166
6 Two Country Examples of PGRFA Conservation Systems
like the Contribution of the German Botanic Gardens to the Conservation of
Biodiversity and Genetic Resources - Assessment and Development Concept
are combined projects: financed by BMU, accompanied by BfN. The project
is implemented by the Botanic Garden of the University of Bonn for the
German Association of Botanic Gardens. Furthermore, this project is a cooperation with the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI).
(GABG, 1998)
More involved in the applied research and development of new products and their
utilization is the private sector, representing groups with partially contrary
objectives: the farmers' organization on the one hand, representing the demand
side for new seed, and the seed companies as seed suppliers on the other hand.
The demand side is, however, not uniform. The majority of farmers utilize seed as
one part of an input package with the advantage of being able to safe seed for the
next growing season. The seed change rate in German agriculture has been
estimated at approximately 50%, i.e., 50% of seed is bought as certified seed from
the market and the other half is re-used seed.
In contrast to the majority of farmers, most of the farmers who support the
ecological farm movement are interested in utilizing and exchanging old varieties,
which are not tradable in accordance to the German Seed Trade Act. A further distinction must be made on the supply side. Until recently, the German seed supply
was in the hands of small to medium-sized companies, working closely together
with the public research institutes. In the past decade, the multi-national biotechnology companies, mainly petro-chemical companies which evolved into companies including biotech-breeding, have been entering the German seed market.
Although the private sector is non-governmental, the actors of the non-governmental/non-profit organizations (commonly "the" NGOs) must be differ~ntiated.
Although being heavily involved in general nature conservation and environmental protection, the German NGOs' interest in the field of PGRFA conservation
played a minor role. Some NGOs promoted a change in the federal seed policy, so
to keep old varieties in the market. These NGOs were mainly backed by farmers
in ecological agriculture. After UNCED, and in the light of the International
Technical Conference on Plant Genetic Resources, the Forum Environment and
Development was formed however (GCR, 1996). This forum is a joint initiative to
follow up UNCED, concentrated on the coordination of NGO positions and policy
formulation, stimulating and providing studies and workshops on critical biodiversity issues and strengthening public awareness (GCR, 1996). Their main attention
is focused on the international and national implementation process of CBD. The
forum is financially supported by BMU through a project agency responsible for
the coordination of the Forum (GCR, 1996).
Besides the interaction on the different levels in Germany, it is mainly the
government through its respective ministries which is engaged in international
collaborations. Above all it is mainly the participation in international fora, like
the Global System of FAO, CBD and GEF as a funding mechanism for
environmental programs and projects, as well as initiatives of UNESCO (Man and
Biosphere Program), other conventions such as the Ramsar Convention on the
conservation of wetlands of international importance, and the CITES Convention
6 Two Country Examples of PGRFA Conservation Systems
like the Contribution of the German Botanic Gardens to the Conservation of
Biodiversity and Genetic Resources - Assessment and Development Concept
are combined projects: financed by BMU, accompanied by BfN. The project
is implemented by the Botanic Garden of the University of Bonn for the
German Association of Botanic Gardens. Furthermore, this project is a cooperation with the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI).
(GABG, 1998)
More involved in the applied research and development of new products and their
utilization is the private sector, representing groups with partially contrary
objectives: the farmers' organization on the one hand, representing the demand
side for new seed, and the seed companies as seed suppliers on the other hand.
The demand side is, however, not uniform. The majority of farmers utilize seed as
one part of an input package with the advantage of being able to safe seed for the
next growing season. The seed change rate in German agriculture has been
estimated at approximately 50%, i.e., 50% of seed is bought as certified seed from
the market and the other half is re-used seed.
In contrast to the majority of farmers, most of the farmers who support the
ecological farm movement are interested in utilizing and exchanging old varieties,
which are not tradable in accordance to the German Seed Trade Act. A further distinction must be made on the supply side. Until recently, the German seed supply
was in the hands of small to medium-sized companies, working closely together
with the public research institutes. In the past decade, the multi-national biotechnology companies, mainly petro-chemical companies which evolved into companies including biotech-breeding, have been entering the German seed market.
Although the private sector is non-governmental, the actors of the non-governmental/non-profit organizations (commonly "the" NGOs) must be differ~ntiated.
Although being heavily involved in general nature conservation and environmental protection, the German NGOs' interest in the field of PGRFA conservation
played a minor role. Some NGOs promoted a change in the federal seed policy, so
to keep old varieties in the market. These NGOs were mainly backed by farmers
in ecological agriculture. After UNCED, and in the light of the International
Technical Conference on Plant Genetic Resources, the Forum Environment and
Development was formed however (GCR, 1996). This forum is a joint initiative to
follow up UNCED, concentrated on the coordination of NGO positions and policy
formulation, stimulating and providing studies and workshops on critical biodiversity issues and strengthening public awareness (GCR, 1996). Their main attention
is focused on the international and national implementation process of CBD. The
forum is financially supported by BMU through a project agency responsible for
the coordination of the Forum (GCR, 1996).
Besides the interaction on the different levels in Germany, it is mainly the
government through its respective ministries which is engaged in international
collaborations. Above all it is mainly the participation in international fora, like
the Global System of FAO, CBD and GEF as a funding mechanism for
environmental programs and projects, as well as initiatives of UNESCO (Man and
Biosphere Program), other conventions such as the Ramsar Convention on the
conservation of wetlands of international importance, and the CITES Convention