous projects was €500 000 per project.

The EC often stresses that successful projects must add value above and beyond the efforts undertaken at the national level by the Member States. This finds the genetic resources community well prepared for the call, as collaborative efforts with a clear trans-national focus have a long tradition among Member States. Financial support for implementing agri-environmental measures on genetic resources within the confines of a Member State will be possible through the new Rural Development Policy, which will enter into force from 2007 onwards. This is good news because,

unlike protection of rare and endangered species,

support for agricultural biodiversity has so far been

neglected in the Rural Development Policy.

In accordance with global trends, the themes of

sustainable use of genetic resources, in situ and on-farm conservation gain importance in the new Regulation. The projects will, therefore, not be limited

to the ‘classic’, rigorous six-step approach developed for

ex situ conservation activities by public genebanks, as per the previous Regulation EC1467/1994. The EC sources also highlight the need to avoid any duplication of efforts with research programmes of the European Union. In fact, capacity building will very likely be a key element in future projects. Besides ‘targeted actions’, accompanying actions (training and capacity building) and concerted actions (support for meetings, seminars, dissemination activities) will also be eligible for support.

Collaboration has a long tradition in Europe involving various groups of stakeholders. Therefore, the role of the pan-European networking programmes such as

ECP/GR and EUFORGEN has been explicitly recognized in the Regulation. The Networks provide an existing infrastructure, helping Network participants and other specialists to identify

needs and prepare and submit competitive project applications. It is well known to our readers that the Networks also support the implementation and broad dissemination of project outputs.

Collaboration and linkages with non-EU countries depend on bilateral agreements with the EC and will be clarified in the call. Participation of the ten new Member States will evidently be encouraged.

The text of the Regulation and further information can be found on the Web site at www.europa.eu.int/comm/agriculture/envir/index_en.htm#genres

The call for proposals will also be announced on this site.

The State programme for pgr in Belarus has been operational since 2000. For the last five years the National storehouse of pgr and Phytotron hothouse complex for the study of pgr have been operational. The National Center of Genetic Resources of Economically Valuable Plants, which includes 12 research establishments and higher educational institutions, inventories and organizes the various national collections. Discussions to bring the standards and laws relating to the collection, studying, conservation and use of pgr in line with EU requirements have commenced.

Belarus is also considering joining the ECP/GR Programme. For further information contact Mr Vladimir Harelik (email: izis@tut.by).

News from Belarus...

Armenia announces the establishment of the National Agency on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture of the Republic of Armenia, under the presidency of Prof. Mikael Hovhannisyan.The Agency is an inter-ministerial body, established under the initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture at the end of February 2005, and includes representatives of the Ministries of Agriculture and Nature Protection, the National Academy of Sciences and one NGO.

The Agency will address the goals of the Global Plan of Action and will be a coordinating body for activities on PGR in Armenia, as well as playing an active role in the elaboration of a National Strategy on PGR and issues related to the legislation on PGR and biodiversity.

For further information please contact: Natalya Rukhkyan (email: n.rukhkyan@cac-biodiversity.org).

Armenia establishes National PGR Agency

Changes in the implementation of European Council Regulation on Genetic Resources?

5IPGRI Newsletter for Europe

“Agrobiodiversity as a qualifying element for production filieres” was the main theme of the VIIth National workshop on Biodiversity, held in Catania, Italy on 30 March – 2 April 2005. This workshop was organized by the Department of Horticulture and Food Technology (DOFATA) of the University of Catania and the Inter-University Centre of Mediterranean Germplasm (CIGM). CIGM is a consortium of universities from Southern Italy, which traditionally organizes national workshops in order to exchange information among researchers.

The workshop was attended by approximately 250 scientists from all over Italy. Over 60 presentations and 170 posters dealing with biodiversity studies of agricultural crops and animals were presented.

These scientific contributions showed that, although limited public funds are specifically allocated to genetic resources, all Italian research institutions dedicate their efforts to investigating the subject. The wealth of diversity available on-farm and in collections is impressive, whether fruit trees, vegetables, cereals, legumes, forages, wild species or domestic animals. Ongoing research consists in characterizing the traits of local variants in order to identify types with high market value, as well as to identify useful traits for breeding and establishing new collections to prevent genetic erosion. Genetic diversity studies are based on morphological studies as well as increasingly on molecular methodologies.

The potential of new crops was investigated, e.g. species to be used as pesticides (Tagetes, Chrysanthemum and Brassicaceae). Varieties suitable for new uses are also studied, e.g. vegetables to be sold pre-cooked or to be used for nutriceutical purposes.

Discussions also highlighted how biodiversity can, in some cases, be used as an element of diversification of production. Valuable market niches can be created with the adoption of EU certification systems (such as DOP or IGP) as a means to add value and publicize local products. In other cases, certification systems do not offer a good economic return, compared to the cost of the certification process.

To optimize the use of agricultural biodiversity, representatives of the Slow Food movement emphasized the need to educate consumers to look for quality products with geographic specificity, made under traditional and ethical production systems.

During discussion, strict conservation of old varieties was challenged by the need to improve them with new traits, such as resistance to disease or other characters that would make them better adapted to the evolving agroecosystems.

Local varieties, known as “conservation varieties” are subject to legal constraints in that they cannot be traded unless they are officially registered. However, registration procedures are too expensive compared to the limited market niche for these products.

Good prospects

were announced by the representative of Sicily Region, since the local administration has made investments to establish a regional genebank and to preserve native diversity on-farm and in nature reserves.

Overall the workshop demonstrated the dedicated and widespread scientific interest for highly valuable Italian germplasm resources. The need to channel research towards common objectives through better coordination also seemed apparent. The workshop proceedings will be published soon by DOFATA. The next biodiversity workshop will be held in Lecce in December 2007.

DOFATA - Università di Catania

Catania horticulture market.Photo: F. Branca, University of Catania, Italy

National agrobiodiversity workshop in Catania, Italy

C.I.G.M.

6IPGRI Newsletter for Europe

(Continued from page 1)Call for ActionBiodiversity is essential for food security and nutrition and offers key options for sustainable livelihoods. Environmental integrity is critical for maintaining and building positive options for human well-being. Existing knowledge warrants immediate action to promote the sustainable use of biodiversity in food security and nutrition

programmes, as a contribution to the achievement of the Millennium Development

Goals (MDGs). This would counteract

the simplification of diets, agricultural

systems and ecosystems, and the erosion of

food cultures. Considering the difficulty

in precisely identifying optimal diets, a diversity of foods from

plants and animals remains the preferred choice for

human health. Traditional food

systems provide positive synergies between human and ecosystem health, and culture offers an essential context for mediating positive dietary choices.

