1) Plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA) are important for further crop breeding and adaptation to changing environments. There is a long history of international exchange of PGRFA. 2) The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) established a Multilateral System (MLS) in 2001 to facilitate access to PGRFA and ensure benefit sharing. 3) The MLS includes 64 major crops and consists of plant genetic resources held by governments and in public collections. It uses a Standard Material Transfer Agreement to allow access for research, breeding and training.

1. Policies and Business Models for Genetic
Resources Access and Conservation
COP23 Side Event 13.11.2017 www.bmel.de
Thomas Meier, BMEL

2. Importance of PGRFA for Food Security
→PGRFA are basic for further
breeding & adaptation to
changing environment
→Long history of interregional
and even international
exchange
→Today high interdependence
of countries
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3. High interdependence in breeding and
agriculture
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4. Importance of PGRFA for Food Security
→PGRFA are basic for further breeding & adaptation to
changing environment
→Long history of interregional and even international
exchange
→Today high interdependence of countries
→Common responsibility of countries
→SDG 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved
nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture
→2.5 By 2020 maintain genetic diversity of
seeds, cultivated plants …
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5. When did we start?
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• 1972 - UN Conference on the Human Environment,
Stockholm
• 1983 Commission on
Genetic Resources for
Food and Agriculture
established
Recommendation 39:
Governments, in cooperation with the
Secretary-General of the UN and FAO,
agree to an international program to
preserve the world's genetic resources

6. →International Undertaking on Plant Genetic
Resources (1983)
→PGRFA are the common heritage of the whole
humanity
→Free exchange of material among all countries
→The Convention on Biological Diversity (1993)
Art. 15 (1) Recognizing the sovereign rights of States
over their natural resources, the authority to determine
access to genetic resources rests with the national
governments and is subject to national legislation.
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Common Heritage vs. Sovereign Rights

7. International Treaty on Plant Genetic
Resources for Food and Agriculture
ITPGRFA
→ Adopted in 2001 (7 years);
→ Entered into force 2004;
→ Operational since 2007 (MLS/SMTA);
→ Membership: 143 Contracting Parties (2017)
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8. Folie 8
 Multilateral System guarantees facilitated
access and Benefit-Sharing for 64 most
important crops
 No need to determine country of origin for
respective PGRFA
 Standard Material Transfer Agreement
(SMTA)
• Research, breeding and training for food
and agriculture
• Certain obligations for recipient including
Benefit-Sharing established in SMTA
• Transfer to a third party under SMTA
 Monitoring via Treaty-Secretariat, all SMTA
reported
 No need to demonstrate due diligence
 Bilateral System: each access requires
negotiations with provider country (PIC and
MAT)
 Individual Benefit-Sharing-contracts
(case-by-case)
 National ABS-Regulation to be published in
the ABS-Clearinghouse
 Control obligations for countries, where
use takes place with providing information to
ABS-Clearinghouse
• Due Diligence obligation for users to
demonstrate their compliance with the
respective MAT

9. ITPGRFA and Nagoya Protocol / CBD
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Recalling the Multilateral System of
Access and Benefit-sharing established
under the ITPGRFA developed in
harmony with the Convention;
Recognizing the interdependence of all
countries with regard to GRFA as well as their
special nature and importance for achieving
food security worldwide and for sustainable
development of agriculture in the context of
poverty alleviation and climate change and
acknowledging the fundamental role of the
ITPGRFA and the FAO CGRFA in this regard;

10. The scope of the Treaty:
→ ALL plant genetic resources for food and agriculture
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11. Artikel 10 Multilateral System of
Access and Benefit-sharing
Art. 10 (2) In the exercise of their
sovereign rights, the Contracting
Parties agree to establish a
multilateral system […] both to
→facilitate access to PGRFA, and to
→share […] the benefits arising from
the utilization of these resources
[…].
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12. The Multilateral System ...
... consists of genetic material of a
set of 64 crops, listed in Annex I to
the International Treaty;
Those crops provide about 80% of
our food from plants.
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13. 20.11.2017 Folie 13
→ Öffentliche
Sammlungen der
Vertragsstaaten
→ Art. 15
Sammlungen
(CGIAR etc.)
→ Natürliche und
juristische
Personen (private
Sammlungen)
Das MLS soll die in Annex I des Vertrags gelisteten Nahrungs- und Futterpflanzen
umfassen, die unter der Verwaltung und Kontrolle der Vertragsparteien stehen und öffentlich
zugänglich sind
Quelle: 2. State of the World-Bericht über Pflanzengenetische Ressourcen, 2010.
Geographische Verbreitung von Genbanken mit >10 000 Akzessionen
(Nationale und regionale Genbanken in blau; Genbanken der CGIAR-Centres in beige;
Weltweiter Saatguttresor in Spitzbergen in grün)
Multilateral System = virtual Global Genbank
The Multilateral System

14. Folie 14
115.000 Akzessionen

15. PGRFA exchange (Jan 2016)
→1,7 million included accessions documented
→47.000 SMTA transferred since 2007
→More than 3,2 million accessions transferred
→600 – 800 documented transfers every day
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16. What are the objectives
of the Treaty?
→The conservation and sustainable use of
plant genetic resources for food and
agriculture
→The fair and equitable sharing of benefits
derived from their use, in harmony with the
Convention on Biological Diversity, for
sustainable agriculture and food security
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17. Folie 17

18. Benefit Sharing in the MLS
→Facilitated access to the PGRFA is a major
benefit of the MLS
→the exchange of information;
→access to and transfer of technology;
→capacity building; and
→the sharing of monetary and other benefits
from commercialization
→Voluntary Contributions (> 20 Mio. USD)
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19. Benefit Sharing in the MLS
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20. a. 20 Mio. USD voluntary contributions of CP, but no use
based payments to the BSF
b. GB decided to start negotiations to
a. increase user-based payments and contributions to
the Benefit-sharing Fund in a sustainable and
predictable long-term manner
b. enhance the functioning of the Multilateral System
by additional measures - expand the MLS
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Next Steps

21. COP23 Side Event 13.11.2017 www.bmel.de

22. 20.11.2017 Folie 22

23. Standard Material Transfer agreement
→General provisions including definitions
→Rights & obligations of provider
→Allowed uses
→Benefit sharing
→Rights & obligations of recipient
→Clear cut-off point
→Any enclosure of genetic material
→Contract in Perpetuity
→Dispute Settlement
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