Report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1467/94 of 20 June 1994
COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES Brussels, 30. 06. 1997 COM(97) 327 final REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT on the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) Nol467/94 of 20 June 1994 CONTENTS Contents 1 Introduction 1. 1 Historical background 1. 2 This Report 2 Current Position 2. 1 The Inventory 2. 1. 1 Version 1 2. 1. 2 Version 2 2. 2 Actions 2. 2. 1 First Call 2. 2. 2 Second Call 2. 3 Accompanying measures 2. 3. 1 Specialized groups 2. 3. 2 Seminars, 2. 3. 3 Training & Mobility 2. 3. 4 Results 2. 4 Community Coordination. 2. 4. 1 International Negotiations 2. 4. 2 Community Programme of RTD ' 2. 4. 3 Other Community Instruments. '. 2. 5 The financial situation 3 Conclusions and recommendations 3. 1 Managerial 3. 2 Technical and scientific A Appendix - Work Programme A. l The Inventory A. 1. 1 Legal basis A. 1. 2 The first version of the Inventory A. 1. 3 The second version of the Inventory A. 2 Shared cost & concerted actions A. 2. 1 Legal basis A. 2. 2 Consultation of the Committee A. 2. 3 First Call A. 2. 4 Second Call A. 2. 5 Summary A. 2. 6 First Call projects A. 2. 7 Second Call projects Regulation 1467/94 1 CONTENTS 3 3 3 5 5 5 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 10 10 10 11 11 12 12 15 15 16 iii iii iii iii iv iv iv v v vi vi vi viii. CONTENTS CONTENTS B Appendix - The Study B. l Conclusions B. l. l Community level B. l. 2 National level B. l. 3 Project level B. 2 Full text B. 2. 1 The Regulation 1467/94 B. 2. 2 Plants; International context B. 2. 3 Plants; International partnerships B. 2. 4 Plants; National partnerships B. 2. 5 Plants; In situ conservation B. 2. 6 Plants; Ex situ conservation B. 2. 7 Plants; Characterisation B. 2. 8 Plants; Utilisation B. 2. 9 Animais B. 2. 10 Animais B. 2. 11 Animais B. 2. 12 Animais B. 2. 13 Animais B. 2. 14 Animais B. 2. 15 Animais B. 2. 16 Animais B. 2. 17 Animais B. 2. 18 Animais Background International context International developments International partnerships National partnerships In vivo conservation In vitro Conservation Characterisation Utilisation Special characteristics -3£ C Appendix - Publications Cl Regulation 1467/94 C. 2 Work Programme; details C. 3 First Call; details C. 4 Second Call; details D Appendix - Declarations by E. U. *~ D. l Declaration by the EU at Nitra D. 2 At Rome D. 3 At Leipzig D. 4 EU Legislation x x x xi xii xv xv xv xvii xviii XLX xix xxi xxi xxii xxii xxiv xxvi xxvi xxvii xxvii xxviii xxix xxix xxxi xxxi xxxi xxxi xxxi xxxii xxxii xxxii xxxii xxxii ^ Copies of these documents (only available in English) are available from The secretariat of the Division for the Coordination of Agricultural Research, Commission of the European Communities (DG VI F II 3), 200 rue de la Loi (Loi 130 6-233), B-1049 Bruxelles, Belgium. fax: (+32) 2 296 30 29, attention "Genetic Resources", e-mail: Richard. Hardvvick@dg6. ccc. be. Regulation 1467/94 1 INTRODUCTION 1 Introduction 1. 1 Historical background Council Regulation (EC) No 1467/94 "On the conservation, characterization, collection and utilization of genetic resources in agriculture", was adopted on June 20th, 1994. The objective of the Regulation is to "coordinate and to promote at Com munity level work on the conservation, the characterisation, the collection and the utilization of genetic resources in agriculture undertaken in the Member States, with a view to the achievement of the aims of the Common Agricultural Policy, and, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, to support and supplement the efforts made in the Member States where current work appeared inadequate". The Regulation establishes responsibilities for the Commission and for the Member States in order to achieve the above objectives. It provides for a first Community programme for the conservation, characterization, collection and utilization of genetic resources in agriculture. This first pro gramme was adopted on November 21th of 1994, for a period of five years and an estimated budget of 20 mecu. 1. 2 This Report Regulation (EC) 1467/94 stipulates (Article 11. 1) that during its third year of implementation (the third year is the period June 1996 - June 1997) the Commission shall carry out a review of the Programme and an analysis of the situation, in particular, the financial position, and that the Commission shall present a report to Parliament and to the Council on the results of the review. This report is made in conformity with Article 11. 1 of the Regula tion. The main substance of the report is presented in section 2 (page 5), and the immediately important, managerial, conclusions and recommendations are presented in section 3 (page 15). Conclusions regarding more minor, operational, aspects of the Regula tion, and conclusions for the attention of Member States and their experts, are presented in section B. l ("Desirable developments", page x). An appendix is also provided (section A, page iii) with supporting in formation on administrative details, and on scientific and technical details, plus various reference documents. Section A also provides the material called for by Article 16 of Regulation (EC) 1467/94. Article 16 lays down that the Commission shall present a regular report to the Parliament and to the Council on the measures for the conservation, characterization, collection and utilization of genetic resources in agricul ture. This report is thus the first of the "regular reports" mentioned in Ar ticle 16 of Regularion (EC) 1467/94 (until now, there has not been sufficient material to warrant a separate report under Article 16). Regulation 1467/94 1 INTRODUCTION 1. 2 This Report Regulation 1467/94 2 CURRENT POSITION 2 The Current Position Regulation 1467/94 lays down that the procedures for implementing the programme are to include 1. a permanent inventory of generic resources in agriculture in the Com munity, 2. concerted measures, and shared-cost projects for the conservation, characterization, collection and utilization of those genetic resources, 3. accompanying measures. This Section describes the current position regarding the above mea sures applied under Regulation 1467/94, the coordination at Community level, and also 4. the financial situation. 2. 1 The Permanent Inventory The permanent inventory is to consist principally in the establishment, reg ular updating and publication of the state and nature of genetic resources in agriculture collected in the Community and the listing of current work on the conservation, characterization and utilization of those genetic re sources. Expenditure on the establishment of the inventory and its regular publication is to be covered from the total appropriations granted for the implementation of the programme. The Commission Services have produced a first version of a permanent inventory (section 2. 1. 1) which has recently been updated as a draft second version (section 2. 1. 2). Further administrative details of the Inventory are to be found in the Appendix (section A. 1, page iii). 2. 1. 1 Permanent Inventory Version 1 In November 1994 the Commission completed a first version of its Inventory of Plant Genetic Resources for Agriculture in Europe. The printed version of the Inventory comprises 441 pages. For each collection, the inventory provides the following information: the name and the complete address of the collection, the name of the curator or person responsible, the type of the Collection, plus information on work in progress, and references to published results. • The inventory comprises information on plant genetic resources. It was assembled from a questionnaire which was distributed throughout the Mem ber States, to which was added information provided by the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (Rome, Italy), and information from a search of on-line databases of scientific publications. This first version of the inventory was distributed to Member States (in both printed and electronic (database) formats) at the first meeting of the Programme Committee (21 November 199-1). Each Member State was re quested to check and revise the data as relevant. ItegulaUon 1467/94 ' 5 lÊmmÊÊÊmmmmmM***** 2 CURRENT POSITION 2. 1 The Inventory 2. 1. 2 Permanent Inventory Version 2 Since the first version of the Inventory was produced and circulated to the Member State representatives, large volumes of "technical, economic and financial information on specific measures for the conservation, character isation, collection and utilization, of generic resources in agriculture" have begun to appear on the "World Wide Web" (W. W. W. ). These developments make possible a second version of the inventory which would be more dy namic and potentially more useful than the first version. Accordingly, the Commission services have made a preliminary inven tory of sources of information which are available on the W. W. W. To this has been added complementary information on Regulation 1467/94. Thus the second version of the inventory comprises the following chapters. 1. An "inventory of sources" of information available over the internet. Each paragraph of the inventory provides the reader with a brief. de- scription of the source in question (either plant or animal genetic re sources for agriculture), plus a link over the internet to that source. Thus the interested reader who seeks further information can "move" directly to the source itself. So far, a total of some 200 such "links" have been identified. For example, the inventory section on "sugar- beet" provides immediate access to the "home pages" of: • a computer in the Netherlands which contains information on a shared-cost project on the generic resources of sugar-beet; " • the FAO database "World Information and Early Warning System on Plant Genetic Resources" (WIEWS) which contains some infor mation on International institutes, their holdings and their activ ities. • and so on. 2. 1467/94 contact points in the Member States, 3. 1467/94 texts (all languages) of the Regulation and of the Work Pro gramme, 4. information on each of the projects funded by the Programme, 5. a Preliminary List of European Union Legislation in the. Area of Plant Genetic Resources (see page xxxii). It would be possible to add also the first version of the inventory dis tributed to Member States in 1994; but some of the information in the first version of the inventory is already available over the W. W. W. , and thus the first version of the Commission's inventor)' may now be redundant. The "inventory of sources" was distributed to the. Programme Commit tee on 16 October 1996 for comments and additions. It comprises approx imately 565 kbytes on diskette. After the draft has been corrected it is intended that, if the problem of lack at Commission level of staff charged with the implementation of Regulation 1467/94 can be resolved, the inven tory will be made available in printed as well as in electronic form. j^faagHattMUMMBBM ^ Regulation 1467/94 2. 2 Actions 2 CURRENT POSITION 2. 2 Shared cost and concerted actions Shared cost actions comprise new work for the conservation, characteriza tion, collection and utilization of genetic resources in agriculture, carried out by two or more unconnected participants established in different Mem ber States. Concerted measures consist of work undertaken by the Community to coordinate individual measures for the conservation, characterization, col lection and utilization of genetic resources in agriculture, already ongoing in the Member States. Contracts for concerted and shared cost actions must, as a general rule, be concluded following an official selection procedure based on calls for proposals published in the Official Journal of the European Communities. It is expected that each project will produce its first results in the short term to medium term, that is to say within 3 or 5 years. The results are to be diffused widely, so as to maximise the impact of this initiative across the European Union. There have been two calls for proposals, the first published on the 23 December 1994 and the second on the 19 April 1996. Brief information on each project selected is given below. Full administrative and legal details of the concerted action and shared cost project process (Legal basis and modal ities; Consultation of the Committee; Evaluation; Summary of the Calendar) are provided in the Appendix (section A, page iii). 2. 2. 1 Shared Cost and Concerted Actions; The First Call for Proposals In response to the first Call for Proposals, 72 proposals were submitted, and, following an evaluation of their technical and scientific merits by inde pendent experts, 9 projects were selected by the Commission Services, as a function of the Regulation's priorities of technical excellence and poten tial contribution to the needs of the CAP. The selection was submitted to and given a favourable opinion by, the Programme Committee. The selected projects are as follows: "Pig genetic resources" ("European gene banking project for pig genetic resources"; Reference number 012). "Rabbit genetic resources" ("Inventory, characterization, evaluation, con servation and utilization of european rabbit genetic resources"; Refer ence number 060). "Allium crops and wild species" ("Protecting future European Community' crops: a programme to conserve, characterise, evaluate and collect Allium crops and wild species"; Reference number 020). "Minor fruit tree species" ("Conservation, evaluation, exploitation and col lection of minor fruit tree species"; Reference number 029). "Potatoes" ("Genetic Resources of Potato" including 'Conservation, charac terization and utilization of secondary potato varieties for ecological production systems in Europe' "; Reference numbers 034 and 045). Regulation 1467/94 2 CURRENT POSITION 23 Accompanying measures "European rice" ^"Constitution, description et gestion dynamique des res sources génétiques riz (Oryza sativa) a vocation européenne"; Refer ence number 037). "European beets" ("Evaluation and enhancement of Beta collections for ex- tensification of agricultural* production"; Ref 042). "Roses" ("European network for characterisation and evaluation of genus Rosa germplasm"; Reference number 052). "Prunus" ("International network on Prunus genetic resources"; Reference number 061). Further information on the objectives of each of the above projects is pro vided in the Appendix (section A. 2. 