THEMATIC BACKGROUND STUDY Establishment of a Global Network for the In Situ Conservation of Crop Wild Relatives: Status and Needs Nigel Maxted and Shelagh Kell BACKGROUND STUDY PAPER NO. 39 October 2009 COMMISSION ON GENETIC RESOURCES FOR FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ESTABLISHMENT OF A GLOBAL NETWORK FOR THE IN SITU CONSERVATION OF CROP WILD RELATIVES: STATUS AND NEEDS by *By Nigel Maxted and Shelagh Kell The content of this document is entirely the responsibility of the authors, and does not .necessarily represent the views of the FAO, or its Members 2 * School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham. Disclaimer The content of this document is entirely the responsibility of the authors, and does not necessarily represent the views of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), or its Members. The designations employed and the presentation of material do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of FAO concerning legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. CONTENTS SUMMARY 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 7 PART 1: INTRODUCTION 8 1.1 Background and scope 8 1.2 The global and local importance of crop wild relatives 10 1.3 Definition of a crop wild relative 12 1.4 Global numbers of crop wild relatives 21 1.5 Threats to crop wild relative species and genetic diversity 22 1.6 In situ and ex situ conservation of CWR diversity 25 1.7 CWR conservation outside of formal structures 26 1.8 Systematic approaches to CWR conservation 28 PART 2: NATIONAL CWR CONSERVATION STRATEGIES 30 2.1 Introduction to CWR strategy planning 30 2.2 Creating the national CWR inventory 32 2.3 Prioritizing CWR taxa/diversity 34 2.4 Ecogeographic and genetic diversity analysis of priority CWR 34 2.5 Identification of threats to priority CWR taxa and important CWR areas 35 2.6 CWR gap analysis 35 2.7 Development of in situ/ex situ CWR conservation strategies 36 2.8 CWR utilization 37 2.9 Research and education 38 2.10 Linkage to ex situ conservation and duplication 38 PART 3: IMPORTANT AREAS AND CONSERVATION GAPS FOR CWR 39 3.1 Methodology 39 3.1.1 Selection of priority crop gene pools 39 3.1.2 Selection of target species 40 3.1.3 Selection of target sites 42 3.1.4 Data collation and analysis 43 3.2 Crop case studies 43 3.2.1 Finger millet 44 3.2.2 Barley 49 3.2.3 Sweet potato 53 3.2.4 Cassava 57 3.2.5 Banana/plantain 61 3.2.6 Rice 67 3.2.7 Pearl millet 74 3.2.8 Garden pea 77 3.2.9 Potato 83 3.2.10 Sorghum 90 3.2.11 Wheat 93 3.2.12 Faba bean 100 3.2.13 Cowpea 105 3.2.14 Maize 113 3.3 Important areas and conservation gaps: synthesis 120 3.3.1 Establishing the global network: first steps 120 3.3.2 Overview of crop gene pool priorities by region 127 3.3.3 Coordinating the establishment of the CWR genetic reserve network 129 PART 4: CURRENT ACTIONS AND FUTURE NEEDS FOR CWR CONSERVATION AND USE 131 4.1 An urgent need for systematic, complementary CWR conservation 131 4.2 The global response to CWR conservation 132 4.2.1 Policy and legislation: 1983−2002 133 4.2.2 Projects and networks addressing CWR conservation 135 4.2.3 The First International Conference on CWR Conservation and Use 135 4.2.4 Global Strategy for CWR Conservation and Use 136 4.3 Improving the use of CWR diversity 137 4.4 Conclusions and recommendations 139 REFERENCES 145 ANNEXES 191 ANNEX 1. Case study: national CWR conservation strategy for the UK 191 ANNEX 2. Consolidated list of priority taxa for the 14 crop groups included in this study 201 ANNEX 3. Protected areas with links to crop genetic diversity 202 ANNEX 4. Framework of the draft Global Strategy for Crop Wild Relative Conservation and Use 208 SUMMARY Crop wild relatives (CWR) are species closely related to crops (including crop progenitors). They are potential sources of traits beneficial to crops, such as pest or disease resistance, yield improvement, or stability. CWR are a critical component of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA) yet have received relatively little systematic conservation attention. Historically, the conservation of PGRFA has focused almost entirely on the ex situ collection and storage of cultivated plants. However, since the inception of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), it is now widely recognized that in situ conservation of PGRFA is necessary to conserve the full range of genetic diversity inherent in and between plant populations, with ex situ techniques acting as a backup. At the time of inception of the CBD in 1992, in situ PGR conservation techniques were still in their infancy. However, subsequently, there has been rapid progress in developing protocols and case studies that