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EUROPEAN CENTRAL FORAGES DATABASES 13
such as the need for further collecting, prioritizing for safety-duplication of germplasm, the
development of core collections, etc.
Today, genebanks in the 30 ECP/GR countries conserve a total of about 97 000 accessions
of forage species, of which approximately 65% have already been recorded in European
Central Crop Databases (see relevant sections of the present report; Report of the Budapest
documentation meeting, Oct. 1996). 10 These countries are heavily interdependent with
regard to forages genetic resources. Europe has a long history and tradition of collaboration
and free germplasm exchange. This has allowed significant progress to be made, in
particular in rapidly raising the frequency of quantitative traits in breeding collections. The
increasing privatization of breeding activities in the region is seen as potentially driving
breeders to address short-term rather than long-term goals, resulting, inter alia, in neglecting
the conservation of genetic resources. Furthermore, the exchange of germplasm and
collaboration among breeders could be strongly reduced, bringing about a narrowing of the
genetic basis of commercial varieties and ultimately an increased vulnerability of crops.
Recognizing
• that the long-term conservation of genetic resources and making these available to
users is predominantly a public sector responsibility,
• that a restriction of access to genetic resources among European countries would
seriously impede the efforts of breeders,
• that economic constraints call for a clear prioritization of genebank activities,
• that no single country in Europe can, on its own, conserve all the forage genetic
resources, and
• that the Preparatory Meeting for Europe (Nitra, Slovakia, September 1995) and the
Global Plan of Action (GPA) adopted in Leipzig, Germany (June 1996) call on ECP/GR
to play a key role in facilitating the implementation of the GPA for the European
region,
the Working Group recommends the establishment of a decentralized European Forage
Collection comprising the forage accessions that European genebanks would agree to
maintain on behalf of all member countries of ECP/GR.
Objectives
The objectives of establishing this collection would be:
• to formalize the sharing of responsibilities for the conservation of European forage
genetic resources
• to ensure the safe conservation of these accessions
• to ensure the continued access to these accessions to all ECP/GR countries
• to make information about the forage genetic resources available to the users through
adequate forms of documentation (e.g. Central Crop Databases, European Internet
Information Platform on Crop Genetic Resources, published reports of Working Group
meetings, etc.)
• to promote an intensive exchange of germplasm
• to enhance the use of forage genetic resources
• to reduce the workload for each country and allow a more effective conservation
10 Lipman, E., M.W.M. Jongen, Th.J.L. van Hintum, T. Gass and L. Maggioni, compilers. 1997. Central
Crop Databases: Tools for Plant Genetic Resources Management. International Plant Genetic
Resources Institute, Rome, Italy/CGN, Wageningen, The Netherlands.