6, page vi). 2. 2. 2 The Second call for proposals In response to the second call for Proposals, 28 proposals were submit ted, and following an evaluation by independent experts, 5 projects were selected by the Commission Services. These were submitted to and given a favourable opinion by the Programme Committee. The selected projects are as follows: "Elms" ("Coordination for conservation, characterization, collection and utilization of genetic resources of European Elms" ; Reference num ber 078). "Grapevines" ("European network for grapevine genetic resources conser vation and characterization" ; Reference number 081). "Maize" ("Implementation of the European Network for Evaluation, conser vation and utilisation of European maize landraces genetic resources"; Reference number 088). "Olives" ("Conservation, characterization, collection and utilization of Ge netic Resources in Olive (Oka europaea)"; Reference number 097). "Animal Inventory" ("A permanent inventory of European farm animal ge netic resources and of activities on characterization, conservation and utilization of those resources"; Reference number 083). Further information on the objectives of each of the above projects is pro vided in the Appendix (section A. 2. 7, page viii). 2. 3 Accompanying measures The. Regulation 1467/94 (Annex 1; II General Provisions) allows for the granting of Community financial contributions for Accompanying measures. Accompanying measures are defined as "the organisation of seminars, tech nical conferences and workshops, internal coordination measures through specialized technical groups, training and mobility schemes for specialist personnel, the promotion of the utilization of results". ^tttmOBÊBBSBSKBBaUHÊÊmak 8 Regulation 1467/94 23 Accompanying measures 2 CURRENT POSITION 2. 3. 1 Specialized technical groups On 20 April 1994, during the discussion on the Draft Regulation on the con servation, characterisation, collection and utilization of genetic resources in agriculture, the Commission made a Statement to the Parliament that: "At least once a year, the Commission will organize meetings on the conservation, the characterization, the dollection and the utilization of genetic resources in agriculture. Representatives of all appropriate competence will be invited, in view of an exchange of information. This will be done in the context of the programme's accompanying measures. Having in mind the important role which the informal sector plays in the conservation, characterization, collec tion and utilization of genetic resources in agriculture, the Commission will ensure in particular that representatives of persons working in the informal sector are invited to these meetings, according to the subject matter of the meeting". The first meeting in fulfilment of the Commission's Statement to the Par liament was held on 14 April 1996. Member State representatives on the Ge netic Resources Committee were asked to provide a list of non-governmental organizations active in the area of genetic resources in agriculture in their country. On the basis of this information, 44 non-governmental organisa tions were invited and 29 NGO representatives came to the meeting. Rep resentatives of the European Parliament also attended. There was a general exchange of views, covering many aspects of the implementation of 1467/94 and of complementary legislation. The meeting decided to recommend the following : • information on the modalities of implementation of 1467/94 should be diffused as widely as possible, • a call for proposals for training actions should be considered. It was also suggested that the invitation list for the next similar meet ing should be extended to representatives of the formal sector, and that projects which propose work on the same species should be encouraged to work together. It is intended to repeat the meeting before the end of 1997. 2. 3. 2 The organisation of seminars, technical conferences and work shops Apart from the meeting of non-governmental organisations, mentioned above, no other seminars, technical conferences or workshops have been organized up till now. This is due to the lack of staff. Due to administrative constraints it has not been possible to appoint any personnel to the Programme (see section 2. 5 page 12 for a discussion of the problem; the impossibility of us ing "mini-budgets" for financing resources within the Commission). If the staffing situation is resolved quickly, and if credits are available, in 1997, the Commission intends to organize a series of conferences, starting in 1997, probably including the following subjects : Management of animal genetic resources ; a Conference on "Role of ani mal rescue centres in conservation, characterization and utilisation of animal genetic resources", Regulation 1467/94 9 t^màéSÊÊaaÉÈÊÊÊimÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊmKtk 2 CURRENT POSITION 2. 4 Community Coordination Utilisation of plant genetic resources ; a Workshop on "In-situ conserva tion of plant genetic diversity; crop mixtures and control of plant dis ease", Cattle genetic resources ; a Workshop on "Cattle genetic resources - ero sion of rare breeds and uniformisation of common breeds ", Standards for plant genetic resources databases ; a Workshop on good data base practice, for those beginning to construct a database of their gene banks. Putting databases on the internet ; a Workshop for curators who already have a database and who wish to diffuse their database by making it accessible over the Internet. 2. 3. 3 Training and mobility schemes for specialist personnel Due to the lack of staff, no actions have been made up till now to undertake this accompanying measure. If this situation is resolved quickly, and if funds are available in 1997, the Commission envisages to explore in 1997 the possibility of organizing: • a 3 weeks training scheme for specialists in plant genetic resources. The objective would be to give an introduction to the basic science and re cent developments in curating techniques for genetic resources collections: seed conservation, in vitro conservation, , in vivo conservation, molecular methods of characterisation, characterisation of agronomic value, questions of sample size for conservation,. The students would be expected to put their studies directly into practice. 2. 3. 4 The promotion of the utilization of results Article 6. 2 of Regulation (EC) 1467/94 charges the Commission with "pro moting the dissemination and exploitation of any results of work in the field of the conservation, characterization, collection and utilization of genetic resources in agriculture which could contribute to the achievement of those aims". The Inventory (second version) mentioned above (section 2. 1. 2, page 6) will contain a description of each genetic resources project supported in this Programme, and the information will be diffused via the internet. Results of each project will be included as they become available. If the problem of lack of staff can be resolved, this Guide will be made available in printed as well as in electronic form, thereby assisting the dissemination and exploitation of results of the work done. 2. 4 Coordination at Community level Article 1 of 1467/94 stipulates that the Commission is required to "coor dinate and promote at Community level work on the conservation, charac terization, collection and utilization of genetic resources undertaken in the Member States". « • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •A 10 Regulation 1467/94 2. 4 Community Coordination 2 CURRENT POSITION 2. 4. 1 International Negotiations Coordination of the Community position as concerns plant genetic resources, has been done in the context of the FAO Fourth International Technical Con ference on Plant Genetic Resources (Leipzig Germany 14-23 June 1996). The Commission produced a List of European Union Legislation in the area of Plant Genetic Resources (section D. 4, page xxxii\ and each Member State prepared an extensive survey of the national situation regarding plant ge netic resources, their conservation and utilisation. For further details see the Appendix section B. 2. 2, page xv below. A draft declaration by the Euro pean Union at the International Conference was discussed with experts from the Programme Committee and from the Seeds Committee on 15. 01. 96, 21. 03. 96 and on 28. 03. 96 and approved by the Council Committee Pro duits de base (PROBA). The draft declaration (see Appendix section D. 3, page xxxii) was then submitted to FAO through the usual channels. 2. 4. 2 Community Programmes of Research and Technological Develop ment Regulation 1467/94 expressly lays down that. the following actions are specifically not eligible for Community financial support in this programme: theoretical studies, studies to test hypotheses, studies to improve tools or tech niques, work involving untested techniques or "model" systems, and all other research activities In fact, Community programmes of research and technological devel opment are organised in the Framework Programme. Some of these pro grammes involve research on Genetic Resources; notably the BioTech, the Environment and Climate, and the FAIR programmes. Commission services keep close contact with these programmes: The Biotechnology programme is developing molecular tools to acceler ate and to deepen the measurement of biological diversity. One of the current projects is investigating molecular tools for ungulates (cattle, sheep and goats); a second focusses on molecular tools for forest trees and a third focusses on particular generic elements ("transposable ele ments") of major crop plants. In each case, the objective is to measure biodiversity in a particular class of organisms and to attempt to under stand its nature. Thus animal breeds may differ from one another at a few points in the chromosome (loci), or in a more generalised fashion across the whole genome, studies are under wray to clarify this; indi vidual forest trees are known to be very diverse, and PCR techniques need to be refined accordingly; transposable elements can be used as markers to identify and measure genetic diversity in crop plants and a systematic effort is being made in this area. The Environment and Climate programme has established an ad hoc work ing group on Research and Biodiversity. The aim is to produce a com mon research agenda, discussed and agreed by several concerned ac tors as researchers, decision makers, international bodies, NGOs, pri vate sectors, etc. A first indicative draft of a document "Research into Biological Diversity", as well as a questionnaire, are available on the World Wide Web at http://w\vw. oden. se. /~ ewgrb. Regulation 1467/94 11 2 CURRENT POSITION 2. 5 The financial situation The "AIR" and "FAIR" Programmes have a number of projects on the eval uation of generic diversity and its utilisation for a sustainable agricul ture; notably the analysis of genetic diversity in cattle, a "European observatory" on strawberry varieties, and the location and exploita tion of genes for pest and disease resistance in Brassicas. 2. 4. 3 Other Community Regulations and Directives There are a number of other Community Regulations and Directives relevant to the conservation and sustainable utilization and exploitation of genetic resources in agriculture. Commission services are in frequent correspon dence and consultation with the services responsible for, notably: Regulation (EC) 2078/92, one of the "flanking measures" of the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, on agricultural production methods compatible with the requirements of the protection of the environ- ment and the maintenance of the countryside. It provides, inter alia, for the payment of an annual premium to farmers who raise animals of endangered breeds, and also for the cultivation and propagation of useful plants adapted to local conditions and threatened by generic erosion. Regulation (EC) 2081/92, on the protection of geographical indicarions and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs; and Regulation (EC) 2082/92, on certificates of spécifie character for agricul tural products and foodstuffs. These two Regulations assist the mar keting of high quality products and foodstuffs having an identifiable character and geographical origin; as for example, those foodstuffs based on a local race or variety. Criteria and modalities for studbooks and herdbooks as laid down by Coun cil Directive 77/504/EEC and Commission Decision 84/247/EEC (bovines); Council Directive 89/361 and Commission Decision 90/254(EEC) (sheep and goats); Council Directive 90/42 7/EEC and Commission Decision 92/353/EEC (equidae). 2. 5 The Financial Situation The Regulation specifies a first programme of 5 years, with an estimated budget of 20 Mecu, including the cost of personnel and administration. An indicative breakdown of the budget is given in annexe II of Regulation 1467/94 and reproduced below. Note in particular that the ratio of expen ditures (plants:animals) is indicated to be 3:1. Permanent Inventory Conservation, characterisation, collection and Utilization of Genetic Resources: Program Evaluation Total Plants. Animals 10% 66% 22% 2% 100% *&ÊËIÊËËÊÊÊÊÊÊÊKIÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊk !- Regulation 1467/94 2. 5 The financial situation 2 CURRENT POSITION Note that the definitive yearly amounts are determined by the budgetary authority. The indicative multiannual schedule for the Programme is given below: 1994 Engagements, mecu 0. 017 Payments 1995 3. 5 0 0. 051 1997 1998 1996 2. 5 0 1. 1 1. 