OPTIMA Newsletter 38

O P T I M A N E W S L E T T E R O P T I M A N E W S L E T T E R O P T I M A N E W S L E T T E R
COMMISSION FOR THREATENED
PLANTS (FORMERLY: COMMISSION
FOR THE CONSERVATION AND SUS-
TAINABLE USE OF PLANT RE-
SOURCES)
Chair: D. Zohary, Jerusalem
Secretary: J. M. Iriondo, Madrid
Members: T. Constantinidis, Patras
D. Draper, Lisboa
T. Ekim, Ankara
E. Gabrielian, Erevan
V. H. Heywood, Reading
A. Santos, Puerto de la Cruz
2004. At the Commission meeting held at
the XI OPTIMA Meeting in Belgrade in September
2004, three priority areas of action were outlined.
The first area involved the creation of new seed
banks in the Mediterranean region and the establishment
of a network of Mediterranean seed
banks. In this respect, Commission members
were to compile a complete inventory of seed
banks in the Mediterranean area, and funds would
be sought for the organization of a workshop to
co-ordinate actions among these seed banks. In
this line, two EU-funded projects entitled EN-
SCONET (European Native Seed Conservation
Network) and GENMEDOC (Genetic Resources
of the western Mediterranean) were approved in
2004. The second priority area was the conservation
of medicinal and aromatic plants in the Mediterranean.
IPGRI was to be contacted and asked
to revitalize these activities in the Mediterranean,
and a meeting was to be organised with specialists
and institutions working in this field. The third
priority was the creation of a databank on selected
genera of wild relatives of crops. Contacts would
be made with the aim of continuing current efforts
(PGR Forum Network) with emphasis on the
Mediterranean region.
PGR Forum Network, the EU thematic network
on the in-situ conservation of crop wild relatives,
held two workshops. The first, organised by
José Iriondo, took place in Minorca in April 2004
and dealt with producing methodologies for the
management and monitoring of European crop
wild relative taxa. The second, which took place in
the Azores in September 2004, focused on genetic
erosion and pollution assessment.
2005. PGR Forum Network, the EU thematic
network on the in situ conservation of crop wild
relatives, held two workshops. The first took place
in Denmark in April 2005 and dealt with threat and
conservation assessment of European crop wild
relative taxa. The final dissemination conference,
which took place in Italy in September 2005, comprised
the First International Conference on Crop
Wild Relative Conservation and Use.
The Commission met in Pisa (2007). it decided
that in the coming six years, it will focus its
efforts on the study of the reproductive biology
and genetic systems of selected genera of higher
plants, their distribution and adaptation to different
ecological environments, in order to optimise the
existing strategies for in-situ and ex-situ conservation.
As possible first target genera, Tulipa and
Origanum were suggested.
COMMISSION FOR FLORISTIC
INVESTIGATION
Chair: B. Valdés , Sevilla
Secretary: E.Vitek, Wien
Members: S. Bančeva, Sofia
R. Baldini, Firenze
T. Constantinidis, Patras
G. Domina, Palermo
T. Ekim, Ankara
M. Fennane, Rabat
O. Fragman, Jerusalem
D. Jeanmonod, Genève
J. Mathez, Montpellier
J. Molina, Montpellier
F. M. Raimondo, Palermo
S. Redžić, Sarajevo
May 2009 OPTIMA Newsletter No. 38 13