Policies Impacting Access to Plant Genetic Resources in Last Four Decades

Abstract

A paradigm shift occurred in the international policy environment with respect to biological diversity from “heritage of mankind” to “sovereign rights of a nation”, primarily triggered by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1992. To address the issue of food security, in terms of access to plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA) as well as for realization of farmer’s rights, the International Treaty for Plant Genetic Resources (ITPGRFA) was adopted 2001. In 2010 a Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (NP-ABS) was developed under CBD to facilitate exchange of biological resources bilatellary between countries, on mutually agreed terms. Both the Treaty and CBD offer regulatory mechanisms for exchange of germplasm and fair and equitable share of benefits and are implemented through national policies in mutually supportive manner. However, practically they have impacted germplasm flow. In the world of plant breeding and crop improvement, these regulations are seen to bring a slow-down in the international exchange of germplasm hampering scientific progress.