4 Institutional Frameworks for the Exchange and
Utilization of PGRFA
The major institutional factor determining the threat of PGRFA diversity loss is
the lack of or poorly defined property rights for genetic resources. The free good
characteristics still existing give rise to the problems associated with the symptom
of free rider. Hence, property rights are essential for the conservation of
agrobiodiversity: the incentives to maintain or decrease the amount of PGRFA
diversity depend on the structure of the various rights of all agents involved. Open
access conditions prevail where no property rights exist. Rights must be conferred
to avoid the consequences of open access. Reaffirming the sovereignty of nations
over their resources, the Convention on Biological Diversity supports
governments which modify existing property rights arrangements for genetic
resources and build new arrangements.
These institutional changes will affect the economic situation on the informal or
formal market for PGRFA exchange. If transaction costs between aggrieved and
exploiting parties are prohibitive because of the legal and institutional settings, the
exchange system will collapse, reducing the possibility of maintaining
agrobiodiversity at a high level.
Systematic survey, collection, and conservation of PGRFA have been under
way since the beginning of the century. Today, a complex international and
national system for PGRFA conservation is emerging, combining immense
energy, human capacity, and financial resources (see Chap. l.l). In addition to the
ex situ conservation activities, PGRFA are still maintained in situ in farmers'
fields.
Some major issues are yet to be solved in the ongoing negotiation of the
system. Some institutional success has, however, been achieved lately, e.g., the
international adoption of the "Global Plan of Action for the Conservation and
Sustainable Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture" in
Leipzig, June 1996 (FAO, 1996b). The adoption of the global plan marks a
highlight in the institutional development of the past 30 years, because it is the
first ever global plan formulated and adopted for the conservation of PGRFA.
At the International Technical Conference on Plant Genetic Resources, held in
Leipzig, Germany, in 1996, the Global Plan of Action for the Conservation and
Sustainable Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture was
adopted by 150 countries and 54 organizations. The Global Plan of Action was
developed in a country-driven, participatory approach, organized and managed by
FAO. The Global Plan of Action was based on the first Report on the State of the
World's Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. The preparation of
Utilization of PGRFA
The major institutional factor determining the threat of PGRFA diversity loss is
the lack of or poorly defined property rights for genetic resources. The free good
characteristics still existing give rise to the problems associated with the symptom
of free rider. Hence, property rights are essential for the conservation of
agrobiodiversity: the incentives to maintain or decrease the amount of PGRFA
diversity depend on the structure of the various rights of all agents involved. Open
access conditions prevail where no property rights exist. Rights must be conferred
to avoid the consequences of open access. Reaffirming the sovereignty of nations
over their resources, the Convention on Biological Diversity supports
governments which modify existing property rights arrangements for genetic
resources and build new arrangements.
These institutional changes will affect the economic situation on the informal or
formal market for PGRFA exchange. If transaction costs between aggrieved and
exploiting parties are prohibitive because of the legal and institutional settings, the
exchange system will collapse, reducing the possibility of maintaining
agrobiodiversity at a high level.
Systematic survey, collection, and conservation of PGRFA have been under
way since the beginning of the century. Today, a complex international and
national system for PGRFA conservation is emerging, combining immense
energy, human capacity, and financial resources (see Chap. l.l). In addition to the
ex situ conservation activities, PGRFA are still maintained in situ in farmers'
fields.
Some major issues are yet to be solved in the ongoing negotiation of the
system. Some institutional success has, however, been achieved lately, e.g., the
international adoption of the "Global Plan of Action for the Conservation and
Sustainable Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture" in
Leipzig, June 1996 (FAO, 1996b). The adoption of the global plan marks a
highlight in the institutional development of the past 30 years, because it is the
first ever global plan formulated and adopted for the conservation of PGRFA.
At the International Technical Conference on Plant Genetic Resources, held in
Leipzig, Germany, in 1996, the Global Plan of Action for the Conservation and
Sustainable Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture was
adopted by 150 countries and 54 organizations. The Global Plan of Action was
developed in a country-driven, participatory approach, organized and managed by
FAO. The Global Plan of Action was based on the first Report on the State of the
World's Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. The preparation of