Crop Wild Relatives

Crop wild relatives (CWR) are plant species which are more or less closely related to crops. They are a vital resource by providing a pool of genetic variation that can be used in breeding new and better adapted varieties of crops that are resistant to stress, disease, drought and other factors. They will be increasingly important in allowing crops to adapt to the impacts of climate, thus safeguarding future agricultural production. Until recently, the main conservation strategy adopted for CWR has been ex situ - through the maintenance of samples as seed or vegetative material in various kinds of genebank or other facilities. Now the need to conserve CWR in their natural surroundings (in situ) is increasingly recognized. Recent research co-ordinated by Bioversity International has produced a wealth of information on good practices and lessons learned for their effective conservation. This book captures the important practical experiences of countries participating in this work and describes them for the wider conservation community. It includes case studies and examples from Armenia, Bolivia, Madagascar, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan, which are important centres of diversity for crop wild relatives, and covers four geographical regions - the Caucasus, South America, Africa and the Asia-Pacific Region. It provides practical, relevant information and guidance for the scaling-up of actions targeting CWR conservation around the world.

Danny Hunter is a scientist based at Bioversity International in Rome, Italy. Vernon Heywood is Emeritus Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Reading, UK.

Foreword Monique Barbut and Achim Steiner Preface M.S. Swaminathan Part I: Introduction 1. Introductory and Background Materials 2. Crop Wild Relatives in the Project Countries 3. What Do We Mean by In Situ Conservation of CWR? Part II: Conservation Actions 4. Planning for CWR Conservation and Partnership Building 5. Participatory Approaches for CWR In Situ Conservation 6. Developing National CWR Strategies and Action Plans 7. Selection and Prioritization of Species/Populations and Areas 8. Establishing an Information Baseline: Ecogeographic Surveying Part III: Conservation Actions 9. Protected Areas and CWR Conservation 10. Species and Population Management/Recovery Plans 11. Conservation Strategies for Species/Populations Occurring Outside Protected Areas 12. Complementary Conservation Actions 13. Monitoring of Areas and Species/Populations to Assess Effectiveness of Conservation/Management Actions Part IV: Other Major Issues 14. Adapting to Global Change 15. Capacity Building 16. Communications, Public Awareness and Outreach Annexes Annex I: CWR species for which field data were collected during 2006-2009 in Bolivia Annex II: Monitoring plan for Cereal Crop Wild Relatives in Erebuni State Reserve Annex III: Management plan for Amygdalus bucharica in the Chatkal Biospheric State Reserve, Uzbekistan Index of Organisms Thematic Index