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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>FYI: On a positive note: The Global
Crop Diversity trust has been established to attempt to address the problem of
financing and supporting seed banks in developing countries. (They funded the
Norwegian Project)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>"The proceeds of the Trust, ultimately about $12 million per
year, will support basic conservation costs in national and international
collections of crop diversity. The Trust will also provide funding to rescue
and salvage collections currently at risk, and build capacity in developing
countries to manage such collections."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Glad to see so much interest in such an important topic!<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Joe-Ann</span></font><font color=blue face=Arial><span
style='font-family:Arial;color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'><a
href="http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2004/51211/">http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2004/51211/</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Crop Trust to conserve plant diversity<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Rich and poor nations sign on to save seeds worldwide<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'>21 October 2004 <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City
w:st="on">Rome</st1:City></st1:place></span></font></b> -- The Global Crop
Diversity Trust, an initiative to conserve in perpetuity the Earth's most crucial
agricultural biodiversity, entered into force today as an independent
international organization. <br>
<br>
The Trust crossed a major milestone when <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">Sweden</st1:country-region></st1:place> signed the agreement
establishing it. This brings the number of signatories to 12 from 5 world regions,
thus exceeding the criteria for recognition under international law. <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Sweden</st1:country-region> joins <st1:country-region w:st="on">Cape
Verde</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Ecuador</st1:country-region>,
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Egypt</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Ethiopia</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Jordan</st1:country-region>,
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Mali</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Morocco</st1:country-region>, <st1:City w:st="on">Samoa</st1:City>, <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Syria</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Tonga</st1:country-region>,
and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Togo</st1:country-region></st1:place>
as Trust signatories. <br>
<br>
Along with its signature, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Sweden</st1:country-region></st1:place>
pledged 50 million kroners, about $7 million, to the Trust. The Trust's newest
donor joins more than a dozen others, including Ethiopia, one of the 10 poorest
countries in the world, which recently pledged $50 000. This money will go
toward building a $260 million Trust endowment, the proceeds of which will be
used to fund the most threatened and valuable collections of crop diversity. <br>
<br>
The launch of the Trust comes as plant diversity suffers record losses in both
farmers' fields and the wild. Extreme hunger and poverty also contribute to
diminished plant diversity in many parts of the world. Even the genebanks that
are intended to be safe havens for crop diversity are under increasing threat
from underfunding. <br>
<br>
"Rich and poor nations alike are signing on to support the Trust,"
said Geoff Hawtin, the Trust's Executive Secretary. "This shows that they
recognize the urgency of protecting crop diversity collections for all
countries, whatever their level of development or region of the world." <br>
<br>
"<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Ethiopia</st1:country-region></st1:place>
is very rich in agricultural biodiversity but extremely poor in financial
resources," said Dr. Tewolde, Director General of the country's
Environmental Protection Authority and a member of the Trust's Interim
executive board. "The future for Ethiopians -- along with the rest of humanity
-- cannot be secure unless the future of agriculture is secured. Therefore, we
welcome the opportunity to help save the world's crop diversity
collections." <br>
<br>
"<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Sweden</st1:country-region></st1:place>
highly values agricultural diversity," said Mats Åberg, Deputy Director at
the Department of Global Development in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"The Nordic Genebank, of which we are part, has taken strong measures to
protect our region's diversity, and has extended cooperation to collections in
southern <st1:place w:st="on">Africa</st1:place> as well as to our Baltic
neighbours. But we know it is not yet enough. Humanity's agricultural heritage
must be protected wherever it is found." <br>
<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Rescue and Salvage</span></b> <br>
<br>
The goal of the Trust is to provide a secure and sustainable source of funding
for the world's most important crop diversity collections. There are more than
1 400 crop diversity collections in more than 100 countries around the
world. These collections are the best source of the raw material farmers and
breeders need to develop hardy, dependable, productive and nutritious crops.
