BACKGROUND STUDY PAPER NO. 47 October 2009 E COMMISSION ON GENETIC RESOURCES FOR FOOD AND AGRICULTURE THE USE AND EXCHANGE OF BIOLOGICAL CONTROL AGENTS FOR FOOD AND AGRICULTURE by Matthew J.W. Cock, Joop C. van Lenteren, Jacques Brodeur, Barbara I.P.Barratt, Franz Bigler, Karel Bolckmans, Fernando L. Cônsoli, Fabian Haas, Peter G. Mason, José Roberto P. Parra 1 This document has been prepared at the request of the Secretariat of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture by the Global Commission on Biological Control and Access and Benefit-Sharing of the International Organisation for Biological Control of Noxious Animals and Plants (IOBC), as a contribution to the cross-sectoral theme, Consideration of policies and arrangements for access and benefit-sharing for genetic resources for food and agriculture , which the Commission will consider at its Twelfth Regular Session. 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. 1 For affiliation of the authors see Annex 2. BACKGROUND STUDY PAPER NO. 47 i TABLE OF CONTENTS ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION .................................................................................................................1 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................................................2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................4 1. THE RESEARCH PROCESS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR BENEFIT SHARING .............................................................. 4 2. THE IMPLEMENTERS ......................................................................................................................................... 4 3. THE BENEFITS TO USERS AND THEIR CUSTOMERS ............................................................................................. 5 4. THE EXTENT OF USE OF BIOLOGICAL CONTROL ................................................................................................. 5 5. CONTROL OF GENETIC RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR PROFIT ............................................................... 5 6. REGULATION OF INTRODUCTION OF BIOLOGICAL CONTROL AGENTS ................................................................ 6 7. USER PERSPECTIVES ......................................................................................................................................... 7 8. RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................................................................................................ 7 I. SCOPE OF THE STUDY ...................................................................................................................9 1. BACKGROUND ...................................................................................................................................................9 2. SCOPE ............................................................................................................................................................... 9 3. BIOLOGICAL CONTROL ..................................................................................................................................... 9 4. VARIETY OF USERS AND USES ..........................................................................................................................12 II. USE AND GLOBAL EXCHANGE OF BIOLOGICAL CONTROL AGENTS AND THEIR BENEFITS .................................................................................................................................................14 1. USE OF GENETIC RESOURCES .......................................................................................................................... 14 1.1. Extent of use .......................................................................................................................................... 14 1.2. Addition of value ................................................................................................................................... 21 1.3. Typology of main users ......................................................................................................................... 22 1.4. Trends in genetic diversity .................................................................................................................... 23 2. GLOBAL EXCHANGE OF GENETIC RESOURCES ................................................................................................. 24 2.1. Types of genetic materials .................................................................................................................... 24 2.2. Main providers of biological control agents ......................................................................................... 25 2.3. Transfer procedure ............................................................................................................................... 25 2.4. National vs. international transfers ...................................................................................................... 25 2.5. Trends in global exchanges .................................................................................................................. 25 3. BENEFITS OF USE AND EXCHANGE OF GENETIC RESOURCES ............................................................................ 26 3.1. Food security and poverty alleviation .................................................................................................. 26 3.2. Food safety and farmers’ and workers’ health ..................................................................................... 27 3.3. Livelihoods ............................................................................................................................................ 27 3.4. Environment and conservation benefits ................................................................................................ 27 3.5. Research and capacity building ............................................................................................................ 28 3.6. Commercial benefits from improved production .................................................................................. 28 4. CONTROL OF GENETIC RESOURCES USED IN BIOLOGICAL CONTROL ................................................................ 29 ii BACKGROUND STUDY PAPER NO. 47 5. SELLING GENETIC RESOURCES -BASED PRODUCTS ........................................................................................... 30 6. CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................................................ 31 III. CURRENT PRACTICES OF EXCHANGE OF GENETIC RESOURCES ...............................33 1. CURRENT TERMS AND MODALITIES FOR EXCHANGE OF GENETIC RESOURCES ................................................. 33 1.1. Informal networks ................................................................................................................................. 33 1.2. Information on biological control agents ............................................................................................. 33 1.3. Gaining access to biological control agents ......................................................................................... 33 1.4. Effects of legal or technological tools on use and exchange of genetic resources ............................... 34 2. CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................................................ 34 IV. STAKEHOLDERS’ VIEWS ............................................................................................................35 1. PERCEPTIONS , AWARENESS OF USERS AND PROVIDERS ON ACCESS AND BENEFIT SHARING ............................ 35 1.1. The users of biological control agents .................................................................................................. 35 1.2. The biological control agent source countries ..................................................................................... 36 2. INITIATIVES OF KEY PLAYERS ......................................................................................................................... 36 3. CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................................................ 37 V. OVERALL RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................................................................38 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .....................................................................................................................39 REFERENCES ..........................................................................................................................................40 Case Study 1. Successful biological control of a forest insect pest ...........................................................43 Case Study 2. The search for a natural enemy of the cassava mealybug...................................................44 Case Study 3. The classical biological control of a cassava mealybug in Brazil.......................................45 Case Study 4. Indigenous leaf miner parasitoids for augmentative biological control in Europe .............46 Case Study 5. Over thirty years of successful release of a natural