An interdisciplinary initiative on biodiversity for food and nutrition, based on the ecosystem approach that makes the most of locally-available biodiversity and initiative to address nutrition problems, will assist countries and stakeholders in achieving the MDGs. Without urgent action that directly engages the environmental, agricultural, nutrition and health communities, the positive options offered

by domesticated and wild biodiversity for addressing nutrient deficiencies will be lost.Proposals for actionProposals for action include: a) substantiating and promoting awareness of the links between biodiversity, food and nutrition; b) mainstreaming the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity into agendas and programmes related to nutrition and agriculture, and poverty reduction; c) promoting activities, that contribute to improving food security and human nutrition through enhanced sustainable use of biodiversity.

Intergovernmental and international organizations such as FAO, WHO, IFAD, WFP, UNICEF, UNU were encouraged to include biodiversity-related considerations in their programmes and strategies e.g. through The Global Plan of Action; the FAO World Food Summit Plan of Action; the WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health; and the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development.

Similarly governments and research and academic associations, civil society organizations and movements e.g. the Slow Food

Movement, local community and indigenous peoples’ organizations and the private sector are encouraged to contribute to the initiative.

Next stepsParticipants in the consultation recognized the benefits of coming together under a common framework and to continuing their commitment to the development of the cross-cutting initiative and to undertaking the following activities:

i. Raising awareness in their organizations, networks and communities of practice and at upcoming meetings and events;

ii. Preparing an inventory of the existing knowledge base, including published scientific studies, indigenous and local knowledge etc, and preparing a policy-relevant review for publication in a scientific journal;

iii. Promoting and facilitating the development of pilot activities, including an inter-sectoral project on biodiversity for food and nutrition in Brazil;

iv. Preparing tools to aid implementation of the activities listed above.

The final report of the meeting can be viewed at www.biodiv.org/doc/meetings/agr/ibfn-01/official/ibfn-01-03-en.pdf

(continued from page 1)Besides the list of priorities agreed during this meeting, other priorities or future steps are being considered in a follow-up Project “EPGRIS 2” in the framework of the Council Regulation EC870/2004: technical support for NI and NFP; improve data quality/quantity; promote capacity building; look for other tools and “new” technologies relevant to PGR data flow; promote EURISCO sustainability; present EURISCO as a model; and seek links to other relevant databases.

The identified priorities and actions will contribute to the further improvement and development of EURISCO, the first regional catalogue offering the world a single entry point to all the plant genetic resources conserved by European institutes.

Please visit the Catalogue at www.eurisco.ecpgr.org

EURISCO - an update

Biodiversity for food and nutrition

7IPGRI Newsletter for Europe

Francesca Bretzel & Beatrice PezzarossaConsiglio Nazionale delle RicercheIstituto per lo Studio degli EcosistemiPisa, Italy

Stefano BenvenutiUniversità di PisaDip. di Agronomia e Gestione dell’AgroecosistemaPisa, Italy

The Italian ‘Wildflowers Project’, co-founded by the Regional Agency for Development and Innovation in Agriculture and Forestry of Tuscany (ARSIA) and coordinated by the Institute of Ecosystem Studies of C.N.R (Pisa), aims to study the ecology of native herbaceous species suitable for urban naturalistic plantings, to promote their cultivation techniques and to produce seeds to be commercially released.

The main objective of the project is to improve environmental quality, landscape and biodiversity. Although the presence of weeds is generally considered to be an adverse phenomenon, in some cases it may have a positive spin-off for the urban ecosystem. The presence of wildflowers within urban areas (parks, gardens, traffic dividers and roundabouts) could even become self-sustainable. Unlike ornamental herbaceous species, whose survival is crucially dependent on human action, wildflowers are in fact highly resilient species that reproduce without any management.

In order to increase biodiversity in the countryside and in the agroecosystems, experimental “buffer strips” or “field margins” of wildflowers have been attempted. In this case, the introduced species not only fulfilled the aesthetic function of depriving urban dominant weeds of some of their ecological space, but they also attracted the entomofauna (butterflies, bees, etc.) which have a close relationship with such species. Entomofauna indeed plays an important role, in that the health of an ecosystem is not only linked to the biodiversity of the plant world but also to an overall

coenosis between flora and fauna. So important is this overall balance that adverse effects on human psychology have been noticed when a population is compelled to live in an unsightly landscape or a blighted ecosystem. This landscape improvement could play a crucial role overall in tourist and farm holiday areas in Italy and in the other Mediterranean countries.

Plants with very showy flowers like the genera Crocus, Narcissus, Lycnis, Stachys, Campanula, Anthemis and Linaria are some typical examples of wildflowers that can be utilized for this purpose. The seeds of the

selected species are collected in natural environments or in agroecosystems where sustainable agriculture allows the presence of weeds, once common, today rare, such as Consolida regalis, Nigella damascena, Centaurea cyanus, Agrostemma githago.

Seeds of native species are not available on the Italian market, whereas in many countries of northern Europe, companies selling wildflower seeds are quite specialized and widespread. The project includes: a) propagation of the mother-plants in a nursery,

from seeds harvested in natural areas to avoid the risk of intra-hybridization with the local ecotypes; b) planting of seedlings in the open field by a local farm; c) harvest and distribution of mixes by a local seed company.

Germination ecology and seed dormancy are important experimental aspects, since the wild species are typically characterized by dormant seeds, therefore their agronomic use strongly depends on studies on dormancy-breaking methods. On the other hand this is an efficient survival strategy for prolonged re-colonization of the habitat following the

disturbance dynamics. This aspect is studied by the Seed Research and Testing Station (International Seed Testing Association) of the Agronomy Department at the University of Pisa.

One of the major obstacles in developing the project so far has been the scarce interest by private companies in wildflowers and in related seed production.

