This document summarizes relevant policy and legal frameworks for accessing and using wild relatives of crops in the Andean region. The Andean Community Decision 391 establishes a common regime for accessing genetic resources and requires bilateral agreements with national authorities. Peru and Ecuador have also ratified the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources, which facilitates access to crop wild relatives through a Standard Material Transfer Agreement. Framework access agreements under Decision 391 allow research centers to regularly collect crop wild relatives in situ in countries like Peru. Wild relatives collected in the region are subject to national access and benefit sharing laws and can be transferred according to agreements like the SMTA if conserved in collections like CIP.

1. Policy and Legal Frameworks
Relevant to Access and Use of
Wild Relatives of Crops in the
Andean Region
Manuel Ruiz
SPDA
February, 2012

2. Basic context: Adapting Agriculture to Climate
Change: Collecting, Protecting and Preparing
Crop Wild Relatives
 Research
 Collecting
 Conserving
 Pre-breeding
 Evaluating
 Generating information
All activities with access and benefit
sharing implications

3. Existing policy and legal frameworks
 Andean Community Decision 391 on a
Common Regime on Access to Genetic
Resources (1996) (applicable to
Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru)
 FAO International Treaty on Plant Genetic
Resources for Food and Agriculture
(2001)
( Peru and Ecuador have ratified the IT from
the

4. Decision 391 key provisions
 Scope: applies to all genetic
resources in in situ and ex situ
conditions
 Bilateral agreements with national
authorities
 Framework access agreements:
enable research centres (including
ex situ centres) undertake in situ
access activities

5. Main access procedure in Decision
391
Supreme Decree 003-2009-MINAM (Peru) –
Framework
Access Agreements (seek to promote basic
research)
 Request to INIA (cultivated); Forestry Department
(wild relatives) to sign a Framework Access
Agreement
 Signing of a broad, general Framework Access
Agreement
 This allows for regular, continued in situ
collection
 Each new project simply presents an application

6. International Treaty key provisions
and components
General provisions
 Access to PGRFA in in situ conditions, subject to
national ABS regulations
 Multilateral System on Access and Benefit
Sharing (applicable to Annex I crops – including
Solanum)
 Standard Material Transfer Agreement – the legal
instrument which is used to facilitate access and
transfer of materials determines access and
benefit sharing conditions (adopted by Governing
Body in 2007)
 Non Annex I crops plus Solanum phureja

7. International Treaty key provisions and
components
IARC – CGIAR
 Annex I crops held in CIP available according to the SMTA
(agreement between CIP and the Governing Body, 2006)
 Non Annex I crops collected before entry into force of the
FAO IT subject to the ammended SMTA (2007)
 Non Annex I collected after entry into force of the FAO IT
shall be made available in terms consistent with MAT
between the IARC and the country of origin or country which
has received these resources in accordance with CBD
principles
 Parties should provide with facilitated in situ access to IARCs
in regards to Annex I crops (D 391: Framework Access
Agreements)

8. Plant genetic resources under
development
 If materials are subject to pre-breeding
and development processes, additional
conditions may be added to the SMTA,
provided they are not inconsistent with its
main terms and the main body of the text
does not change

9. Wild relatives of crops (potato,
Solanum)
 In situ collection: D 391 and
national ABS legislation
(Framework Access
Agreements)
 If materials enter CIP
collections, they can be
transferred according to the
SMTA

10. Thank you
www.spda.org.pe