Access and Benefit Sharing Mechanism under the Multilateral System of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resource
Sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA) is of critical importance for food and nutritional security. The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture recognizes the efforts of farmers and loc
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Access and Benefit Sharing Mechanism under the Multilateral System of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture Pratibha Brahmi and Vandana Tyagi
Abstract Sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA) is of critical importance for food and nutritional security. The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture recognizes the efforts of farmers and local communities involved in on-farm conservation and management of PGRFA. The international exchange of PGRFA for research, breeding and conservation is the key requirement for food security and sustainable agriculture. Access to global gene pool which is a network of international and national gene banks and other institutions is a major benefit under the Treaty. Facilitated access to this vast gene pool under the Treaty is provided under the terms and conditions of the Standard Material Transfer Agreement (SMTA). India has already notified the guidelines for the implementation of the Treaty and is already using SMTA for exchange of PGRFA with Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). The guidelines are notified under the provisions of national legislation that is Biodiversity Act, 2002. The chapter details the multilateral system (MLS) of Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) under the Treaty, option for benefit sharing under SMTA, and provisions of providing facilitated access under the Treaty and access to PGRFA as per the provisions of the treaty in India. Keywords PGRFA • Farmers’ rights • ITPGRFA • Facilitated access • ABS • Multilateral system
P. Brahmi (*) • V. Tyagi ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi 110012, India e-mail: [email protected] © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017 K.P. Laladhas et al. (eds.), Biodiversity for Sustainable Development, Environmental Challenges and Solutions 3, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42162-9_2
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P. Brahmi and V. Tyagi
Introduction
Plant genetic resources are materials of plant origin which are of value for present and future generations of humankind. Often used as a synonym to plant germplasm, these include seeds, plants or plant parts including genes and DNA sequences that are held in a repository or collected from wild, useful in crop breeding, research or conservation because of genetic attributes. Plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA) specifically cover PGR of actual or potential value for food and agriculture. Sustainable use of PGRFA is therefore of critical importance for food and nutritional security. Since most countries depend largely on PGR that have originated elsewhere, it is essential and extremely important to develop mechanisms for the access and benefit sharing of these resources amongst and within the nations. It is, more so, after the realization of owners’ rights, breeders’ rights (1970s) and Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and owing to the advances in biotechnology during the 1990s. A paradigm shift of PGR which were
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