915 1999" In 1994, because the work programme was not adopted until November 1994, it was not possible to launch a Call for Proposals that year. In 1995, the first Call for Proposals was launched and 3,500,000 ecu were committed to fund the projects selected. In 1996, 5 projects have been selected under the second Call for propos als and 2,500,000 ecu were committed before the end of 1996. In the 1997 Avant projet of the General Budget, the Commission put "Pour mémoire" against line B2-5170 in order to attract the attention of the Parliament to the fact that the Commission services have been obliged to manage 1467/94 without any additional staff, and that there was an urgent need to find a solution to this problem. This situation is due to the fact that Regulation 1467/94 was conceived at a time when costs of manpower could be defrayed from part B2 of the budget, as in, for example, the research line B6. While Regulation 1467/94 was being agreed by the Council and by the Parliament, the above procedure was suspended. So, in spite of the formal text, by the time that the Regu lation was ready to be implemented, there was no possibility of engaging funds for expenditure or manpower costs. As to the future, there is an important need to balance the expenditure in favour of animal genetic resources. While the Regulation establishes an indicative ratio of expenditures (plants:animals) of 3:1, for the 14 proposals selected in the first and second calls for proposals the actual figure is 4. 3:1. In order to be able to redress the balance (plants:animals) towards the indicative figure of 3:1, the funding available for each Call for Proposals needs to be increased. This is because projects on animal genetic resources tend to be, by their very nature, substantially more expensive than projects on plant genetic resources. It is concluded that, subject to the availability of funds and the agree ment of the Budgetary Authority, the sum available per Call for the two remaining years (1998 and 1999) should be increased to ±5 mecu so as to make best use of the remaining funds, and in order to be able to approach the indicative figure of 3:1 balance of funds between plants and animal projects. Regulation 1467/94 13 2 CURRENT POSITION 2. 5 The financial situation HmiWHUiil 14 Regulation 1-167/94 3 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 3 Conclusions and recommendations The following conclusions and recommendations regarding managerial as pects of the programme derive from the analysis presented in secrion 2 of this Report. A number of conclusions and recommendations regarding scientific and technical aspects, and which merit managerial attention, are also presented. These derive from the Survey and study of developments of actions in the Member States presented in the Appendix (section B. 2, page xv). Further conclusions deriving from the Study are presented in section B. l, (page x). 3. 1 Managerial aspects • The Programme Committee has emphasised the importance of increas ing expenditure on animal genetic resources, in conformity with the Regulation, which establishes an indicative ratio of expenditures be tween plants and animals as 3:1. In order to achieve this ratio, the relative expenditure on projects on animal generic resources must be increased. Because projects on animal genetic resources are generally more costly than projects on plant generic resources, this will require larger tranches of funding for each of the remaining Calls for Offers. • In view of the ever-increasing power and utility of the internet and of the associated World Wide Web, for storing and diffusing informa tion, a special effort should be made to complete the Commission's "Inventory of Sources" so that it can be published on the World Wide Web. • Particular efforts should be made in the context of accompanying mea- • sures, which up till now have not been activated. There is a special need for: - Seminars, workshops and technical conferences, in particular on aspects of the sustainable use of genetic resources, and to com plement the subjects covered by existing shared-cost and con certed actions; - Training, specifically targetted at helping NGOs who are manag ing genetic resources in their day to day work. Also seminars, workshops, technical conferences to help NGOs coordinate and prepare submissions to a Call for Proposals. Regulation 1467/94 15 ^ • ^ • W f f | ? ! W i ( W P ( P P ! W P R ?f 3 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 3. 2 Technical and scientific 3. 2 Technical and scientific aspects A survey of the developments of actions in the Member States and an ex ploratory study of desirable developments in the conservation, characterisa tion, collection and utilization of genetic resources in agriculture in the Mem ber States is provided in secrion. B. 2 of the Appendix, page xv. Relevant conclusions of section B. 2 are provided below. • The Regulation: Secrion B. 2. 1, page xv: Should the Council decide to renew the five year programme (for the period 1999-2004), it may be appropriate to revise the warding of the Action Plan, to make it quite clear that the Regulation covers not only "European" genetic resources but also their wild relatives. • Plants Secrion B. 2. 2, page xv to xvii: Member States are agreed that internationally agreed and universally implemented access agreements are crucial to the effective conservation and durable utilisation of plant genetic resources for agriculture. If a strong European presence is not. maintained in all forums where international access agreements are negotiated, there is a real risk that the genetic resources held in Europe will lose their utility not only to Europe but also to the world. • Plants Secrion B. 2. 2, page xv: in order to ensure that the new situa tion established by the Convention on Biological Diversity is fully co ordinated in the Member States, it would seem useful that curators of collections in the Member States should meet to consider together how these new internationally-determined priorities can best be met. • Plants Section B. 2. 2, page xv: In view of the importance of the Global Plan of Action, and the engagements undertaken at Leipzig by the Mem ber States, it is appropriate that the implementation of the Plan in the Member States should be placed as a permanent item on the agenda of the Committee for Genetic Resources in Agriculture, for consideration and discussion. • Plants Secrion B. 2. 3, page xvii: In view of the activities of European ge netic resources experts in ESCORENA, EUFORGEN, 1etc, it would seem advisable that the management of 1467/94 should maintain regular contacts with its homologues in other international programmes, in or der to achieve the maximum synergy and added value. A special effort should be made to launch activities under 1467/94 to cover promis ing areas that are currently neglected in other international fora, such as minor crops, and industrial crops. Coverage is also needed for ne glected sectorial subjects, such as facilitating dialogues between cura tors of plant collections and users. • Plants Section B. 2. 4, page xviii: European coordination and linking is required, in order to enable Member States ensure that National Pro grammes make best use of the available financial and bureaucratic resources. • "Plants Secrion B. 2. 8, page xxi: In order to encourage the sustainable utilisation of genetic resources, and to define market opportunities, costs 1 ESCORENA - European System of Cooperative Research Networks in Agriculture; EUFOR GEN ° The European Forest Genetic Resources Programme 16 Regulation 1467/94 3. 2 Technical and scientific 3 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS and benefits, the economic and business aspects of genetic resources need to be studied. Animals Secrion B. 2. 14, page xxvii: In other respects than 2078/92, in vivo conservation of individual local breeds in individual Member States is considered to be an action for Member States alone. Animals Secrion B. 2. 1 S, page xxvii It may be appropriate to keep un der review the activities of FAO and other international bodies in the field of animal genetic resources. In any event, as the work of the FAO Commission progresses, full Community coordination will be needed. Animals Secrion B. 2. 15, page xxvii In view of the current difficult in ternational discussions on access to and ownership of plant genetic re sources, it would be wise for the Union to establish a unified position on animal genetic resources, pre-emptively. Animals Section B. 2. 18, page xxix: It may be appropriate to make par ticular use of the accompanying measures of 1467/94 to help NGOs to coordinate in the preparation of proposals to 1467/94. Animals Secrion B. 2. 18, page xxix: The "steps" laid down in the Work Programme of 1467/94 should not be changed in any future revision, if this would be to the detriment of good project management. Regulation 1467/94 17 JW 3. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 3. 2 Technical and scientific 18 Rc-gulation 1467/94 APPENDIX A APPENDIX - WORK PROGRAMME A The Work Programme These appendices provide supporting information for secrion 2, copies of relevant documents that are already published by the Commission, and a Survey and study of developments of actions in the Member States (secrion B. 2, page xv). A summary of the conclusions of the Survey is presented in secrion B. l, page x, for reference. A. l The Inventory '. » This appendix provides supporting aclministration information regarding the Inventory A. 1. 1 Legal basis As laid down in Article 3. 2 of Regulation 1467/94, the Commission is re quired to keep "a permanent inventory of the measures and, by means of appropriate measures, encourage exchanges of information between com petent organizations in the Member States,. ". The permanent inventory is to consist principally in the establishment, regular updating and regular publication of the state and nature of re sources in agriculture collected in the Community and the listing of cur rent work on the conservation, characterization, collection and utilization of those generic resources. As laid down by Article 3. 1, Member States are required to "provide the Commission on a regular basis and at least once a year, with technical, economic and financial information on specific mea sures for the conservation, characterization, collection and utilization of genetic resources in agriculture carried out or planned under their author ity"/ The aims of the inventory are to support the programme activities and encourage the widest possible knowledge and use of preserved material. The inventory should provide a guide to collections of conserved germplasm and associated activities in the European Community. Two versions have been produced, as follows: A. l. 2 The first version of the Inventory The first version of the Inventory was constructed from three sources: - Commission questionnaire In 1992, the Commission services sent a ques tionnaire on genetic conservation to the Member States. IBPGR Inventories The database has been cross-checked and augmented with information taken from the Directory of Germplasm Collections (International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, Rome). On-line databases Complementary information particularly regarding work- in-progress were obtained by searching on-line databases of scientific authors and publications. Regulation 1467/94 iii ***"**ifili«rti A APPENDIX - WORK PROGRAMME A. 2 Shared cost & concerted actions The first version of the inventory was distributed to Member States (in both printed and electronic (database) formats) at the first meeting of the Programme Committee (21 November 1994). Each Member State was re quested to check and revise the data as relevant. A. 1. 3 The second version of the Inventory The preparation of the second version of the Inventory is discussed on page 6 (section 2. 1. 2). A. 2 Shared cost and concerted actions This appendix provides supporting administration information regarding the shared cost and concerted actions. A-2. 1 Legal basis Regulation 1467/94 provides for a first programme with a budget of 20 mecu for a duration of five years. The biggest portion of the budget is foreseen for concerted actions and shared cost projects. Concerted Actions provide for the coordination of individual actions that are already under way in the Member States. Shared Cost projects provide for the support of new actions. • The programme of work defines the detailed objectives, the type of ac tions to be applied and the relevant financial provisions to be adopted. Pub lic calls for proposals are published on the basis of the programme of work (art. 10 of 1467/94). The work programme lays down that each Concerted Action and each Shared Cost project should target its work, notably by concentrating on a specific plant or animal group (for example, genus, species or subspecies, as appropriate). Each project should aim at a coverage of its particular subject area that is significant on the Community scale. As to modalities, the Regulation stipulates that each project will proceed by a series of six logical steps as follows: Step 1 Establish the workplan Step 2 Characterize the collections Step 3 Evaluation v'Secondary Characterization) Step 4 Sort the collections Step 5 Rationalize the collections Step 6 Acquire (collect) genetic resources Work concerning a later step is not eligible for funding unless there is proof that the preceding steps have been concluded whether in this pro gramme or previously. In particular steps 1-5 must be performed before step 6 (collecting) may begin. n iv Regulation 1467/94 A. 2 Shared cost & concerted actions A APPENDIX - WORK PROGRAMME Regulation 1467/94 annexe I chapter III stipulates that priority is given, to concerted action and shared cost projects which involve: • contributions from two or more unconnected participants established in different Member States. Any natural or legal person who is a na tional of a Member State and established in the Community may par ticipate in the programme. Priority is given to projects assuring as broad as possible a coverage of the Union. The participation of na tionals of third countries and the Community financial contribution relating to such participation, is examined on a case by case basis. • the participation of ail relevant disciplines (e. g. phvsiology, taxonomy, pathology, quantitative genetics and molecular biology). Disciplines that offer to improve the utilization of conserved generic resources are especially encouraged to participate; • particular preference to the use of genetic resources for diversifica tion of production, improved product quality and better care for the environment. A. 2. 