Crop Genetic Resources as a Global Commons: Challenges in International Law and Governance(Issues in Agricultural Biodiversity)

The Earth's plant genetic resources are a common inheritance of all humankind, which should be held in shared trust for a common future. A key component of the global genetic commons is agricultural biodiversity. Our food and livelihood security depend on the sustained management of these diverse biological resources that are important for food and agriculture. Whilst agricultural biodiversity originates in specific farming communities, it has been shared widely and is considered by many to be part of the much-threatened global commons. This book is about the creation, management and use of the global crop commons. It focuses primarily on the legal and administrative construct that provides the basis of the global crop commons, that is, the multilateral system of access and benefit-sharing created by the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. This is particularly significant because it transcends the traditional dichotomy between privatization and total governmental control. It came into effect in 2006 and the book describes its origins and implementation since then, showing how many international organizations and some developing countries are moving quickly with implementation, while other countries are moving slowly and some multinational corporations are expressing misgivings about the system overall. The authors further analyze current challenges and how they might be resolved.

Table of Contents:
1. The Global Crop Commons and Access and Benefit-Sharing Laws: Examining the Limits of Policy Support for the Collective Pooling and Management of Plant Genetic Resources Part 1: Setting the Scene: Countries’ Interdependence on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and the Imperative of International Cooperation 2. Demonstrating Interdependence on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture 3. Flows of Crop Germplasm into and Out of China 4. Crop and Forage Genetic Resources: International Interdependence in the Face of Climate Change 5. Changing Rates of Acquisition of Plant Genetic Resources by International Gene Banks: Setting the Scene to Monitor an Impact of the International Treaty Part 2: The History and Design of the international Treaty’s Multilateral System of Access and Benefit-Sharing 6. Brief History of the Negotiations of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture 7. The Design and Mechanics of the Multilateral System of Access and Benefit Sharing 8. Protecting the Interests of the Multilateral System: The Third Party Beneficiary 9. Plant Genetic Resources "Under the Management and Control of the Contracting Parties and in the Public Domain": How Rich Is the Basket of the Multilateral System? 10. Efforts to Get the Multilateral System Up and Running: A Review of Activities Coordinated By the Treaty Secretariat Part 3: Critical Reflections 11. Experiences of Countries in the Implementation of the Multilateral System: incentives and Challenges at the Country Level 12. From Negotiations to Implementation: Global Review of Achievements, Bottlenecks and Opportunities For the Treaty in General, and the Multilateral System in Particular 13. The Multilateral System of Access and Benefit-Sharing: Could It Have Been Constructed another Way? 14. The Moving Scope of Annex 1: The List of Crops Covered under the Multilateral System 15. Building A Global information System in Support of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources For Food and Agriculture 16. Collective Action Challenges in the Implementation of the Multilateral System of the international Treaty: What Roles For the CGIAR Centres? 17. International and Regional Cooperation in the Implementation of the international Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture 18. The Evolving Global System of Conservation and Use of Plant Genetic Resources For Food and Agriculture: What Is It, and Where Does the Treaty Fit It? 19. Institutionalizing Global Genetic Resource Commons for Food and Agriculture Index

About the Author :
Michael Halewood is a Senior Scientist and Head of the Policy Research and Support Unit at Bioversity International, Rome, Italy. He is also a qualified barrister and solicitor, and coordinates representation of the International Agricultural Research Centres (IARCs) and of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) in international genetic resources policy-making fora. Isabel Lopez Noriega is a legal specialist in the Policy Research and Support Unit of Bioversity International in Rome. Selim Louafi is based at the Centre de Cooperation Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Developpement (CIRAD), Montpellier, France.

Review :
"A rigorous, in-depth analysis of successful commons governance on a global scale has long been an under-researched, often overlooked and poorly understood area of study. Yet the critical importance collaborative management of global resources requires urgent attention. In this groundbreaking volume, Halewood, Noriega, and Louafi have assembled an international group of leading scholars and practitioners to systematically guide us through the complex terrain of crop genetic resources and agricultural biodiversity as global commons. The thoroughness of the analysis along with the lessons learned from practical applications will serve as indispensable tools for students of all types of global-commons resources." – Charlotte Hess, co-editor with Elinor Ostrom of 'Understanding Knowledge as a Commons' and Associate Dean for Research, Collections, and Scholarly Communication for Syracuse University Library "The preservation and enhancement of agrobiodiversity is of huge importance in a world that shall witness more disruptive climate shocks in the future, and in which food-deficit regions shall be increasingly dependent on food-surplus regions. This volume makes a strong case for governing plant genetic resources in ways that promote the evolution and conservation of agrobiodiversity, and to ensure that they are available to be used by all regions to adapt better to a changing environment. Yet, it is more than just another book about the governance of natural resources by the best experts in the field: it is also an indispensable tool to understand the future of agriculture in a world of dwindling resources and biodiversity loss." – Olivier de Schutter, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food "These meticulous studies of the FAO Treaty are of major theoretical and empirical importance to scholars and practitioners seeking a workable, transnational regime to govern all genetic resources for research and benefit sharing under the evolving international legal framework." – Jerome H. Reichman, Bunyan S. Womble Professor of Law, Duke Law School, USA "The chapters in this book are meticulously researched and referenced. They provide some thought provoking suggestions for those concerned with agricultural research and policy formulation." – Michael Blakeney in Bio-Science Law Review