illustrate how wild species populations can be secured in their natural habitats. Many CWR species—and the breadth of genetic diversity they contain—are under increasing threat from anthropogenic factors such as urbanization, habitat fragmentation and intensification of farming practices, but perhaps most importantly, climate change. In order to secure this vital resource for future crop improvement, there is now a need for step change in the in situ conservation of CWR, nationally, regionally and globally, as well as ensuring there is adequate ex situ backup of key population samples. In response to this concern, the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA) has called for the development of a network of in situ conservation areas for CWR. The rolling Global Plan of Action for the conservation and sustainable utilization of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture includes conservation of CWR as a priority area, and Article 5 of the ITPGRFA promotes the in situ conservation of CWR. Moreover, the Commission has approved, with priority, a thematic background study on ‘the conservation of crop wild relatives’ to support the preparation of the Second Report on the State of the World’s Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and as a basis for updating the Global Plan of Action. The Commission is now establishing a Multi-Year Programme of Work, which represents a unique opportunity to establish and monitor a network of in situ conservation areas for CWR. The objective of this study is to provide sufficient baseline information for planning the future work of the Commission in this area. Specifically, the study aims to: • Identify which important areas for CWR are already part of existing protected areas; in particular in the centres of origin or diversification; • Pinpoint existing conservation gaps, in order to assess which important areas for CWR are yet to be protected within and outside existing protected areas; • Provide the foundations for a long-term and cost-effective strategy for CWR conservation. This background study addresses these issues in four parts. Part 1 is an introduction to CWR: how they are defined, global numbers of CWR, their importance to humankind as gene donors for crop improvement, threats to natural populations, how complementary conservation can be achieved and how CWR might be conserved in situ outside of conventional protected areas. Part 2 reviews the elements of a long-term and cost-effective national strategy for the in situ conservation of CWR, including presentation of a methodology for the planning and implementation of a national CWR complementary conservation strategy. Part 3 takes a global approach by a) identifying important geographical areas for the in situ conservation of a selection of 14 critical crop gene pools, b) pinpointing conservation gaps and c) making recommendations for the steps needed towards establishing an effective complementary conservation strategy for priority species. Part 4 reviews current initiatives and future needs for CWR conservation, stressing the need for a coordinated and collaborative approach, in particularly at regional level. In this context, the recently proposed Global Strategy for Crop Wild Conservation and Use is introduced, which will underpin regional and national efforts to promote both the conservation and sustainable utilization of CWR diversity. Part 4 concludes with a series of recommendations for how to improve the conservation and use of CWR diversity. 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors wish to acknowledge the contribution made in developing the concepts presented in this report by Alvaro Toledo, Brian Ford-Lloyd, José Iriondo, Joana Magos Brehm and Maria Scholten. We also wish to acknowledge the generous provision of CWR ecogeographic data sets by Robert Hijmans, Andy Jarvis, John Doebley and Jan Valkoun, and of crop data sets from the National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) of the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service by John Wiersema, Quinn Sinnott and Mark Bohning. We are grateful to Nagib Nassar for provision of information for the cassava case study and to Lourdes Rico for assistance in accessing information for the barley case study. 7 Part 1: INTRODUCTION TO CROP WILD RELATIVES 1.1 Background and scope Natural ecosystems hold important plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA), including populations of crop wild relatives (CWR)—species that have particular value because of their potential to contribute beneficial traits to crops, such as pest or disease resistance, yield improvement or stability (Maxted et al., 2006).