2 Consultation of the Committee The Regulation establishes a Committee "on the conservation, characteriza tion, collection and utilization of genetic resources in agriculture, composed of representatives of the Member States and chaired by a representative of the Commission" (. Article 13 of 1467/94). On 29. 11. 95 and as stipulated in Article 9 of Regulation 1467/94, the Commission duly consulted the Programme Committee on "the draft work programme and on the content of the public calls for proposals for action". A. 2. 3 First Call The First Call for Proposals of the Programme Genetic Resources was pub lished on 23 December 1994, and closed on 31 May 1995 (OJ C368 p24). 72 proposals were received. 28 proposals concerned genetic resources of farm animals, and 44 proposals concerned plant genetic resources (agri cultural, horticultural plants and forest trees). Some 400 organizations from across the EU participated in the first Call for Proposals, including genebanks and orchard collections, scientific laboratories and associations of animal breeders, universities and seed companies from the public and the private sectors (including non-governmental organisations). The members of the Programme Committee furnished names of 261 ex perts. As a function of expertise, availability, and the proposals received, 25 independent experts were convoked to evaluate the proposals (10 ex perts on farm anirnal generic resources and 15 experts on plant generic resources). They worked in Brussels during the period 3-14 July 1995. 23 projects were evaluated as technically "B" (good) or "A" (very good): 4 pro posals on animal genetic resources and 19 on plant generic resources. After consultation of the Commission services, a shortlist of 10 proposals was se lected for Community support. A APPENDIX - WORK PROGRAMME A. 2 Shared cost & concerted actions A2. 4 Second Call The Second Call for Proposals of the Programme Generic Resources was published on 19 April 1996, and closed on 28 June 1996 (OJ CI 14 p21). 28 proposals were received. 14 proposals concerned gene tic resources of farm animals and 14 proposals concerned plant generic resources (agricul tural, horticultural plants and forest trees). Some 200 organizations from across the EU participated in the first call for proposals. As a function of expertise, availability, and the proposals received, 12 independent experts were convoked to evaluate the proposals (6 experts on farm animal genetic resources and 6 experts on plant generic resources). They worked in Brussels during the period 15-19 July 1996. 11 projects were evaluated as technically "B" (good) or "A" (very good ) comprising 4 proposals on animal generic resources and 7 on plant generic resources. After consultation of the Commission services, a shortlist of 5 proposals have been selected for Community support (3 on the main list, 2 on the reserve list). This shortlist was approved by the Programme Committee on 16. 10. 96. A. 2. 5 Summary Approved by the Committee Published in OJ Closing date Postponement published Postponed date Proposals received Proposals selected Proposals selected approved by Comrnittee ecu engaged 1st Call 21/J. 1/94 23/12/94 31/03/95 29/03/95 31/05/95 72 10 29/11/95 3,400,000 2nd Call 06/02/96 19/04/96 28/06/96 28 5 16/10/96 2,411,000 A. 2. 6 Detailed information on the nine projects selected in the First Call "Pig genetic resources" ("European gene banking project for pig genetic resources"; Reference Number 012). There are already some 'produits du terroir' that are based on autochthonous pig breeds. This project should help that trend. It will also help to diversify methods of pig production, via the support of robust outdoor-adapted races. The ro bust type of pig will need less drugs. The project also aims to survey intramuscular fat, an important contributory factor to meat quality (e. g. the Gascon x Meishan cross gives better results than Landrace in the final hybrid pig). Outdoor pig production using robust pigs should be less polluting than indoor intensive production "Rabbit genetic resources" ("Inventory, characterization, evaluation, con servation and utilization of european rabbit genetic resources"; Refer ence Number 060). The project will help more farmers to raise rabbits, and will help the diversity of rabbit breeds available. The project will also contribute to production of angora wool, and fur (and felt). It will offer possibility of a bigger choice of rabbit meat products. « m VI Regulation 1467/94 A. 2 Shared cost & concerted actions A APPENDIX - WORK PROGRAMME The project aims to help protect the most diverse representative breeds among the 100 breeds thought to exist in the Community (and for which the Community is responsible, under the BioDiversity conven tion). "Allium crops and wild species" ("Protecting future European Community crops: a programme to conserve, characterise, evaluate and collect Al lium crops and wild species"; Reference Number 020). The project will offer forgotten varieties of chives (ciboulette), leeks (poireaux), shal lots (echalottes) to growers, and in the long term, it would also help breeders to increase quality characteristics such as high dry matter, which is important for the industry. It will offer material to breeders developing varieties that are naturally resistant to pests and diseases, and hence not needing chemical pesticides (i. e. less inputs, less inten sive production). The project will also provide short term results such as the diffusion of virus-free, and hence higher-yielding, garlic. "Minor fruit tree species" ("Conservation, evaluation, exploitation and col lection of minor fruit tree species"; Reference Number 029). -The mi nor fruit tree in question are the following species of the Mediter ranean basin; Fig, Pomegranate, Japanese Persimmon, Loquat, Prickly- • pear, Quince for fruit production, sweet Chestnut, Pistachio, Mulberry, Carob, Azerole, Medlar, Madrona, Cornelian sherry, Jujube and Sorb. The project aims to help promote these underutilised fruit. It will evaluate commercial traits such as post harvest characteristics, pro duction of juices and extracts. The information will be passed on to extension services and growers organisations. A further objective is to identify and eliminate 'doubles' from the collections. This will greatly improve the quality and liability of material offered for sale. Some of these fruit are particularly suited to marginal areas, and hence to environmental protection. "Potatoes" ("Generic Resources of Potato" including 'Conservation, charac terization and utilization of secondary potato varieties for ecological production systems in Europe' "; Reference Number 034 and 045). This project will provide for the diversification of the range of potato va rieties available to the consumer. Some shops and supermarkets are now actively seeking a wider range of material; this project will help expand knowledge and use of minor varieties of potato. There is a special-emphasis on eliminating virus from the stocks, thus increas ing their quality as seed. Old varieties will also be characterised for taste, cooking qualities, storage performance. The resistance to virus, scab, blight (Phytopthera) and weevil will be assessed. Efficiency of use of fertiliser will also be assessed. This is a particularly important step forward towards an eventual extenslfication of potato production. "European rice" ("Constitution, description et gestion dynamique des res sources génétiques riz (Oryza satrva) a vocation européenne"; Refer ence Number 037). The Community has some 350,000 ha of rice fields, producing 1. 2 million tonnes of soft rice Qaponica). This project will eventually benefit breeders who seek to improve resistance to pests and diseases and environmental stress (in particular 'pyralc', 'pyricu- lariose', 'helminthosporiose', salinity, low temperature), and, help to spare the environment of chemical sprays. Regulation 1467/94 vii A APPENDIX - WORK PROGRAMME A. 2 Shared cost & concerted actions "European beets" ("Evaluation and enhancement of Beta collections for ex- tensificarion of agricultural production"; Ref 042). Though vegetable beets were known to the Assyrians, sugar beet has a narrow genetic base (Silesian beet); the modern sugarbeet is relatively homogenous, and vulnerable to disease. Resistance to diseases will eventually en able reduction in pesticides. Drought resistance will also be sought, and the project will also eventually have some positive effects on beet quality. "Roses" ("European network for characterisation and evaluation of genus Rosa germplasm"; Reference Number 052). This concerted action puts together a partnership who are working to help diversification into this most important flower crop, to improve quality, and to find and use sources of resistance to diseases and pests. "Prunus" ("International network on Prunus genetic resources"; Reference Number 061). This project aims to characterise resistance of almonds, cherries, plums, peaches, nectarines to important diseases (Pseudomonas, Monilinia), and viruses, and pests (aphids). The information will be made available to breeders in order to reduce need for chemical pes ticides. The aim is to provide material future breeding programmes, for varietal improvement; disease resistance and also, e. g. , longer crop ping season. Some attention is also paid to Prunus as a noble hard wood and landscape tree. A. 2. 7 Detailed information on the five projects selected in the Second Call "Elms" ("Coordination for conservation, characterization, collection and • utilization of genetic resources of European Elms" ; Reference Num ber 078). The Elm is an important hedgerow and landscape tree, giv ing a useful timber, but now severely threatened by the "Dutch Elm Disease". This project aims to coordinate the existing European col lections of Elms, to characterise the holdings in a coordinated fashion, and to organise the evaluation of natural resistances to diseases, no: tably to the "Dutch Elm Disease". "Grapevines" ("European network for grapevine generic resources conser vation and characterization" ; Reference Number 081). This project will coordinate all the major collections of grapevines in the Union, and by a series of steps, will achieve a better coordination and utilisa tion, notably by identifying both double entries, and material which is under-represented. "Maize" ("Implementation of the European Network for Evaluation, conser vation and utilisation of European maize landraces genetic resources"; Reference Number 0S8). The maize plant was brought from Amer ica to Europe by the first explorers. Since then it has diversified into a number of landraces, some of which prove to have valuable agro nomic characters (such as resistance to cold). Many other landraces have been collected, but not yet evaluated. The project will charac terise and evaluate the European patrimony of this important crop, and make the material and the information widely available. vui Regulation 1467/94 A. 2 Shared cost & concerted actions A APPENDIX - WORK PROGRAMME "Olives" ("Conservation, characterization, collection and utilization of Ge netic Resources in Olive (Olea europaea)"; Reference Number 097). The cultivated Olive is native to the area of the Mediterranean basin. Curators of the European collections of Olive already meet together on an occasional and Informal basis. By this project, the collections will work together in a coordinated and consolidated fashion, putting the emphasis on the coordinated characterisation of Olive plants for qual ity characteristics, and for natural resistance to pests and diseases. "Ajoimal Inventory" ("A permanent inventory of European farm animal ge netic resources and of activities on characterization, conservation and utilization of those resources"; Reference Number 0S3). Animal ge neric resources have been well documented on a local basis, notably by herdbook societies, but until recently there has been remarkably little work on a European scale. This project aims to provide the first steps towards an enriched database of European farm animal genetic resources. The database will help, notably, workers wishing to survey for endangered breeds; quantify the cultural and genetic importance of a breed; identify the appropriate management techniques for long. term preservation of a particular breeds; find information on the spe cific utilisation characteristics of a given breed. Regulation 1467/04 i* IX B APPENDIX - THE STUD Y B Study of Desirable Developments B. l Conclusions of the Study This Section presents, for reference, the conclusions of the exploratory Study on desirable developments in the conservation, characterization, collec tion and utilization of genetic resources in agriculmre in the Member States. The full text of the survey is to be found below (secrion B. 2, page xv). Conclusions on "desirable developments" which are relevant mostly at the level of individual genebanks are presented in secrion 6. 1. 3, page xii. Conclusions which are more relevant at the national level are presented in secrion B. 1. 2, page xi, and conclusions regarding the operation of Regulation 1467/94 at Community level are presented in section B. l. I. Those conclu sions which concern the management of Regulation 1467/94 are presented above in secrion 3. 2 of the Report (page 16). B. l. l Community level • Plants Section B. 2. 2, page xv: In the context of defining, rationalizing and consolidating national collections in the Member States, it is time to consider whether the information technology developed for the World Wide Web, could be used to achieve a comprehensive system of dis tributed, public-domain databases of plant genetic resources in Europe. The chief issues in realising this potential are the development of data standards, and the establishment of quality control procedures « Plants Section B. 2. 5, page XLX: More help is required to ensure that expertise of agricultural museums and other in situ conservationists is incorporated in 1467/94 projects. • Plants Section B. 2. 7, page xxi: Because all databases used in 1467/94 projects need to be able to exchange data, in the interests of European solidarity, work may be needed on data standards for plant and animal databases, in line with established international guidelines. • Plants Section B. 2. 