Wildflower seed production and harvest can be managed as in medicinal plant cultivation. However, the need to employ genetic material of local provenance to set up the study and apply this cultural technique

for urban area recovery, supported the decision to begin seed production. Seed availability on the market is needed in order to propose this technique to public administrations, landscape designers and managers. The production of local wildflower seeds represents a low-cost technique for managing green areas, maintaining biodiversity, and conserving species in risk of extinction.www.wildflowers.it

Colourful show of wildflower species dominated by Anemone hortensis, in a Mediterranean olive grove.Photo: S. Benvenuti, Italy

Seed production of ornamental native species within the “wildflowers project”

8IPGRI Newsletter for Europe

European Cooperative Programme for CropIPGRI Newsletter For Europe8

The second meeting of the ECP/GR Working Group on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs) was held in Strumica, Macedonia FYR, 16-18 December 2004. The meeting, organized jointly with the MAP Working Group of SEEDNet (South East European Development Network), was attended by representatives from 24 countries, including observers from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russian Federation and Ukraine.

The progress made in the workplan defined at the first meeting of the ECP/GR MAP Working Group (September 2002, Gozd Martuljek, Slovenia)1 was reviewed.

The Group revised the list of ten priority species/genera selected after the first meeting and agreed that it should be refined down to species level, except for Origanum which should remain at genus level since several species of Origanum are used/sold under the name of oregano. The following new list was agreed upon by the Group: Achillea millefolium Agg.; Artemisia absinthium; Carum carvi; Gentiana lutea; Hypericum perforatum; Melissa officinalis; Mentha piperita and M. spicata; Origanum spp.; Salvia officinalis; Thymus vulgaris and T. serpyllum.

The Group made progress in the preparation of characterization descriptor lists for the above priority species. These descriptors will be used to characterize in situ populations and genebank accessions for their taxonomical and chemotaxonomical status; define morphological, chemical and genetic characteristics of genebank accessions for selection/breeding work and cultivar development; and find potential traits for the food industry and trade. Responsibilities were assigned to Working Group members for the final compilation of these lists, under the coordination of the Chairperson, Dea Barievi,

Slovenia. A report was given

of the first meeting of the SEEDNet MAP Working Group held on 15 December 2004. The MAP Working Group was the first WG to be established within SEEDNet. The Group selected 16 target species and developed an action plan for its first two years of operation. This includes the development of a central MAP documentation system with botanical, ecological, collecting, conservation and ethnobotanical data. Two databases, currently under development in Macedonia FYR, were presented and the opportunity for the

ECP/GR MAP Working Group to contribute to the SEEDNet information system was discussed. The ECP/GR Working Group did not find it urgent or relevant to join this effort or to establish any crop-specific central database at this stage.

Regarding funding opportunities, the ECP/GR WG agreed that it was essential to submit a project proposal to Council Regulation 870/2004, the topic of the Regulation being related to the Working Group’s objectives and strategy. The project will be coordinated by Stephen Jury, University of Reading, UK (email: s.l.jury@reading.ac.uk).

The workplan till the next meeting of the ECP/GR MAP Working Group (planned for 2007) was defined: finalization of the descriptor lists, to be followed by national surveys on chosen natural populations of selected species and characterization of those populations in situ or of appropriate accessions ex situ, based on these descriptors. Results will be presented at the next meeting of the Working Group.

Dea Barievi and Jen Bernáth were renewed in their respective capacities of Chair

and Vice-Chair of the ECP/GR Working Group.

The draft report of the meeting is available from the Working Group Web pages at www.ecpgr.cgiar.org/Workgroups/Med_aromatic/MAP2_draft_Jan2005.pdf The full proceedings will be published.

A CD-ROM of all the Powerpoint presentations given at the meeting was produced by the ECP/GR Secretariat and sent to all participants shortly after the meeting. Copies are available upon request from the ECP/GR Secretariat (email: IPGRI-ECPGR@cgiar.org). The presentations include country surveys on priority species and scientific presentations on cultivation, characterization and evaluation of medicinal and aromatic plants (for table of contents of the CD-ROM see www.ecpgr.cgiar.org/Workgroups/Med_aromatic/CDROM_INDEX.htm). 1Short report published in IPGRI Newsletter for Europe 25:2 (available on-line at www.ipgri.cgiar.org/cms/Europereadnews.asp?IDNews=140).

Full proceedings are available from the ECP/GR Secretariat or downloadable on-line at www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/

pubfile+.asp?ID_pub=984 (Barievi, D., J. Bernáth, L. Maggioni and E. Lipman, compilers. 2004. Report of a Working Group on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants. First meeting, 12-14 September 2002, Gozd Martuljek, Slovenia. International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome, Italy).

Chive growing in Sicily.Photo: F. Branca, DOFATA, Italy

Flowering Arnica montana in a pasture meadow in southern Sweden. Photo: K. Wedelsbäck Bladh, NGB, Sweden

Medicinal and Aromatic Plants – Joint meeting of the ECP/GR and SEEDNet Working Groups

9IPGRI Newsletter for Europe9IPGRI Newsletter For Europe

Genetic Resources Networks www.ecpgr.cgiar.org

Red Clover, an important forage legume in Europe.Photo: P. Marum, Norway

A meeting of the Forages Network Coordinating Group, held jointly with a few central forage database managers, was hosted by the Strickhof Agricultural College, Lindau, Switzerland on 21-22 April 2005.

The main objectives were to discuss progress made by the Working Group on Forages and review its workplan for the remainder of the Phase. A practical session was held to analyze a few central databases of European genebank accessions and to identify the Most Original Samples. This exercise improved the content of the databases with the inclusion of new data that were exchanged during the meeting and permitted the identification of practical problems and possible solutions for database analysis.

Agreements were made to advance progress in the development of the central databases, aimed at obtaining a more complete set of higher quality data, either through

the EURISCO catalogue, or directly from the curators. Database managers of the Dactylis, Festuca, Lolium, Medicago, Phleum, Poa and Trifolium databases should soon be in a position to make a proposal for “holders of primary collections”. This would be the first step towards the establishment of a decentralized European Forages Collection, with formalized responsibilities assigned to the collection holders.

The status of safety-duplication and the table of regeneration standards adopted by the forage genebanks were reviewed. Plans were made to improve the list of regeneration methodologies currently in use by European genebanks, thereby considerably enhancing transparency of genebank operations. The list of standards in use is already available from the Forages Working Group Web site at www.ecpgr.cgiar.org/Workgroups/forages/Forages8_AppendixI.pdf/

Vladimir Megli, Slovenia (email: vladimir.meglic@kis.si), agreed to coordinate a project proposal to be submitted to the EU on the subject of Medicago genetic resources, including the identification of a core collection.

