Plant Genetic Resources and Food Security

Christine Frison is a lawyer currently conducting a PhD research at the Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium) on international law and governance of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. She is also a research fellow at the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (Montreal, Canada) and carries out consultancy contracts for various international organisations (including the United Nations Environment Programme), NGOs and governments (e.g. Belgian Federal Ministry for the Environment). Francisco Lopez is Treaty Support Officer for the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and is based at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, Rome, Italy. Jose T. Esquinas-Alcazar is currently the Director of the Catedra on Studies on Hunger and Poverty of the University of Cordoba, and has worked for 30 years in FAO as Secretary of the FAO's intergovernmental Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

• Dedication. Acknowledgements. List of Figures, Tables and Boxes. Notes on Contributors. Preface. Acronyms and abbreviations. 1. Introduction: A Treaty to Fight Hunger: Past Negotiations, Present Situation, and Future Challenges. Part I: Perspectives on the Treaty by Regions in the World. 2. Overview of Regional Approaches: The Negotiating Process of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. 3. The African Regional Group: Creating Fair Play Between North and South. 4. The Asian Regional Group. 5. The European Regional Group: Europe's Role and Positions During the Negotiations and Early Implementation of the International Treaty. 6. The Latin American and Caribbean Regional Group: A Long and Successful Process for the Protection, Conservation and Enhancing of PGRFA. 7. The Near East Regional Group: Centring the Diversity for Unlocking the Genetic Potential. 8. The North American Regional Group: Globalization that Works. 9. The South West Pacific Regional Group: Pacific Island Countries and Territories. Part II: Perspectives on the Treaty by Stakeholders in the World Food Chain. 10. International Non-Governmental Organizations: The Hundred Year (or so) Seed War: Seeds, Sovereignty and Civil Society. A Historical Perspective on the Evolution of 'The Law of the Seed'. 11. International Research Centres: The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research and the International Treaty. 12. The Seed Industry: Plant Breeding and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. 13. Farmers' Communities: A Reflection on the Treaty from Small Farmers' Perspectives. 14. Genebank Curators: Towards Implementation of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture by the Indian National Genebank. 15. Plant Breeders: The Point of View of a Plant Breeder on the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. 16. The Global Crop Diversity Trust: An Essential Element of the Treaty's Funding Strategy Geoffrey Hawtin, CIAT. 17. Consumers: Biodiversity is a Common Good. Part III Experts' Views on Future Challenges in Implementing the Treaty: Trust and Benefit-sharing as the key. 18. Our Heritage is Our Future: Humankind's Responsibility for Food Security. 19. An Innovative and Transparent Option for Royalty Payment Under the ITPGRFA: Implementing the Article 6.11 Crop-related Modality of the SMTA. 20. Conclusions by the Editors: Summary and Analysis of Issues Raised by Authors and Further Development of Possible Ways Forward. Index.