7, page xxi: There is a need to increase the use of rapid and cheap evaluation tools, using biochemical and molecular techniques for germplasn) characterization. Training in these modern techniques may need to be developed and offered. • Plants Section B. 2. 8, page xxi: In order to encourage the sustainable utilisation of genetic resources, and to define market opportunities, costs and benefits, the economic and business aspects of genetic resources need to be studied. • Animals Section B. 2. 11, page xxiv: It would seem useful to encourage the persons responsible for the maintenance of "animal" databases in the Member States to meet together from time to time. • Animals Section B. 2. 11, page xxiv: It would be useful for experts who have some experience with the FAO and EAAP databanks to meet to gether as a community of database-users from all Member States, to consider experience and recommendations for enhancing the. value of tlie database to end-users. N Regulation 1467/94 B. l Conclusions. B APPENDIX - THE STUDY Animals Section B. 2. 11, page xxiv It may be appropriate and timely to launch a European Expert Consultation on the Management of Ani mal Genetic Resources, based on the needs of the Common Agricultural Policy, and considering also the recommendations of the FÀO experts. The results of the consultation should be forwarded to the Programme Committee for Genetic Resources in Agriculture. Animals Section B. 2. 12, page xxvi: In the general context of Animal team of 1467/94 should maintain genetic resources, the management regular contacts with the other international fora, both formal and in formal. Animals Section B. 2. 12, page xxvi: It might be appropriate to considéra special action under 1467/94 "accompanying measures" for exchanges between breeders of the same or closely similar breeds in differentcoun- tries, with the objective of developing joint programmes of conserva tion. Animals Section B. 2. 13, page xxvi: We have already noted that the Genetic Resources committee may need to keep under review the activr ities of international bodies in the field of animal genetic resources; the committee should also receive reports from time to time of activities at national level on animal genetic resources. Animals Section B. 2. 13, page xxvi: The Committee should consider international exchanges whether there would be value in encouraging between national breed societies. Animals Section B. 2. 16, page xxviii: It may be appropriate to consider supporting under the Framework Programme, research to test anecdo tal reports of adaptability (etc) of particular rare breeds. Animals Section B. 2. 16, page xxviii: Community inventories supported under 1467/94 do not need to incorporate the data that are available on genetic values, but they do need to provide pointers to where such results can be found. Animals Section B. 2. 16, page xxviii: There is no need to incorporate the results of work on genome mapping into Community inventories sup ported under 1467/94, but it is important that these databases provide pointers to where such results can be found. Animals Secrion B. 2. 18, page xxix: it may next be appropriate to con vene a discussion meeting on trans-border aspects of the management of animal genetic resources for agriculm re (obserwtions requested from Member States at the last meeting, 16 October 1996). B. 1. 2 National level • Plants Section B. 2. 2, page xv; in order to ensure that the new situa tion established by the Convention on Biological Diversity is fully co ordinated in tlie Member States, it would seem useful that curators of collections in (he Member States should meet to consider together how these new internationally-determined priorities can best be met. Reaulatinn I Afi7/QA TO ^ , ; l' 7 l W ,' - °" B APPENDIX - THE STUDY B. l Conclusions Plants Section B. 2. 4, page xviii: European coordination and linking is required, in order to enable Member States ensure that National Pro grammes make best use of the available financial and bureaucratic resources. Animals Section B. 2. 14, page xxvii: In other respects than 2078/92, in vivo conservation of individual local breeds in individual Member States is considered to be an action for Member States alone. Animals Section B. 2. 14, page xxvii: It may be appropriate to consider whether activities such as forming a gene pool for the most endangered breeds should, and can, be organized at European level. Animals Section B. 2. 15, page xxvii: In other respects, in vitro conser vation of local breeds is considered to be an action for Member States themselves to undertake in the first place. B. l. 3 Project level • Plants Section B. 2. 4, page xviii: Collaboration between the genebanks and their potential users should be further improved, so as to profit from the diverse contributions available from scientists, farmer and consumers. • -Plants Section B. 2. 5, page xLx: In order to respond effectively to public, and market, interest, old, and new, cultivars, need to be evaluated in or der to test the claimed adaptedness of old varieties. Activities may then be required to exploit and thereby conserve landraces and old cultivars in situ on-farm. • Plants Section B. 2. 6, page xix: Rationalisation and safety duplication is a matter of priority. (It is, moreover, a key requirement which is placed on all relevant projects under 1467/94). • Plants Section B. 2. 6, page xix:y4 more coordinated approach is needed in the conservation of breeders material (it is part of the requirements in every project under 1467/94). • Plants Section B. 2. 6, page xix:/n order to confirm that the apparent "gaps" in collections are real, and important, better tests of provenance and relatedness are required. It is important to note that all collecting must respect the international obligations imposed by the Convention on Biodiversity. This is particularly important where the collected ge netic resources may leave the country of origin. • Plants Section B. 2. 6, page xix:Experience in the Member States suggests that methodologies for regeneration of germplasm respecting the ge netic integrity of the accessions still need to be improved, especially for outcrossing species. • Plants Section B. 2. 8, page xxi: In any collaboration between Member States, quarantine rules for the safe movement of germplasm need to be scrupulously obeyed. • Plants Section B. 2. 8, page xxi: Genebank managers need to be helped to collect data from f/ie users of their collections. XU Regulation 1467/94 B. l Conclusions B APPENDIX - THE STUDY • Plants Section B. 2. 8, page xxi: The characteristics required by con sumers may be found in germplasm collections; the need is to make the search as quick and efficient as possible. • Plants Section B. 2. 8, page xxi: The practical pros and cons of the "core" collection approach need to be evaluated. Training in the approach may need to be developed. • Animals Secrion B. 2. 15, page xxvii: Actions on "European" breeds should take into consideration, as appropriate, the results of genetic distancing work on related work on related breeds in other countries. • Animals Section B. 2. 16, page xxviii: Genetic distance mapping is an important activity, to follow on the primary characterisation of each animal breed. The resulting data need to be made available in the databases. • Animals Section B. 2. 17, page xxix: There may be a need to collect, test and diffuse anecdotal information on agriculturally useful characteris tics of rare breeds, and to encourage formal tests of such claims: Regulation 14'~7/[)'< Xlil B APPENDIX-THE STUDY B. l Conclusions xiv Regulation 1467/94 B. 2 Full text B APPENDIX - THE STUDY B. 2 Survey and study of developments of actions in the Mem ber States This section provides a survey of the developments of actions in the Member States and an exploratory study of desirable developments in the conserva tion, characterisation, collection and utilization of genetic resources in agri culture in the Member States and the coordination of work in that sphere at Community level in the light of the aims of the common agricultural pol icy and of the results already achieved under the present programme. The desirable developments are printed in italics, B. 2. 1 The Regulation 1467/94 Annex 1 of Regulation 1467/94 ("Detailed rules for the implementation of the Action Programme; Scope - Eligible activities") reads. This programme concerns the conservation, characterization, evalu ation and utilisation of generic resources, plant and animal, which occur within the territory of the European Community and which are likely to be lost if special measures are not taken The above sentence could be interpreted as excluding any work on ma terial which is potentially useful to European agriculture but is only found outside Europe (e. g. the ancestors of most crops and farm animals). When the next five year programme (1999-2004) is being prepared It may be appropriate to revise the wording of the Action Plan, to make it quite clear that the Regulation covers not only "European" genetic resources but also' their wild relatives. B. 2. 2 Plant genetic resources; The international context The development of actions on plant and animal genetic resources in the Member States during the period under review has been largely conditioned by the preparations for the FAO World Technical Conference on Plant ge netic Resources for Food and Agriculture (Leipzig, June 1996; preparatory meeting of the European Region Nitra, Slovakia, September 1995). For the Nitra meeting each-Member State prepared an extensive survey of the na tional situation regarding plant genetic resources, their conservation and utilisation. The Commission produced and distributed a List of European Union Legislation in the Area of Plant Genetic Resources. The following account is drawn heavily. from those surveys, and from the summary pre pared for Nitra by the services of the International Board of Plant Genetic Resources. Two international meetings at the end of the period under review also conditioned national thinking. These meetings were the third Conference of the Parries to the Convention on Biodiversity, which discussed agricul tural biodiversity (Buenos Aires, November 1996) and the meeting "L'Europe rurale en l'an 2000; le development rural intègre, enjeu politique majeur" (Cork, November 1996), which announced a ten point rural development programme for the European Union, including, inter alia, (Point 4) "Policies should promote rural development which sustains the quality and amenity of Europe's rural landscapes (natural resources, biodiversity and cultural identity)". Regulation 1467/94 XV xv B APPENDIX - THE STUDY B. 2 Full text However, the general background to all the above is set by the United Narions Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), which took place in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. The "Earth Summit" produced two binding Conventions (The Conven tion on Biological Diversity, the Convention on Climate Change), and three further documents (Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and the Agreement on forest principles). The signatory parries to the Convention on Biological Diversity (which include all Member States, and the Commission) bound themselves to con serve their indigenous genetic resources, in situ and ex situ, to meet broad development needs. This requires the identification of in situ conservation sites and, in the case of existing ex situ collections, their consolidation and rationalization into collections representative of available indigenous diver sity and inclusive of other diversity of potential importance to the country. For many collecrions, particularly those at breeding institutes in the Member States, this means that they have to set priorities for long-term conservation, and consider conservation of plant genetic resources in situ, both in the wild in natural habitats and through cultivation on-farm and in gardens and orchards. This is added to the traditional objective of such collecrions, which is to support breeding objectives. Therefore, in order to ensure that the new situation established by the Convention on Biological Di versity is fully coordinated in the Member States, it would seem useful that curators of collections in the Member States should meet to consider together how these new internationally-determined priorities. can best be met. The FAO Fourth International Technical Conference on Plant Genetic Re sources (Leipzig Germany 14-23 June 1996) produced a "Leipzig Declara tion", it agreed to the publication of a "Report on the State of the World's Plant Generic Resources for Food and Agriculture", and it approved a "Global Plan of Action on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture". The Plan comprises a series of recommendations for priority activities, arranged in four sections: • In situ conservation and development • Ex situ conservation • Utilization of plant genetic resources • Institutions and capacity building The Plan is to be implemented by individual Member States. As will be seen below, the Member States are actively engaged in all the above activities. In view of the importance of the Global Plan of Action, and the engagements undertaken at Leipzig by the Member States, it is appropriate that the imple mentation of the Plan in the Member States should be placed as a permanent item on the agenda of the Committee for Genetic Resources in Agriculture, for consideration and discussion. One of the first steps in order to meet international obligations under the Biodiversity Convention and the Global Plan of Action is the process of defining, rationalizing and consolidating national collections. This is cur rently underway in several Member States. There is still a lack of national inventories of the generic diversity, either that which exists in the coun try (in situ) and that which exists in national collections (e. v situ). Such xvi Regulation 1467/94 B. 2 Full text B APPENDIX - THE STUDY inventories are helpful for conservation programmes that are effective and economic, and are among the obligations to the Convention and Agenda 21. A decentralised or distributed database offers universal access with decentralised maintenance, and it enables solutions to the traditional prob lems of centralised databases (compilation costs, risk of duplication of ef fort). Therefore, in the context of defining, rationalizing and consolidating national collections in the Member States, it is time to consider whether the information technology developed for the World Wide Web, could be used to achieve a comprehensive system of distributed, public-domain databases of plant genetic resources in Europe. The chief issues in realising this poten tial are (he development of data standards, and the establishment of quality control procedures The Biodiversity Convention has necessitated the revision of the agree ment regarding access to genetic resources. Negotiations are currently underway in the FAO Commission on Genetic Resources. Member States are agreed that internationally agreed and universally implemented access agreements are crucial to the effective conservation and durable utilisation of plant genetic resources for agriculture. If a strong European presence is not maintained in all forums where international access agreements are ne gotiated, there is a real risk that the genetic resources held in Europe will lose their utility not only to Europe but also to the world. B. 2. 