An offer by the Research Institute of Crop Production (RICP) in Piešt'any, Slovakia to host the next meeting of the Forages Working Group in 2007 was welcomed by the Group.

Forages Network Coordinating Group meets in Switzerland

This joint meeting was held at the Information Centre for Biological Diversity, ZADI/IBV, Bonn Germany, on 11 April 2005. Its main objective was to discuss the progress of the Network, share information on ongoing international initiatives and make plans for the future. Special attention was given to progress made so far and to the future development of EURISCO (see article on page 1).

When discussing the future organizational structure of PGR data flow in Europe, the opportunity to establish a coherent European Information System under ECP/GR was emphasized, whereby ex situ and in situ data might be gathered, deposited and displayed through the same type of organizational and technical infrastructure. Within this structure, EURISCO was mentioned as an essential element for data provision, including linkages to in situ/on-farm data. National inventories were also reconfirmed as essential elements for data validation and data release from the countries.

The role of the European Central Crop Databases (ECCDBs) versus EURISCO was discussed. Several discrepancies were noted and it was recommended to propose actions for improvement of data consistency. Future management of the PGR Forum documentation product (i.e. the Crop Wild Relative Information System), by IPGRI on behalf of ECP/GR was announced, considering various options for links with EURISCO.

The value of developing in situ descriptors in collaboration with IPGRI was acknowledged and a wide participation from the Network was recommended.

It was suggested that the ECP/GR Inter-regional Cooperation Network could consider the organization of documentation workshops in other regions and also seek linkages with the Global Crop Diversity Trust in this context.

Detailed information on the meeting can be found at www.ipgri.cgiar.org/networks/ecpgr/meetings/allmeetingWG.asp?groupID=30

The Presentations can be found at www.ecpgr.cgiar.org/Networks/Info_doc/Presentations.htmThe next EURISCO Advisory Group meeting is planned for 2007, in Rome, Italy.

ECP/GR Documentation and Information Network Coordinating Group and the EURISCO Advisory Group joint meeting

10IPGRI Newsletter for Europe

European Cooperative Programme for Crop Genetic Resources Networks www.ecpgr.cgiar.org

How can existing genebanks in Europe operate more rationally if their resources remain at their current capacity? One of the ways to improve efficiency and effectiveness is through sharing of responsibilities and tasks and active cooperation between genebanks to ensure rational ex situ long-term conservation and continued utilization of plant genetic resources (PGR) in Europe.

How individual countries could share their conservation tasks with genebanks in other countries is now being investigated. A two-year feasibility study for the development of a European Genebank Integration System (AEGIS) was initiated in 2004 within the framework of the European Cooperative Programme for Crop Genetic Resources Networks (ECP/GR). The objective is to come up with a set of recommendations on how to develop an integrated genebank system in Europe based on the analysis of organizational, structural, technical, legal and financial aspects (see NL 28, page 8).

During September 2004, eleven countries, as well as the

Nordic Gene Bank, representing the Nordic countries, and the South East European Network on Plant Genetic Resources (SEEDNet), agreed to participate in the AEGIS project.

The AEGIS project held the start-up meeting at the Nordic Gene Bank, Alnarp, Sweden in November 2004. All 22 project partners participated in the meeting, with the Chair, Eva Thörn participating on behalf of the AEGIS Steering Committee (SC), the ECP/GR Coordinator and the AEGIS Project Manager. The aim of the meeting was to inform and update the project partners about the AEGIS project. Furthermore, the project partners discussed the preparation of crop workplans for Allium, Avena, Brassica and Prunus respectively for the next two years, based upon presentations made and the AEGIS Project Document. It was recommended that legal issues be addressed at a higher level. Workplans for the four crop sub-groups have been developed, as well as a common AEGIS workplan.

A local AEGIS Task Force at IPGRI has been established to assist the AEGIS

Project Manager with the implementation of the project and to ensure synergies between AEGIS and IPGRI’s programme. The Task Force, composed of Ehsan Dulloo, Jan Engels, Lorenzo Maggioni, Jozef Turok and the AEGIS Project Manager is currently assisting in the preparation of a “vision paper” of an integrated European genebank system, in close collaboration with the AEGIS SC and the project partners. The vision paper will describe the shared vision of what needs to be achieved through the AEGIS project in order to implement an ideal European integrated genebank system. The vision will be widely shared with the ECP/GR technical partners and with other stakeholders in Europe.

In June 2005 four different AEGIS meetings are planned to take place at IPGRI headquarters in Rome. On 20 June 2005, the AEGIS SC will hold a routine meeting, followed by a joint meeting between the AEGIS SC and the Global Crop Diversity Trust on 21 June. The main purpose of this joint meeting is to share information, discuss collaboration and establish an effective link between the two bodies. Another one-day meeting will then be held on 22 June between the AEGIS SC and the AEGIS project partners and finally the AEGIS project partners will have a two-day project progress meeting on 23-24 June 2004. These meetings are expected to bring the project implementation process forward, especially through the endorsement of the vision paper for development of a European integrated genebank system.

Further information on the AEGIS project, including reports and updates, can be found on the AEGIS Web site at www.ecpgr.cgiar.org/AEGIS/AEGIS.htm

www.ecpgr.cgiar.org/AEGIS/AEGIS.htm

Almond, apricot, cherry and plum - economically important members of the genus Prunus.Photo: J. Clarke, EMR, UK

Towards implementing an Integrated Genebank System in Europe

Eva Thörn, Swedish Biodiversity Centre, Swedish Univ. of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp, Sweden

Plans made by the Inter-regional Network Coordinating Group for Phase VII are focusing the Network’s efforts on two areas of work, i.e. documentation and information systems and policy implementation (directly related to task sharing, and the establishment of the AEGIS project). On the other hand, it was decided to skip the area of in situ/on-farm management, which first needs to be developed within the European region. In addition to collaboration with the Sub Saharan Africa networks, collaboration with the Central and West Asia and Northern Africa networks, including the Central Asian and Caucasus Network, seemed logical, given historical ties and ecological similarities (Mediterranean Basin).