They contain traits that will allow crops to cope with climate change, pests
and disease, as well as to increase crop yields to feed the ever-growing human
population. <br>
<br>
The proceeds of the Trust, ultimately about $12 million per year, will support
basic conservation costs in national and international collections of crop
diversity. The Trust will also provide funding to rescue and salvage
collections currently at risk, and build capacity in developing countries to
manage such collections. <br>
<br>
"The majority of the world's crop collections are operating on extremely
tight budgets," said Hawtin. "Many developing countries find it
difficult to keep the electricity running, let alone support the activities
needed to ensure the safe long-term conservation of the crop diversity they
hold. Yet this diversity is critical in the fight against hunger," Hawtin
added. <br>
<br>
Some have dubbed <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Ethiopia</st1:country-region></st1:place>
"a living seed basket" for its almost bewildering variety of wild and
domesticated varieties of seeds and grains. Ethiopia is a primary gene centre
for field crops such as niger seed (Guzotia abyssinica), tef (Eragrostis tef)
and Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata) and a secondary gene centre for crops
such as durum wheat, barley, sorghum, finger millet, linseed, sesame,
safflower, faba bean, field pea, chickpea, lentil, cowpea, fenugreek and
grasspea. Today, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Ethiopia</st1:country-region></st1:place>
has 4.5 million people who are facing food shortage. In 2002, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">Ethiopia</st1:country-region></st1:place> struggled with the worst
famine since 1984 with some 15 million people facing starvation. <br>
<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Building on the past</span></b> <br>
<br>
To date the Global Crop Diversity Trust has raised about $51 million towards
its goal with another $60 million under discussion. In addition to <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Ethiopia</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on">Sweden</st1:country-region>,
donors include <st1:country-region w:st="on">Australia</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Brazil</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Canada</st1:country-region>,
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Colombia</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Egypt</st1:country-region>, the <st1:country-region w:st="on">United
States of America</st1:country-region>, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region
w:st="on">Switzerland</st1:country-region></st1:place>, the Grains Research
and Development Council of Australia, Syngenta, Pioneer/Dupont, the Gatsby
Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Syngenta Foundation, the United
Nations Foundation, the World Bank, and the Future Harvest Centres. <br>
<br>
"FAO welcomes the establishment of the Global Crop Diversity Trust so soon
after the coming into force of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic
Resources for Food and Agriculture," said Louise Fresco, Assistant
Director-General of the FAO Agriculture Department. "The Trust will help
ensure that one of the key objectives of the Treaty -- the safe conservation of
crop diversity -- becomes a reality." <br>
<br>
"IPGRI is proud of the role it has played in bringing this historic initiative
into being," added Emile Frison, Director-General of the International
Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI). "We look forward to continuing
to provide important technical support to the Trust as it undertakes its
critical task of underwriting the costs of conserving the world's most
important food crops." <br>
<br>
The effort to establish the Global Crop Diversity Trust was a joint initiative
of FAO and IPGRI on behalf of the Future Harvest Centres of the Consultative
Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). The Trust is an element
in the funding strategy of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources
for Food and Agriculture, which became law on 29 June 2004. <o:p></o:p></p>
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</span></font></div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><br>
Contacts: <br>
John Riddle <br>
Information Officer, FAO <br>
john.riddle@fao.org <br>
(+39) 06 570 53259 <br>
<br>
Ellen Wilson <br>
Business Communications <br>
ewilson@businesscommunications.com <br>
(+1) 301 652 1558, ext. 108 <br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>Joe-Ann McCoy, Ph.D.</span></font><font
color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>USDA-ARS Medicinal Plant Curator</span></font><font
color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>North Central Regional Plant Introduction
Station</span></font><font color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>G212 Agronomy Hall</span></font><font
color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on"><font size=2
color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:blue'>Iowa</span></font></st1:PlaceName><font size=2 color=blue
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">State</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType></span></font></st1:place><font
color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><font size=2
color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:blue'>Ames</span></font></st1:City><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>, <st1:State w:st="on">Iowa</st1:State>
<st1:PostalCode w:st="on">50011-1170</st1:PostalCode></span></font></st1:place><font
color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><font
size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:blue'>USA</span></font></st1:place></st1:country-region><font
color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>phone: 515-294-2297</span></font><font
color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>fax: 515-294-1903</span></font><font
color=blue><span style='color:blue'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'>email: </span></font><font color=blue><span
style='color:blue'><a href="mailto:joemccoy@iastate.edu"><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>joemccoy@iastate.edu</span></font></a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:blue'><a href="mailto:joemccoy@iastate.edu"></a></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
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face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>
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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>
Cafesombra@aol.com [mailto:Cafesombra@aol.com] <br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Friday, January 13, 2006
12:04 PM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b>
mpwg@lists.plantconservation.org<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Re: [MPWG] Doomsday vault
to hold 2 million seeds - newspaper article FYI</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>Saving genetic material is so important,
and can be a very delicate operation requiring appropriate
super-specialized skills and technologies (although you've got to
admire the survival of a 2000-yr-old date seed...) <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>I do think though that we need to
maintain a balanced perspective and reflect upon the need for genetic material
repositories in the "developing" south. To my knowlegde (and
perhaps this has changed and I'm unaware of new developments, but,) a majority
of seed banks are located in the developed north, though they may contain quite
a bit of genetic information from the south. It's true that society
needs to move ahead with the best available technologies in regard to genetic
resource preservation, and the developed north is frankly where the
technology, money, and brainpower is (by brainpower I mean trained
specialists). But my question is, when are some resources going
to head south to fund this type of thing? Isn't it about time?
Especially if we are going to throw the word "doomsday" around,
perhaps we should either consider moving to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Norway</st1:place></st1:country-region>, or, begin spreading things
around in a bit more balanced way.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>I imagine if that ancient / newborn
Judean date tree were able to say something about this it might tell us to
forget the doomsday bit... or as Bill McKibben wrote, "I for one
intend to go out kicking..."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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