3 PlaDt genetic resources: International partnerships • Before the Regulation 1467/94 was adopted, many of the plant genetic re sources experts in the Member State were accustomed to collaborate to gether bilaterally, and in international fora such as the Nordic Gene Bank, ESCORENA, EUFOR-GEN, WANA-NET, and ECP/GR. During the 1980's the Commission worked with ECP/GR (European Co operative Programme for Crop Genetic Resources Networks) to facilitate regional collaboration of experts in plant genetic resources. This resulted in a number of joint Commission / IBPGR publications on plant descriptors. The IBPGR "networking" has continued in a series of collaborative initia tives in the period under review. In 1994, ECP/GR entered its fifth 5 year phase. Seven working groups are active (Allium, Avena, Barley, Brassica, Forages, Prunus and Grain Legumes). The initiation of further groups is under discussion (namely concerning wheat, and Malus). The ECP/GR ac tivates correspond to Commission "concerted actions", and funds are not available from ECP/GR for new work. But actions which have developed un der ECP/GR have resulted in successful submissions from EC partnerships for funding of conservation activities under 1467/94 (Allium, Prunus) and also for funding of research activities under the FAIR programme (Brassicas, Grain Legumes) The European System of Cooperative Research Networks in Agriculture (ESCORENA) was established by FAO in 1974 on the recommendation of the European Commission on Agriculture (1972). Within this programme 10 crop-specific networks and three ad hoc research groups are currently oper ational, dealing to a varying degree with the problems of genetic resources. A project on olive genetic resources was developed by an ESCORENA part nership, and subsequently submitted to and selected in the Second call for Proposals (see section A. 2. 7 above, page ix). RcQulation 1467/94 Xvu vvii (,!,• 2-J. sVnvrO ,,. „. ,. B APPENDIX - THE STUDY B2 Full text The European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN) was es tablished in 1994 following the recommendation of the Ministerial Confer ence on the Protection of Forests in Europe in Helsinki (1993). The main tasks of EUFORGEN are to coordinate and promote the in situ and ex situ conservation of forest genetic resources in Europe and the exchange of ex pertise and information. The Programme is coordinated by IPGRJ in close collaboration with the Forestry Department of FAO. Pilot'networks have been established for Norway spruce (Picea abies), cork oak (Qiiercus suber), black poplar (Populus nigra) and noble hardwoods. in order to achieve In view of the activities of European genetic resources experts in ESCORENA, ' that the management of 1467/94 in other EUFORGEN, etc, it would seem advisable should maintain regular contacts with its homologues international the maximum synergy and added value. programmes, A special effort should be made to launch activities under 1467/94 to cover promising areas that are currently neglected in other international fora, such as minor crops, and industrial crops. Coverage is also needed for neglected sectorial subjects, such as facilitating dialogues between curators of plant collections and users. B. 2. 4 Plant genetic resources: National partnerships The Biodiversity Convention requires countries to put into place the nec essary legislation and policy for the conservation, sustainable use and ac cessibility of plant genetic resources at national and international levels. In the Leipzig Declaration Uune, 1992), Member States engaged themselves to establish National Programmes for plant genetic resources in agriculture. Such programmes will include all relevant partners from various competent ministries, research institutes, universities, private partners and NGOs. Na tional programmes may need an adequate legal basis and an appropriate framework and mechanism of coordination in order to avoid duplication of efforts, to make best use of the available resources, and to facilitate par ticipation in international collaborative work. European coordination and in order to enable Member States ensure (hat National linking is required, Programmes make best use of the available re sources. financial and bureaucratic Many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are actively involved in conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources. There is an in creasing tendency to link government departments and institutions in part nerships with NGOs in national programmes. The informal sector, includ ing NGOs. farmers associations and various other types of associations, may also play an important, and often a complementary, role in the conservation and sustainable use of PGR. Links between the formal and informal sectors need to be encouraged. Plant breeders, plant physiologists and biochemists, and other users. of germplasm play an important role in the process of con servation, as well as utilisation of plant genetic resources. Collaboration improved, between the genebanks and (heir potential users should be further so as to profit from the diverse contributions available from scientists, farmer and consumers. xvnt Regulation 1467/94 B. 2 Full text B APPENDIX - THE STUDY B. 2. 5 Plant genetic resources: In situ conservation All Member States have measures in place to protect specific habitats and specific species. This enables conservation of ecosystem and species. All Member States have areas of forest, other natural vegetation and specific habitats, protected under legislation. Most Member States have surveyed and identified endangered native species, drawn up 'red lists' and put in place measures to protect these species and the habitats where they grow. The forest species relatively well protected in this way. Less attention has been paid to in situ and on-farm conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFÀ). Only'a lew countries have specifically surveyed the status of wild species related to crops2. A foreseeable development is that countries may decide to designate protected areas simply to conserve plant genetic resources for food and agriculture in situ. Methodologies appropriate for in situ conservation, doc- u mentation and utilization of agricultural plant species need to be developed, so that full advantage can be taken of the move towards in situ conservation. In the period under review there has been an increase in public interest in the "greening" of agriculture through the use of more traditional organic, and integrated farming systems. It is often claimed that agricultural lan draces and old varieties are better adapted to low input, sustainable and environmentally friendly farming. In order to respond effectively to public, and market, interest, old, and riew, cultivars, need to be evaluated in order to test the claimed adaptedness of old varieties. Measures may then be required to exploit and thereby conserve landraces and old cultivars in situ on-farm. Non-governmental organizations are particularly active in promoting the conservation and use of local crops and varieties. In several Member States, agricultural folk museums are prominent in maintaining and making avail able the landraces and old cultivars. More help is required to ensure that expertise of agricultural museums and other in situ conservationist is incor porated in 1467/94 projects. B. 2. 6 Plant genetic resources: Ex situ conservation Ex-situ conservation is usually the best, and often the only, way of assuring long term survival of particular germplasm, There is no doubt that many old varieties are disappearing from farms. Italy, for example, reported to the Nitra Conference, that out of 41 farms growing landraces of forage legumes in the 1970s, only one now carries through this activity. Among species reportedly under threat of erosion are both cultivated (e. g. lentils, chick peas) and naturally occurring crops (e. g. Artemisia granatensis, Satureja spp. , Thymus spp. , Beta maritima. Siderids spp. , Origanum spp. Nepeta cataria, Digitalis lanata, Astragalus dasynlhus, Calamintha nepeta). Most of the seed material that has disappeared from farms has been collected in ex-situ collections. Attention needs to be paid to the safety of stored material over the long term. The following is a list of ex situ base collections of seed crops located in Europe for which agreements were made with IPGRl (then IBPGR) for the long-term conservation of crop gencpools: 2sce "A catalogue of the ^nld relatives of cultivated p l a n ts native to Europe", by Vernon H Heyvvood and Daniel Zohary. published in flora Meditcrranea. volume 5, pages 3 75 to «11 5 • Regulation 1467/94 Xtx B APPENDIX - THE STUDY B. 2 Full text Belgium Jardin Botanic National de Belgique, Meise; Wild Phaseolus spp. , Wild Vigna spp. France INRA - CIRAD, Corsica; Citrus and related species Regional: Africa + Mediterranean (field genebank) France CIRAD-CA, Montpellier; Gossypium spp. Germany Institut fuer Pflanzen-zuechtung und Kultur-pfianzenforshung, Gatersleben; Lycopersicon spp. Lupinus spp. Germany Institut fuer Pflanzenbati (FAL), Braunschweig - Voelkenode; A vena spp. Beta spp. Brassica carinata, B. campestris, B. juncea, B. napus,- Sinapis spp. , Phaseolus spp. Greece Greek Gene Bank. Thessaloniki; Brassica, Nicotiana, Beta spp. Italy Germplasm Institute (CNR). Bari; Wheats The Netherlands Centre for Genetic Resources, (CGN); Wageningen Lettuce, Allium cepa, A. ampeloprasum, Wild Allium spp. , Capsicum spp. , Bras sica oleracea, Solanum melongena Portugal Portuguese Gene Bank, Braga; Maize Spain Universidad Politecnica, Madrid; Wild relatives of cruciferous crops Spain INIA, Madrid; Citrus and wild species Cucun)is spp. , Citrullus spp. * Sweden Nordic Gene Bank (NGB), Alnarp; Pisum spp. , Hordeum spp. , Avena spp. Secale spp. , Beta spp. United Kingdom Royal Botanic Garden (RBG), Kew; Tn'/b/i'um spp. Cenchrus spp. , Digitaria spp. , Lotononis spp". United Kingdom Horticulture Research International (HRI), Wellesbourne; Carrot, Brassica oleracea, B. campestris, B. juncea, B. napus, Raphanus spp. , Allium spp. , Beta spp. In general, the level of safety duplication of collections in Europe is difficult to judge. Much of the material, particularly in some of the east ern European collections, is advanced cultivars which are common to many genebanks. However, only a few programmes have, as yet, identified unique holdings and ensured their safety duplication. This means that important accessions are at some risk. Rationalisation and safety duplication is a mat ter of priority. (It is, moreover, a key requirement which is placed on all > relevant projects under 1467/94). There is some concern over the fate of germplasm material which is no longer of direct interest to breeders: it is suggested that there is a risk that material which finds no immediate may be neglected by conservationists. A more coordinated approach in this area is needed; it is part of the require ments in every project under 1467/94. Material which is readily available elsewhere does not need to "be held at all. Methodologies and agreements need to be developed and implemented, to identify and eliminate duplicate, accessions. Some curators have identi fied significant gaps in their collections and indicate'that collecting has to XX Regulation 1467/94 B. 2 Full text B APPENDIX - THE STUDY be carried out. But good management requires that before engaging in fur ther collecting, the material already collected should first be inventoried. In order to confirm that the apparent "gaps" in collections are real, and impor tant, better tests of provenance and relatedness are required. It is important to note (hat all collecting must respect the international obligations imposed by the Convention on Biodiversity. This is particularly important where (he collected genetic resources may leave the country of origin. Many Member States are recognizing the need to restrict the size of na tional collections; either by concentrating on a "core" collection, or by limit ing the collection to germplasm originating jn the country and of particular value to it. Some preserved germplasm may be at risk through low viability. Regula tion 1467/94 allows the regeneration of material as an eleigible expense in shared cost actions. Experience in the Member States suggests that method ologies for regeneration of germplasm respecting the genetic integrity of the accessions still need to be improved, especially for outcrossing species. B. 2. 