A meeting of the Network Coordinating Group was held on 4-5 April 2005 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, aimed at elaborating the agenda for the Network. This meeting was also attended by Raymond Vodohue, coordinator of the West Africa network GRENEWECA. He conveyed the message that the concept of sharing of responsibilities, as publicized in ECP/GR circles, had taken root in that region, which is a gratifying result. The Network is anxious to continue the collaboration with ECP/GR. In particular training of trainers in various areas was requested. In order to facilitate the contacts and possible collaboration between regions, it was considered very important that the individual coordinators of the regional networks be given the possibility to meet and exchange information and ideas. Therefore a meeting between the coordinators of the African networks (GRENEWECA, EAPGREN and CWANA) and ECP/GR was proposed. It was proposed that the modest funds available to the Inter-Regional Cooperation Network be used to invite persons outside the ECP/GR region to relevant meetings.

As a follow up to the joint ECP/GR – GRENEWECA workshop held in Cotonou, Benin, in 2003, it was proposed to raise funds for training initiatives related to the EURISCO system (and other relevant documentation aspects) and to invite key persons from other regions to these training activities.

A full account of the meeting discussions and plans for the future will soon be available from the Network’s Web site www.ecpgr.cgiar.org/Networks/Inter_reg_coop/inter_reg_coop.htm

Inter-regional cooperation: Plans for Phase VII

11IPGRI Newsletter for Europe

Towards a regional conservation strategy for Central Asia and the Caucasus

The eight countries of the Central Asia and Caucasus region are home to crop diversity that is vitally important to present day agriculture. The region is a primary or secondary centre of diversity for globally important cereals, food and forage legumes, vegetables and fruit trees. Wheat, barley and rye, lentil, chickpea, faba bean, carrot, melon, apple, cherry and pear are just a few of the crop species whose diversity has flourished in the region. Today, this vast diversity is under threat due to a variety of factors, including recurrent periods of drought, the replacement of traditional farmers’ varieties with modern types, deforestation and over-harvesting from natural habitats. The fledgling national programmes in the region have been hard pressed to match the pace of the erosion taking place. Lacking in expertise and under-resourced, the various agricultural institutions in the region have little capacity to conserve and use the rich agricultural biodiversity that is such an important part of their natural heritage.

Help could soon be on the way, thanks to the intervention

of the Global Crop Diversity Trust. An initiative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and IPGRI, acting on behalf of the Future Harvest Centres of the CGIAR, the Trust is an independent international organization whose goal is to provide financial support for the world’s most important crop diversity collections. At its centre is a US$260 million endowment fund, the proceeds of which will go to fund ex situ conservation. Funds are also available to provide upgrading and capacity building support to priority collections. The Trust is an important element of the funding strategy of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

Identifying the crop diversity collections that will be eligible for funding by the Trust is a major challenge. To do so, the Trust is supporting a series of initiatives to identify the world’s most critical collections of crop diversity and determine which of these should be given priority for funding. A process to develop regional and crop conservation strategies is currently underway with participation from all main stakeholders including holders of national and international collections, crop experts, policy-makers, NGOs, farmers’ organizations and others. The conservation strategies will be based on collaboration, bringing together people and institutions to work collectively to conserve crop diversity. Collectively, the strategies will form the framework of efficient and effective global systems for conservation.

The process to develop a regional conservation strategy for Central Asia and the Caucasus got underway in late 2004. It includes an important

element of public awareness with regard to the multilateral system of exchange laid out in the International Treaty. In order to be eligible for funding, countries must either sign the Treaty or commit to making genetic resources material available under the access and benefit-sharing terms regulating the multilateral system, as described in the Treaty. None of the CAC countries has yet signed the International Treaty, however, in March 2005 an intensive introduction to the International Treaty was provided to policy-makers from the countries at a Trust-sponsored meeting in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Presenting the Treaty was Cary Fowler, the incoming Executive Director of the Trust.

With support and assistance from IPGRI’s office in Aleppo, ICARDA and the Programme Facilitation Unit of the CGIAR Collaborative Programme for Sustainable Agricultural Development in Central Asia and the Caucasus, the countries of the region are well on their way to developing a collaborative conservation strategy, expected to be completed by the end of the year. In the meantime, the Trust has already provided support for urgent upgrading and capacity building needs identified through the process of strategy development. Funds have been provided to secure important apple field collections in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan and to duplicate them in other locations for safety purposes. Another project to receive Trust support is the development of a plant genetic resources information platform for the region.

Ruth RaymondHeadPublic Awareness UnitIPGRI

The Trust is providing support that will ensure the continued conservation of important and threatened field collections of apple diversity in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.Photo: M. Turdieva, IPGRI

News from the Regions...

12IPGRI Newsletter for Europe

The International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD)

IPGRI is delighted to announce that Mr Gideon Njau Mwai from Kenya and Mr Narayandas Laxminarayan Mantri from India are the winners of this year’s Vavilov Frankel Fellowship, IPGRI’s annual awards for young scientists.

Narayandas Laxminarayan Mantri of the Marathwada Agricultural University, Parbhani, India will carry out a study entitled “The analysis of stress related genes of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) using microarrays”. The work will be carried out at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University, Biotechnology and Environmental Biology, School of Applied Sciences, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia, under the supervision of Dr Eddie Pang. This Fellowship is supported by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), Australia. Drs Carmen M de Vicente and Bhag Mal will be scientific and regional advisors at IPGRI, respectively. Mantri hopes to boost chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) production in India and Australia by developing a tool that will make it easy for breeders to screen varieties of chickpea for resistant traits.

Gideon Mwai of Maseno University, Kenya will carry out a study entitled “Diversity, Nutritional Value, Alkaloid Content and Organoleptic Quality of Vegetable Nightshades (Solanum section Solanum)”. The work will be carried out at the Botanical and Experimental Garden and the Laboratory of Plant Cell Biology, Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands, under the supervision of Dr Gerard van der Weerden and Prof. C. Titti Mariani. This Fellowship is made with the support of Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. Mr Patrick Maundu and Prof Timothy Johns at IPGRI will guide Gideon in taxomonic and nutritional aspects, respectively. Mwai’s research on varieties of African Nightshade (Solanum) - a popular, highly nutritious, yet scientifically neglected indigenous vegetable - will help to promote use of the crop in Kenya, thereby contributing to local farmers’ incomes and well-being as well as enhancing its conservation.

