On the occasion of celebration of the Chinese New Year of the Pig, in the festival atmosphere of no fireworks, CBCGDF has already launched the first wave of the starting the year: a seminar themed as “Conservation and Benefit Sharing of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, focusing on Agricultural Biodiversity Beyond 2020” co-organized by CBCGDF and Beijing Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences (BAAFS), will be held in Beijing this March.

CBCGDF builds a platform for the exchange of biodiversity of genetic resources, bringing together leading experts, scholars and relevant departments in the fields of genetic resources, benefit sharing, and environmental law to jointly promote international governance, genetic resources, and biodiversity conservation in China and the formulation of rules. In November 2017, CBCGDF officially became an observer of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. In February 2018, CBCGDF and ITPGRFA conducted in-depth discussions on topics of common interest such as the digital sequence of genetic resources.

This seminar aims to promote China's conservation and benefit sharing of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, promote China's agro-ecological security and biodiversity conservation, and effectively participate in global environmental governance. The seminar is intended to invite experts and scholars from relevant fields and representatives of government departments to conduct academic exchanges and discussions. At the same time, the participants also dedicate their suggestions on the Fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nation's Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP15), which will be held in Beijing at the end of 2020; the representatives from CBCGDF will also discuss with UN's FAO representatives that the two parties intend to co-organize the side event for the theme of agriculture and biodiversity conservation during CBD COP15.

The day before New Year's Eve, CBCGDF received a warm letter from the secretary of ITPGRFA Mr. Kent Nnadozie. The purpose of ITPGRFA is consistent with UN's Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which preserves sustainable agriculture and food security, and sustainably uses plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, as well as the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of these resources. Mr. Nnadozie’s words are filled with appreciation and excitement. He pointed out that the possible dialogue and cooperation platform built by CBCGDF is very important, and it is very useful to organize this seminar according to the suggestions. He believes this will help policy makers and relevant officials to participate in the process of seeking ratification by China. He and his colleagues agreed that it is very important for China to join ITPGRFA and cooperate to promote its purpose. He showed great interest in the opportunity to participate in the seminar in person and to meet directly with relevant government officials to discuss cooperation with Chinese policy makers and officials. He also indicated that he would recommend representatives of FAO in China to attend this seminar and hope to participate fully in the planning of the seminar with his colleagues, including or will arrange any necessary bilateral meetings.

In the meantime, Mr. Nnadozie also recommended a highly respected colleague, Dr. René Castro, Assistant Director-General of the Climate, Biodiversity, Land and Water Department of UN's FAO. The CB Department acts as the focal unit in FAO for addressing natural resources issues related to agriculture, crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, under a cross-sectoral approach. It also provides the necessary technical support to operational field activities. On the day of Chinese New Year’s Eve, CBCGDF received a letter from Dr. Castro: "Dear All, thanks for the invitation and the holiday greetings. We are preparing to work with you and visit beautiful China.”

During the Chinese New Year holiday, everyone did not take a rest, and preparations for the seminar were being carried out in an orderly manner. For more details on the seminar, welcome follow CBCGDF Wechat account ChinaGreenExpress. Building a global ecological civilization, constructing a beautiful China, CBCGDF on the road.

(Photo credit: FAO)

ITPGRFA related background information (Photo source: Internet)

(Photo credit: fao.org)

Dr. Rene Castro (Photo source: Internet)

Dr. Zhou Jinfeng, the Secretary-General of CBCGDF agreed with international colleagues that how to use the rules of the International Convention on the Benefits of Genetic Resources to address the hunger problem that human beings are facing is an area worth exploring. (Photo credit: CBCGDF)

By / Niu Jingmei