7 Plant genetic resources: Characterisation Characterization and evaluation are essential to make the resources more immediately useful. These tasks require substantial inputs. There is a need to increase the use of rapid and cheap evaluation tools, using biochemical and molecular techniques for germplasm characterization, Training in these modern techniques may need to be developed and offered. Potential users of germ plasm collections need to be able to find the data they are looking for. At present, only a few collections have a complete and convivial documentation system, but with the development of technology for the internet / World Wide Web, the necessary tools are becoming avail able. It seems that almost each germ plasm collection has its own system for storing the results of characterisatation. Some argue for the centralised harmonization of documentation systems at both national and Community level. However, as noted above, it seems more cost effective to adopt a distributed, decentralised model, which offers universal access with decen tralised maintenance, and less duplication of effort). The chief issues in realising this potential arc the development of data standards, and the es tablishment of quality control procedures. Because all databases used in 1467/94 projects need to be able to exchange data, in the interests of Euro pean solidarity, work may be needed on data standards. B. 2. S Plant genetic resources: Utilisation No country is self-sufficient in PGR nor can all countries accumulate re sources which would satisfy all their needs. This means that Member State. experts need to collaborate at local, regional and international levels. In any collaboration bet^veen Member States, quarantine rules for the safe move ment of germplasm need to be scrupulously obeyed. The level of utilization of PGR stored in genebanks is difficult to as sess. There is a general lack of feedback documentation on the final use of to collect t he d i s t r i b u t ed m a t e r i a l. Cancbank managers to be helped need Reaulation 1467/94 >CX_i wi 111,' ?4K6v,>rO ». ». , --. - B APPENDIX - THE STUDY B. 2 Full text data from the users of their collections. This is an eligible cost in 1467/94 projects. In order to produce crops less dependent on chemical products, plant breeders are searching for resistance to abiotic stress (e. g. drought, cold), resistance to biotic stress (e. g. diseases, pests),'quality traits, and better use of inputs without detriment to income. There is a growing demand for a wider choice and variety of horticultural crops and agricultural products, for which diversity in taste, colour, nutritional values and earliness/lateness is highly valued by the market. The characteristics required by consumers may be found in germplasm collections; the need is to make the search as quick and efficient as possible. Recent years have seen the development of rapid chemical methods to measure genetic characteristics, and of biométrie methods of handling the resulting data sets. The resulting calculation of the "genetic distance" be tween accessions can be used to identify a small subset or "core" which contains a large proportion of the total variability of all the accessions. It is then possible to characterization and evaluate the "core" collection, know ing that most of the variability has been sampled. The establishment of core collections is one means of simplifying access to the wider diversity in collections. This cost-effective approach to documenting collections is being pursued in a number of centres. The practical pros and cons of the "core" collection approach need to be evaluated. Training in (he approach may*need to be developed. Public interest in underutilized crops seems to. be increasing. However it is unclear just how large, and just how stable, is the market for any of these new products from minor crops. In order to encourage the sustainable utilisation of genetic resources, and to define market opportunities, costs and benefits, the economic and business aspects of genetic resources need to be studied. B. 2. 9 Animal genetic resources for agriculture: Background Evidence from a range of recent studies shows that animals are inherently less diverse than plants. Conservation operations for animals are both more time consuming than they are for plants. The resources of domestic animals have tended to receive less attention from conservators than the resources of agricultural plants. Thus management aspects of animal, and of plant,, genetic resources are significantly different, and is sometimes argued that animals are relatively "disadvantaged". B. 2. 10 Animal genetic resources: International context The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, at Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. adopted a number of documents including "Agenda 21". Chapter 14 of Agenda 21. entitled "promoting sustainable agriculture and rural development" notes that animal genetic resources are under threat and recommends that vocal animal breeds with their specific adaptations and disease resistances should be preserved. It goes on to state that a 10 year programme of action is needed for the description of all breeds of livestock and it calls for programmes to be established to preserve breeds 'ndon 1467/04 B. 2 Full text B APPENDIX - THE STUDY at risk and to develop measures for the survival and development of in digenous animal breeds. Endangered animal species should be identified, it suggests. Agenda 21 created the United Nations Commission on Sustainable De velopment but the Agenda itself is not a legal agreement or instrument. Governments and other agencies are free to pursue its recommendations, or not. Some Member State governments and non governmental bodies were already pursuing the above objectives before the Rio meering; others have begun to implement some measures more recently. At a concerted level the most significant event has been the publicatjon of the "Hannover" database, also known as the EAAP Animal Genetic'Data Bank (FAAP: European Asso ciation of Animal Production). This database corresponds to some of the objectives established by Agenda 21. In particular it monitors information on cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and horses, in the 15 Member States and in 18 other non member European countries as well. The aim is to watch over developments and risks, and to encourage use and conservation of the genetic diversity of farm animals in Europe. It con tains information on a total of 877 breeds of farm animals. The same data have been provided to the Global Databank for Farm An imal Genetic Resources, being develop and maintained by the FAO. This enables the European situation to be put into global perspective. The Member States are registered on the Hannover data habeas holding 586 races of farm animals (172 races of cattle, 229 sheep. 52 goats, 68 pigs, 65 horses). The data for Europe are provided in the recent FAO publication "World Watch List for Domestic Animal Diversity" (FAO. 19953). Both the 'Hannover' database and the 'FAO' database are now available on the inter net, making available information from the Member States. The FAO data base provides information by country, by species group, by risk status and in alphabetical order by name. According to FAO, Europe possesses around two-thirds of earth's animal genetic resources for the chicken, duck and goose species, half of the cattle, horses and turkeys, and one-third of its goat, pig and quail breeds. In the Member States, the estimated numbers of races are defined. as critical, endangered, critical-maintained, endangered-maintained are as fol lows: cattle « 13 critical goat • 15 endangered • 23 critical-maintained • 21 endangered-maintained • 7 critical • 11 endangered • 0 critical-maintained • 6 endangered-maintained horse/ass • 13 critical • 23 endangered 3!SBN92-S-10 37 29-9 X X \ V\ B APPENDIX - THE STUD Y • 5. 2 Full text sheep • 6 critical-maintained • 10 endangered-maintained - 15 critical • 19 endangered • 5 critical-maintained • 19 endangered-maintained pig * 5 critical poultry • 4 endangered • 7 critical-maintained • 3 endangered-maintained • 47 critical • 57 endangered • 0 critical-maintained • 0 endangered-maintained B. 2. 11 Ajoimal genetic resources: International developments Although domestic animal diversity was recognised as an important com ponent of global biodiversity by the United Nations Conference on Envi ronment and Development (Rio de Janeiro June 1992), by the Biodiversity Convention and by Agenda 21, formal international activities on the con servation of animal genetic resources for agriculture are still very sparse compared with those on plant generic resources. This is not to neglect the informal activities of workers on animal genetic resources, who have worked together across national boundaries for many year. These contacts have intensified recently with the development, for example, of cooperative international repositories for genetic information on the pig, bovine and poultry genomes. At the formal level, in January 1992, the Commission convened an ad hoc group of experts. Their recommendations ate mentioned at. various places in this document. In April 1992 FAO convened an International Ex pert Consultation on animal genetic resources. The FAO group made rec ommendations in four areas; • international structures, • monitoring animal genetic resources and criteria for prioritization of threatened breeds, « breed development and conservation programmes. • biotechnology These recommendations are to be implemented by FAO under the aegis of the Genetic Resources Commission. The Commission, and the Member States, are full members of the Commission. Little has been discussed as yet. It may be appropriate and timely to launch a European Expert Consultation on (he Management of Animal Genetic Resources, based on the needs of the xxiv Regulation 1467/94 B. 2 Full text B APPENDIX - THE STUDY Common Agricultural Policy, and considering also the recommendations of the FAO experts. The results of the consultation should be forwarded to the Programme Committee for Genetic Resources in Agriculture. It has already been suggested that the Committee should keep under re view (he implementation of the FAO Global Plan for Plant Genetic Resources. It may also be appropriate to keep under review the activities of FAO and other international bodies in the field of animal genetic resources. In any event, as the work of the FAO Commission progresses, full Com munity coordination will be needed. In technical terms, the most notable event during the period under re view has been the appearance of a World Watch List for Domestic Animal Diversity. This was published by the FAO with the support of UNEP. The contents of the database owe considerably to European work; in particular the "World Dictionary of Livestock Breeds, Types and Varieties", which was originally an in-house document of the Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau (UK), and. later published by them, and the database "Dat?bank on Animal Genetic Diversity in Europe", maintained at Hannover, Germany, funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, and organised under the aegis of the European Association on Animal Production (EAAP). The EAAP has had support from the European Union for a number of years. It may be appro priate to support actions to enhance the quantity and quality of the data in the EAAP database. In fact, a project on this subject is has been selected in the context of the Second Call for Offers (see A. 2. 7, page ix above). Member State governments and others can now consult the FAO and EAAP databases over the internet. Because they are mostly conserved in vivo, animal genetic resources are very much more evanescent than plant genetic resources. The databases therefore require regular monitoring and reporting. It would seem useful to encourage the persons responsible for the maintenance of "animal" databases in the Member States to meet together from time to time. Member State governments can also obtain a copy of the databank en tries for the animal genetic resources located in their territory. It is some times argued that the endangered status and concern for any particular breed is already well known in the country concerned, and that effort on databanking is misplaced. Others point out that databanks are particularly useful for four types of management enquiry; • what is the utilisation potential of any particular breed ? • what is the risk of genetic erosion for any particular breed ? • what is the urgency of conserving any particular endangered breeds (what are its specific genetic qualifications, its cultural importance, do similar breeds exist in other countries. ) ? • which conservation management should be performed (change risk factors, what type of cryoconservation. )? It would be useful for experts who have some experience with the FAO and EAAP databanks to meet together as a community of da(abase-users from all Member S(a(es, (o consider experience and recommendations for enhancing tlie value of (lie database to end-users. Regulation 1467/94 xxv 4ÉÉ B APPENDIX - THE STUDY B. 2 Full text B. 2. 12 Animal genetic resources: International partnerships As noted above, the European Association on Animal Production (EAAP) is one of the very few international fora or programmes in which experts on animal genetic resources have become used to working together. The NGO sector is represented by organisations such as SAVE (Safeguard for Agri cultural Varieties in Europe), and Rare Breeds International. The Danube countries collaborate in DAGENE (Germany and Austria with Czech Repub lic, Slovenia. Slovakia, Croatia, Hungary, Romania) In the general context of Animal genetic resources, (he management of 1467/94 should maintain regular contacts with the other fora, both formal and informal. team international Little cooperation exists between breeders of the same breed across na tional frontiers (the exemplary collaboration between Austria and Italy and also Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, for breeders of the Lipizzan, is an excep tion). Such collaboration is not established overnight. It might be appropri ate to consider a special action under 1467/94 "accompanying measures" for exchanges between breeders of (he same or closely similar breeds in different countries, with the objective of developing joint programmes of conservation. B. 2. 