A full IPGRI press release is available on http://ipgri-pa.grinfo.net/index.php?itemid=848. Further information about the Vavilov Frankel Scheme is also available on www.ipgri.cgiar.org/training/vavilov.htm or from Evelyn Clancy (email: e.clancy@cgiar.org).

IPGRI announces the 2005 Vavilov Frankel Fellowship awards

Initiated by the World Bank after the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg 2002), the IAASTD process comes from the need for the global community to confront an enormous challenge: “How to reduce hunger and poverty, improve rural livelihoods, and facilitate equitable, environmentally, socially and economically sustainable development through the generation, access to, and use of agricultural knowledge, science and technology?” The result of the Assessment will be a comprehensive report on the role of agricultural science and technology, including biotechnology, in meeting these challenges over the coming decades.

IAASTD is a UN process,

in which the participating states make the decisions and adopt the final report. A multi-stakeholder Bureau of 60 persons representing governments (30), civil society organizations (22) and international institutions (8) has been set up to oversee the process. IPGRI, as one of the CGIAR centers involved in the process, has participated in the various meetings held to date. The first multi-stakeholder meeting took place at UNEP in Nairobi in September 2004. It agreed on the content and scope of the Assessment and adopted outlines and procedures, and a time-table, starting with expert meetings in 2005.

A global design team of about 90 experts met in February 2005 to agree on the

detailed report to be produced. This was followed by 5 sub-global (Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Pacific, Europe and North America) design team meetings for the outline of the regional assessments. The North America/ Europe meeting took place in mid-April 2005.

Bob Watson, the World Bank chief scientist leading the secretariat of the Assessment, said the Assessment would be unique in bringing together local knowledge and the work of university, government and private sector laboratories. The Assessment will be concluded by the end of 2006. www.agassessment.org

“Having Greenpeace, the World Bank and a company like Syngenta sitting together and discussing agricultural knowledge, science and technology for the developing world is pretty amazing.” To quote Michael Stopford, an executive at Syngenta, the world’s leading agribusiness in the initial stages of the process known as IAASTD.

News from IPGRI...

13IPGRI Newsletter for Europe

This was the last of the series of PGR Forum Project workshops on European Crop Wild Relatives (CWR), convened by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the Danish Institute of Agricultural Science in Korsør, Denmark on 26-30 April 2005. It examined the assessment of threat and conservation status of European CWR. Four sessions were planned to discuss red list assessment, setting priorities, systematic conservation planning and gap analysis respectively, followed by a field trip to Sprogø island. Presentations on red list assessments were made by Marianne Mitchell, University of Birmingham (UOB), on selected European CWR and José Iriondo of Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain. Craig Hilton-Taylor (IUCN) presented on behalf of Paul Smith (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK) the work of the Millennium Seed Bank and priorities for seed collection. Brian Ford-Lloyd (UOB) gave an overview of options in setting priorities and Joana Brehm provided an example for Portugal. Maria Scholten discussed how to estimate the economic value of CWR.

Bob Smith of Durrell

Institute for Conservation and Ecology, UK spoke about systematic conservation planning, illustrated by examples from Swaziland. Elizabeth Radford of Plantlife International, UK explained the Important Plant Area (IPA) initiative and discussed links between PGR Forum and IPA. In the final session, the concept of gap analysis was presented by Nigel Maxted (UOB), and Ehsan Dulloo (IPGRI) provided an example of how to use genetic diversity data to identify gaps in wild coffee populations in the Mascarene Islands. Sónia Dias (IPGRI) complemented this with

a presentation of EURISCO as a tool to assist in ex situ gap analysis of European CWR.

The themes of each session were also discussed in parallel working groups. Recommendations were made on red listing, broader conservation planning, other data to be considered in planning, priority setting, distribution data, in situ and ex situ conservation planning. More information on the workshop and its recommendations can be found on the PGR Forum Web site www.pgrforum.org

Ehsan DullooSenior Scientist Conservation and Management of Germplasm Collections (UMD)IPGRI

Allium hirsutum, a crop wild relative of garlic growing in a beech forest in Korsør, Denmark. Photo: E. Dulloo, IPGRI

The IPGRI Regional office for Europe is pleased to announce the winner of the first two-year fellowship on Forest Genetic Resources.

Jelena Aleksic from the Institute of Lowland Forestry and Environment, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, Serbia and Montenegro started her new tasks in June 2005 at the Department of Genetics of the Austrian Office and Research Centre for Forests (BFW)

Jelena holds a B.Sc. in Biology (Plant Physiology) and is also completing an M.Sc. in Agriculture (Conservation of Forest Genetic Resources). She has been active in the field of in vitro vegetative propagation and conservation of forest genetic resources, as well as teaching plant breeding.

This fellowship was organized in collaboration with the Austrian Office and Research Centre for Forests (BFW), in the framework of the Austria-funded project “Developing training capacity and human resources for the management of forest biodiversity”.

Two-year Research Fellowship on Forest Genetic Resources

PGR Forum workshop on threat and conservation assessment of European Crop Wild Relatives

14IPGRI Newsletter for Europe

The Luxembourg funded project for the conservation and sustainable use of grapevine genetic resources in the Caucasus and Northern Black Sea Region (see NL 27)

is now in its second year of implementation.

Following the meeting in Yalta, Ukraine in September 2004 (see NL 29) when the Project Facilitator, David

David MaghradzeDept. of Grapevine and Fruit Crops Germplasm Research, Genetics and Breeding,Research Institute of Horticulture, Viticulture and Wine-makingTbilisiGeorgia

Maghradze was nominated and the new workplan developed, the project entered into a fully operational phase.

IPGRI has developed agreements with all the project partners (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Russian Federation and Ukraine) to ensure proper maintenance and restoration of the genetic material listed in the inventory. Those activities go from the improved management of the collections to new replanting; from documentation to characterization of the genetic material.

The starting point of the second year of the project was the finalization of a list of grapevine varieties with a short description of their effective status in the collections. This list was developed thanks to the kind contribution of all participating countries which have shared information on the grapevine varieties kept in their collections, providing data on the autochthonous varieties, as well as on varieties with origin from the other five countries of the project. This list now includes 2141 accessions of 1255 varieties, preserved in 15 collections. Each single record will be documented with digital pictures.

An important achievement was the establishment of two new collections. These were also funded through the project to compensate the lack of local resources. Collections of local varieties, taken from old collections and vineyards, were established in Georgia (2003) and in Armenia (2005) with 303 and 190 accessions respectively.

