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| Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture | |
|---|---|
| Name | Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture |
| Formation | 1983 |
| Headquarters | Rome, Italy |
| Parent organization | Food and Agriculture Organization |
| Region served | Global |
| Language | English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Russian |
Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
The Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture is an intergovernmental body established under the Food and Agriculture Organization in 1983 to address conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources for food and agriculture including crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries, and microorganisms. It provides a forum where member states negotiate instruments, assessments, and priorities relevant to the Convention on Biological Diversity, International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, and related international frameworks such as the Nagoya Protocol and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The Commission was created by the FAO Conference as a response to concerns raised at fora including the World Food Conference and the Earth Summit about the loss of genetic diversity in crops highlighted by scholars like Nikolai Vavilov, Norman Borlaug, and institutions such as the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center and the International Rice Research Institute. Its mandate links to treaties negotiated at meetings such as the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted at the Rio Earth Summit and accords with initiatives led by the World Bank, United Nations Environment Programme, World Health Organization, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Membership comprises members of the Food and Agriculture Organization Conference and includes representatives from states, regional economic communities like the European Union, African Union, and groups linked to the Group of 77, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Governance structures reference instruments and practices common to bodies such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, International Union for Conservation of Nature, World Trade Organization, and the International Monetary Fund. Leadership involves a Chair and Bureau drawn from member states, elected in sessions convened at the FAO Headquarters in Rome, with technical support from FAO divisions and secretariats akin to those of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
The Commission conducts global assessments of genetic resources across sectors including crop genera prioritized by programs like the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research and species assessed by organizations such as the International Plant Protection Convention and World Organisation for Animal Health. Activities include negotiating international instruments, developing policy guidance similar to work by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Global Environment Facility, coordinating databases comparable to GenBank, and convening expert meetings like those of the Codex Alimentarius Commission and World Intellectual Property Organization advisory bodies. It synthesizes work on topics championed by research centers such as the CIP (International Potato Center), ICRISAT, CIMMYT, and Bioversity International.
Major outputs include the multilateral policy instruments and technical reports, comparable in stature to documents from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, the IPCC Assessment Reports, and the Global Biodiversity Outlook. Notable FAO publications produced under its aegis mirror handbooks from the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants and include thematic studies on crops, livestock, forests, and aquatic genetic resources alongside tools akin to those from WorldFish and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture secretariat.
The Commission serves as a focal point linking instruments such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, Nagoya Protocol, International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, and policy processes within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It informs negotiations at conferences like the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity and interacts with legal regimes under the World Trade Organization and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. Its guidance influences national strategies aligned with commitments under the Sustainable Development Goals, ministerial decisions from forums such as the Group of Twenty, and programming by multilateral funds including the Global Environment Facility.
The Commission collaborates with a wide array of partners including the Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat, International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, CGIAR System Organization, World Bank, UNDP, UNEP, regional bodies like the European Commission, African Development Bank, and scientific networks including the Global Crop Diversity Trust and the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific. It engages with non-governmental organizations such as Conservation International, WWF, Friends of the Earth, and research universities including University of California, Davis, Wageningen University, and Johns Hopkins University.
Challenges mirror critiques leveled at institutions like the Convention on Biological Diversity and World Trade Organization: issues of access and benefit-sharing debated by parties including Brazil, India, United States, China, and European Union members; capacity constraints in least developed countries represented by the Least Developed Countries Group; and tensions between intellectual property regimes influenced by the World Intellectual Property Organization and rights advocated by indigenous organizations such as the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity. Stakeholders from networks including Via Campesina, Bioversity International, and academic critics at institutions like Harvard University and University of Oxford have called for greater transparency, resource mobilization from donors like Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation, and stronger implementation mechanisms comparable to those in the Montreal Protocol.