13 Ariimal genetic resources: National partnerships Under the Biodiversity Convention, "States have sovereignty over their own biological resources", and are responsible for "conserving their biological diversity and for using their biological diversity in a sustainable manner". Thus, both under the Biodiversity Convention, and under Community rules of subsidiarity, the conservation and use of animal genetic resources must first be organised at local and national level. We have already noted that the Genetic Resources committee may need to keep under review the activities of international bodies in the field of animal genetic resources;the committee should also receive reports from time to time of activities at national level on animal genetic resources. Although some countries (e. g. France, Spain) have passed laws making conservation fall under national regulation, and though several countries give state support for genetic resources preservation (subsidies to owners of rare breeds, support of cryopreservation programmes, coordinationbf work at a national level), there is still relatively little work coordinated at the national level on the conservation, sustainable use and accessibility of animal genetic resources for agriculture. On the other hand national activities in animal genetic resources are well developed in one domain in particular; that is, the work of the herd- book societies. Herdbook societies can be regarded as industry oriented organisations. Many societies possess uniquely detailed information on the genealogies of every animal in the country which belongs to their particular race. Major breeds tend to rely on national societies, minor breeds tend to be supported on a more local scale. In recent years other NGO's. interested in the conservation and use of animal genetic resources, have sprung up. and (as noted below) much of the practical work on in situ conservation of the rarer animal breeds is done by NGO's. Often this work is local in character. The Committee should con sider whether tliere would be value in encouraging international exchanges xxvi Rcaulution 1467/94 B. 2 Full text B APPENDIX - THE STUDY between national breed societies. B. 2. 14 Ajiimal genetic resources: In vivo conservation Breeds at risk of extinction, orgenes of a particular animal, may be con served in the form of live animals in their original location [in situ, in vivo), as live animals in zoo parks or rescue stations (ex situ, in vivo), or as frozen sperms, oocytes or embryos (in vitro). In vivo conservation satisfies cultural and historical interests, it ebnables gene-combinarions to be preserved, and regeneration time is the shortest possible. On the other hand, in vivo conservation is expensive, the material is at risk of inbreeding depression and mutation, and of fiscal accidents. Some but not all countries invoke Regulation 2078/92, which is one of the Accompanying Measures of the Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, and which enables payment of a subsidy to owners of rare breeds, on a headage basis. (It is appropriate to note here that in September 1994 the Council discussed some technical aspects of Regulation 2078/92, regarding alternative criteria of rarity, and alternative modalities of payment. ) Since animals of the same (or very similar) rare breed may be found in more than one Member State Member States which maintain breeds that are similar may need to be helped to coordinate their actions at a European level. For example, in the case where it is impossible to conserve all of a group of endangered breeds, their genes may be preserved by forming a gene pool with random mating (in botanic terms, a polycross). It may be appropri ate to consider whether activities such as forming a gene pool for the most endangered breeds should, and can, be organized at European level. The activities under 2078/92 are considered an important contribution to in vivo conservation. In other respects than 207S/92, in vivo conservation of individual local breeds in individual Member States is considered to be an action for Member States alone. B. 2. 15 Animal genetic resources: 7/7 vitro conservation In vitro conservation enables a high proportion of genetic diversity to be preserved indefinitely; it facilitates managed breeding programmes, it main tains genepools against introgression (cross-breeding) and genetic drift, and it maintains the potential for applying new technologies. Some insist on the need for the conservation of oocytes, or embryos, or for conservation in situ. But it is generally agreed that the collection and storage of semen from a number of sires is the simplest, least expensive and most effective method of genetic conservation for animal genetic resources. It provides a safeguard against genetic erosion; both in minor and in the most numerous breeds. The latest figures for in vitro conservation of rare or endangered breeds in Europe are as follows (data from the EAAP databank): Cattle Total of 232 breeds noted in the Member States, semen stored for 65% of 71 breeds regarded as endangered Sheep Total of 2S3 breeds noted in the Member States, semen stored for 11% of 5 1 breeds regarded as endangered Regulation 1467/94 m G APPENDIX - THE STUDY B. 2 Full text Pigs Total of 73 breeds noted in the Member States, semen stored for 23% of 30 breeds regarded as endangered In many cases, only a few males have been sampled. Only for 5% of all breeds have samples been obtained from more than 25 males; 25 is regarded by many experts as an absolute minum. It is to be noted, moreover, that geographical Europe comes first in the World tables for numbers of breeds of cattle, goat, horse and sheep. (The EAAP database notes 76 breeds of goat, 110 breeds of horse, in the Member States). This suggests that there is urgent need for action in Europe to ensure that semen has been stored from a signficant number (more than 20) of distantly- related males of each endangered and distinct breed of cattel. sheep and pig. It is not necessary to conserve sperm from every male, nor yet from every breed; to be a candidate for conservation, a breed needs to be considered as genetically unique. Member States which maintain breeds that are similar may need to be helped to coordinate their actions at a European level. In other respects, in vitro conservation of local breeds is considered to be an action for Member States themselves to undertake in the first place. Many of the animal breeds currently found overseas are European in origin. For example, the cattle that settlers took to Latin America had their origin in the Iberian peninsula. Actions on "European" breeds should take into consideration, as appropriate, the results of genetic distancing work on related work on related breeds in other countries. Ex situ conservation raises some questions, as yet unresolved, regarding rights of access, ownership of offspring, and legititmate rights and owner ship of intellectual property incorporated in any given genome. In view of the current difficult international discussions on access to and ownership of plant genetic resources, it would be wise for (he Union to establish a unified position on animal genetic resources, pre-emplively. B. 2. 16 Animal genetic resources: Characterisation In January 1992, the Commission convened an ad-hoc group of experts. They identified in particular the need for research on genetic distancing and mapping. During the period under review the technologies have be come considerably more effective. The long term goal, so far as Conserva tion is concerned, is to investigate the extent to which two breeds may share a common DNA heritage. The characterising of genetic distance sharpens the scientific rigour of choosing which breeds should be preserved. Genetic distance mapping is an important activity, to follow on the primary charac terisation of each animal breed. The resulting data need to be made available in the databases. Some of the rare breeds are claimed to be uniquely adapted to their particular environment, or to have a general "hardiness". The databases should contain such information, but it is important to indicate the degree of fiabilily, from anecdotal, via farmer-tested experience, to replicated tri als, including on-farm trials. While characterising is an important activity under 1467/94. research work to test some particular hypothesis is not el igible. It may be appropriate to consider supporting under the Framework Programme, research to test anecdotal reports of adaptability (etc) of partic ular rare breeds. xxviu Regulation 1467/94 B. 2 Full text B APPENDIX - THE STUDY Council Directive 77/504/EEC of 25 July 1977 (OJ No L 206, 12. 8. 1977 p. 8) (as modified by Commission Decision of 27 July 1994, OJ L 207/30 10. 8. 94, and earlier) lays down performance monitoring methods and meth ods for assessing cattle's generic value for pure-bred breeding animals of the bovine species. The data are to be collected and published by approved bod ies in each Member State. Community inventories supported under 1467/94 do not need to incorporate the data that are available on genetic values, but they do need to provide pointers to where such results can be found. Genome mapping may eventually lead to the isolation of DNA sequences that code for particular traits that constitute "hardiness", such as tolerance to parasites. Indeed, work is already, under way in these areas. There is no need to incorporate the results of work on genome mapping into Com munity inventories supported under 1467/94 , but it is important that these * databases provide pointers to where such results can be found. B. 2. 17 Animal genetic resources: Utilisation All Member States have already undertaken, as signatories of the Conven tion on Biological diversity (June 1992), to developnational strategies, plans or programmes for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diver» sity, including agricultural biodiversity. Regulation 1467/94 is part of this planning in the European Union, covering animal genetic resources as well as plant genetic resources. It is convenient to classify the utilisation of animal genetic. resources in an ascending scale of economic worthiness; • Culture in the broadest sense (e. g. farm park and touristic activities) • Environmental preservation (e. g. animals as grazer-maintainers of firebreaks in forests) •' Quality of product (e. g. Reggiana cattle for the production of Parmesan cheese) • Diversity of product (e. g. the recent appearance in supermarkets of the meat of game animals, and of exotic animals such as ostrich, crocodile) • Production in particular environments (e. g. North Ronaldsay sheep, adapted to life on the shoreline and a diet of seaweed). Minor breeds may be used either in their own rights, or in a breeding scheme, pro viding one half or one quarter of the genome of the final productive animal. While the animal's owner is well aware of the particular characteristics and utilisation potential of that breed, the information is not always diffused and classified in the standard literature. There may be a need to collect, test and diffuse anecdotal information on agriculturally useful characteristics of rare breeds, and to encourage formal tests of such claims. B. 2. 18 Special characteristics of animal genetic resources There has been some criticism, in the case of animal projects, of the step wise procession of the work in 1-167/9-1 through 6 obligatory steps; it is Reaulation 1467/94 XXvXs xxix HuÈÊÊÉÈÊÈÊÈÊÊUtÊÊtUmÊm B APPENDIX - THE STUDY B. 2 Full text argued that these are not appropriate in animal work. When the point was discussed in the Programme Committee it was pointed out that the objec tive of the Council Regulation in imposing the "steps" is to ensure that every project should proceed in a coordinated and coherent fashion. The "steps" laid down in the Work Programme of 1467/94 should not be changed in any future revision, if this would be to the detriment of good project management. The committee has also discussed the observation that. In the member states, the work of NGOs is very important for Genetic Resource conserva tion. This position was contrasted with the low level of NGO participation in this Programme. It may be appropriate to make particular use of the accom panying measures of 1467/94 to help NGOs to coordinate in the preparation of proposals to 1-467/94. The Committee has also debated the the needs, and the difficulties, of management of genetic resources across national borders. Clearly, trans na tional cooperation is much easier on endangered varieties of plants than'it is on endangered races of farm animals. The creation and updating of an in ventory of animal races in Europe, with full details of the current number of breeding males and females, should be a useful first step (see A. 2. 7, page ix); it may next be appropriate to convene a discussion meeting on trans-border aspects of the management of animal genetic resources'for agriculture (ob servations requested from Member States at the last meetinq, 16 October 1996). XXX Regulation 1467/94 C APPENDIX - PUBLICATIONS C Publications in the Official Journal C. l Regulation 1467/94 (OJ L159 pi of 28. 06. 94) The text of the Regulation is attached in annex C. I. C. 2 Work Programme and additional information for proposers of concerted action and shared cost action The text of the Information Package is attached in annex C. 2. C. 3 First CaU for Proposals (OJ C36S p24 of 23. 12. 94) The text of the Official Journal is attached in annex C. 3. C. 4 Second Call for Proposals (OJ C114 p21 of 19. 04. 96) The text of the Official Journal is attached in annex C. 4. Regulation 1467/94 xxxi D APPENDIX - DECLARATIONS BY EU. D Declarations by the European Union D. 1 Declaration of the European Corrimunity at the FAO prepara tory meeting of the European Region, Nitra. Slovakia (Sept. 1995) The text is attached in annex D. i. D. 2 Declaration of the European Community at the Second extraordinary meeting of the FAO Corrtmission on Ge netic Resources, Rome (March 1996) The text is attached in annex D. 2. D. 3 Declaration of the European Community at Leipzig (June 1996) The text is attached in annex D. 3. D. 4 A preliminary List of European Union Legislation in the area of Plant Genetic Resources The text is attached in annex D. 4. m xxxii Regulation 1467/94 ISSN 0254-1475 COM(97) 327 final DOCUMENTS EN 03 15 Catalogue number : CB-CO-97-318-EN-C ISBN 92-78-21751-4 Office for Official Publications of the European Communities L-2985 Luxembourg