In the near future the project will also support the restoration of all collections, facilitating the exchange of reproductive material and the revision of the IPGRI descriptors for Grapevine.

Grapevine conservation collection in Vashlidjvari near Tbilisi, Georgia, established in the framework of the project in 2003.Photo: D. Maghradze, Georgia

IPGRI Regional Office for Europe is pleased to announce one ten-month fellowship at the University of Milan, Italy. The fellowship is offered to outstanding young scientists from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, the Russian Federation and the Ukraine on a competitive basis. The fellowship will cover the following areas:

• Characterization of varieties based on the IPGRI/FAO Multi-crop Descriptors and completion of ampelographical cards;

• Chemical analyses of grape samples, including chemo–taxonomical analyses of berry skins and defining the anthocyanic (glycoside pigment) profile of varieties on the basis of High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) for phylogenetic comparison;

• DNA molecular techniques to detect genetic variation in these genetic resources, specifically Amplified Fragments Length Polymorphism (AFLP) and Simple Sequence Repeats (Microsatelites) (SSR) markers.

Please send curriculum vitae and a brief, two-page description of the applicant’s current work and future plans to IPGRI (Email: ipgri-europe@cgiar.org) before 15 August 2005. The selected fellow will be invited to develop a research plan and describe its relevance for their home institution/ country. The fellow will be selected on the basis of following requirements:

• Technical background and experience in the relevant area (grapevine conservation);

• Documented, increasing responsibility in the relevant area, research or management in the country concerned;

• Good knowledge of English;• Maximum age 40 years.

Grapevine conservation Fellowship announcement

Conservation of local grapevine varieties in the Caucasus and Northern Black Sea region – an update

15IPGRI Newsletter for Europe

IPGRI has launched its new strategy “Diversity for Well-being; Making the most of Agricultural Biodiversity” to guide its operations over the coming years (see NL29, page 1). The broad goal of the strategy is to promote the greater well-being of people, particularly poor people in developing countries, by helping them to achieve food security, to improve their health and nutrition, to boost their incomes, and to conserve the natural resources on which they depend.

IPGRI’s work will be to ensure that people and institutions are enabled to make optimal use of agricultural biodiversity (in its broadest sense), to meet the

needs of human and societal development bearing in mind the Millennium Development Goals. IPGRI will carry out a range of activities under six broad headings:

• Demonstrating the benefits: Demonstrating the social, economic and environmental benefits of agricultural biodiversity;

• Biodiversity for income and food security: Ensuring that agricultural biodiversity is maintained, characterized and used to improve productivity;

• Researching agricultural biodiversity: Generating knowledge about agricultural biodiversity through research and making such knowledge available;

• Enabling and empowering: Developing human and institutional capacity to conserve and make effective and sustainable use of agricultural biodiversity;

• Supportive policies: Fostering a policy environment that supports the conservation and use of agricultural biodiversity;

• Getting the word out: Raising awareness of the value of agricultural biodiversity.

The new strategy emphasizes, amongst other areas, the importance of policy work, recognizing that “..even when people do understand the benefits of biodiversity and have the capacity to make use of it to address livelihood issues, there can still be problems if the policy environment within which they live and work fails to support their efforts”.

The strategy further acknowledges that policy-makers need to recognize the importance of biodiversity for sustainable agriculture and poverty alleviation and the need to actively incorporate

favourable elements into their policies and laws governing such issues as: access to and benefits from genetic resources and agricultural biodiversity, intellectual property rights, land use, trade questions, traditional knowledge and the like (www.ipgri.cgiar.org/system/page.asp?frame=Institute/NewStrategy.htm).

The new strategy has generated the need for a completely new IPGRI structure, approved by the IPGRI Board of Trustees, with the creation of new management positions. A selection process was undertaken and the following positions have been filled:

• Paul Harding, Assistant Director General;

• Kwesi Atta-Krah, Deputy Director General;

• Francesco Finocchio, Director, Human Resources;

• Gerard O’Donoghue, Director, Corporate Services;

• Mauricio Bellon, Director, Diversity for Livelihoods Programme;

• Laura Snook, Director, Understanding and Managing Diversity Programme;

• Richard Markham, Director, Commodities for Livelihoods Programme;

• Jane Toll, Director, Global Partnerships Programme;

• Joanna Kane-Potaka, Head, Information Management Service.

IPGRI launches new strategic directions

Conservation Biotechnology of Plant Germplasm Proceedings of Regional Training Course on In Vitro Conservation and Cryopreservation of Plant Germplasm, NBPGR, New Delhi, India, 12-25 October 2000. B.B. Mandal, Rekha Chaudhury, F. Engerlmann, Bhag Mal, K.L. Tao and B.S. Dhillon, editors. IPGRI South Asia Office, New Delhi, India. www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/pubfile.asp?ID_PUB=1008

Crop Descriptors and Derived Standards 2004. CD-Rom. ISBN 92-9043-657-3. This CD-Rom contains all electronic crop-specific descriptors (pdf and HTML) and derived standards such as the Multicrop Passport Descriptors and Descriptors for Genetic Markers Technologies. (Available from Ms Adriana Alercia, Germplasm Information Specialist, IPGRI, Rome (email:a.alercia@cgiar.org)

Descriptors for Sesame (Sesamum spp.). IPGRI and NBPGR.2004. Available from IPGRI SAS Office or in PDF at www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/pubfile.asp?ID_PUB=246

ECP/GR Arachis genetic resources in Europe ad hoc meeting, 15-16 November 2002, Plovdiv, Bulgaria. L. Maggioni, S. Georgiev and and E. Lipman, compilers. www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/pubfile.asp?ID_PUB=1000

ECP/GR Report of a Working Group on Beta and World Beta Network. Second joint meeting, 23-26 October 2002, Bologna, Italy. L. Frese, C. Germeier E. Lipman and L. Maggioni, compilers. www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/pubfile.asp?ID_PUB=1003

EUFORGEN Conifers Network Report of the second (20-22 September 2001, Valsaín, Spain) and third (17-19 October 2002, Kostrzyca, Poland) meetings. K. Vanura, B. Fady, J. Koskela and Cs. Mátyás, compilers. www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/pubfile.asp?ID_PUB=1001

EUFORGEN Populus nigra Network, Report of seventh (25-27 October 2001, Osijek, Croatia) and eighth meetings (22-24 May 2003, Treppeln, Germany). J. Koskela, S.M.G. de Vries, D. Kajba and G. von Wühlisch, compilers. www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/pubfile.asp?ID_PUB=1040(continued on page 16)

New publications/announcements

REGIONAL OFFICEFOR EUROPEc/o IPGRI HeadquartersVia dei Tre Denari 472/a00057 MaccareseRome, ItalyFax: +39-0661979661www.ipgri.cgiar.org/ regions/europe/home.htm

Jozef TurokRegional Director Tel: 39-066118250Email: j.turok@cgiar.org

Michele BozzanoProgramme SpecialistTel: 39-066118221Email: m.bozzano@cgiar.org

Aixa Del Greco*Scientific AssistantTel: 39-066118224Email: a.delgreco@cgiar.org

Sónia DiasProgramme SpecialistTel: 39-066118204Email: s.dias@cgiar.org

Katy ElphinstoneProgramme AssistantTel: 39-066118229Email: k.elphinstone@cgiar.org

Lidwina KoopProgramme AssistantTel: 39-066118251Email: l.koop@cgiar.org

Jarkko KoskelaEUFORGEN CoordinatorTel: 39-066118223Email: j.koskela@cgiar.org

Elinor Lipman* Scientific AssistantTel: 33-467611302Email: e.lipman@cgiar.org

Birgitte LundAEGIS Project ManagerTel: 39-066118244Email: b.lund@cgiar.org

Lorenzo Maggioni ECP/GR CoordinatorTel: 39-066118231Email: l.maggioni@cgiar.org

Olga Spellman* Programme AssistantTel: 39-066118411Email: o.spellman@cgiar.org

(*part time)

Editing & layout Olga Spellman

This Newsletter is produced by the staff of the Regional Office for Europe

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17-23 July 2005XVIIth International Botanical Congress. Vienna, Austriawww.ibc2005.ac.at/

25-28 July 2005EFITA/WCCA 2005 Joint Conference. Fifth Conference of the European Federation for Information Technology in Agriculture, Food and Environment; and 3rd World Congress on Computers in Agriculture and Natural Resources. Vila Real, Portugal. www.agriculturadigital.org/efitaandwcca2005

8-13 August 2005Forests in the Balance: Linking tradition and Technology. IUFRO World Congress. Brisbane, Australia. www.iufro2005.com

23-25 August 2005COHAB 2005 - the First International Conference on the Importance of Biodiversity to Human Health. Galway, Irelend.www.cohab2005.com/summary.htm

5-7 September 2005Potato 2005 - International congress. Emmeloord, The Netherlands. www.potato2005.com

7-9 September 2005Les Légumes: un patrimoine à transmettre et à valoriser.Angers, France.www.brg.prd.fr

11-15 September 2005XXII EUCARPIA Symposium - Section Ornamentals. “Breeding for Beauty”. San Remo, Italy.www.istflori.it/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=8&tabid=8076

14-17 September 2005First International Conference on Crop Wild Relative Conservation and Use. PGRForum.Agrigento, Sicily, Italy.www.pgrforum.org/confer-ence.htm

(continued from page 15)Forest genetic resources conservation and management: Overview, concepts and some systematic approaches. Vol. 1. 2004. www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/pubfile.asp?ID_PUB=1018

Génétique et amelioration des arbres forestiers. Alphonse Nanson. 2004. Presses agronomiques de Gembloux, Gembloux, France. www.bib.fsagx.ac.be/presses

IPGRI, in collaboration with CIRAD and CIAT, are pleased to announce the launching of the New World Fruits Database. This product is an update and actualization of the previously available ethnobotanical fruit inventory (which consisted only of html text). www.ipgri.cgiar.org/Regions/Americas/programmes/TropicalFruits/

Issue No. 139, September 2004 of FAO/IPGRI Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter (in print) is electronically available at www.ipgri.cgiar.org/pgrnewsletter/default.asp

Issue No. 140, December 2004 of FAO/IPGRI Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter is electronically available at www.ipgri.cgiar.org/pgrnewsletter/default.asp

Módulos de Aprendizaje sobre Marcadores Moleculares – Vol. 1 y 2. M.C. de Vicente (IPGRI), C. Lopez (Universidad Nacional Agraria ‘La Molina’, Peru) y T. Fulton (Institute for Genomic Diversity, Cornell University). 2004. CD-Rom. www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/pubfile.asp?ID_PUB=1015

On-farm management of agricultural biodiversity in Nepal. Proceedings of a National Workshop, 24-26 April 2001, Lumle, Nepal. Bhuwon R. Sthapit, Madhusudan P. Upadhyay, Bimal K. Baniya, Anil Subedi and Bal K. Joshi, editors. www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/pubfile.asp?ID_PUB=1006

Report of a Working Group on Forages (eighth meeting),10-12 April 2003, Linz, Austria. B. Boller, E. Willner, L. Maggioni and E. Lipman, compilers. 2005. www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/pubfile.asp?ID_PUB=1017

Saving Seeds. The Economics of Conserving Crop Genetic Resources Ex Situ in the Future Harvest Centres of the CGIAR. Bonwoo Koo, Philip G. Pardey, Brian D. Wright et al. IFPRI - SGRP and CABI Publishing 2004. www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/pubfile.asp?ID_PUB=1013

SGRP Annual Report 2003. www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/pubfile.asp?ID_PUB=1002

South Asia Network on Plant Genetic Resources (SANPGR). Proceedings of the Sixth Meeting, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, 9-11 December 2002. Bhag Mal, P.N. Mathur, V. Ramanatha Rao and A.H.M. Jayasuriya, editors. www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/pubfile.asp?ID_PUB=1004

Technical guidelines for the management of field and in vitro germplasm collections (Handbooks for Genebanks No. 7). B.M. Reed, F. Engelmann, M.E. Dulloo and J.M.M. Engels. 2004. www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/pubfile.asp?ID_PUB=1016

New publications/announcements

19-21 September 2005Conference “Sustainable Use of Traditional Agroecosystems” (joint with SAVE Network meeting). Nitra, Slovakia. Contact: dezider.toth@uniag.sk

20-24 September 2005

Conference “Biodiversity conservation and sustainable development in mountain areas of Europe: the challenge of interdisciplinary research”.

Ioannina, Greece. www.bioscene.co.uk

Forthcoming meetings